Hand cut French fries

[sfc2020]

We have an issue with our fries staying crispy. We cut Idaho potatoes and place them into a 3 compartment sink filled with hot water and a cup of kosher salt. They soak for about one hour and then we give them a first cook in fryer oil at 350. This par cook is fine until the potato just starts to want to turn color and ends up about half cooked. We then toss these in a plastic tub and put in the walk in cooler until service. At service we fry until brown and crispy. Any thoughts on how to improve flavor and texture?

 

[sgsvirgil]

Soaking them for an hour is the problem. As soon as they're cut, par cook them and place them in the walk-in. Then increase the temperature of your oil about 25'f or so higher than normal. Fry as usual.

Cheers.

 

[Koperek97]

The above poster may be correct, but I would suggest leaving them uncovered in your walk-in to dry off before you fry them. The excess moisture may be the problem.

 

[someday]

I have a few ideas to try.

Why use warm water for soaking? Why not cold? I would go for a longer soak too, probably overnight, honestly. I would rinse and change the water until it is clear (or pretty near to clear) and then store in the walk in overnight. I've heard of people soaking in an acidulated water bath to toughen the pectin (which I imagine would allow for a longer cook=crispier, but I've never tried it)

Are you putting your fries in the plastic tub straight from the fryer on the blanch? Then straight to the walk in? If you're piling on parcooked french fries on top of each other then putting them hot in the walk in, they would still cook/steam and that might mess up your texture. Maybe try draining them on towels or on a sheetpan/rack, cooling to room temp and then storing in the walk in.

Maybe try reducing the initial fry from 350 down to 325 or maybe even 300.

What temp are you frying at for the second fry? 375 might be better if you're doing it at 350.

I'll add an additional opinion of mine, YMMV. Most places that make their own french fries have sucky fries. There are restaurants that make homemade fries that are amazing, for sure, but I would say as an aggregate, most places with house made fries suck. Soggy, limp, oily, under-seasoned, I could go on.

One of the very very few things I (usually, at least) advocate for buying a prepared product is french fries. Most of the reputable french fry companies use specific types of potato that they sort and grade so that they don't have "bad" potatoes in their batches (McDonald's does this the best, probably...they have an insanely stringent regimen for potato/fry production) and that the potatoes they use are the best types for fries. You could get a batch of potatoes from your purveyor that are too starchy, or too sugary, or too wet, or too dry, or old, too spotty, too bruised...etc. You can do everything right and still get sucky fries, because you had sucky potatoes. So unless you know how to choose the best potatoes, and store them...

A perfectly cooked, hot, crispy frozen fry (bought in) is infinitely better than a limp, soggy house made one. A properly made hot, crispy house made is best, but those are few and far between in my experience.

One of the hardest parts too is that everyone has an opinion about how to make fries, there are literally dozens of "best" ways to make them. It's tough to sort through all that info.

 

[chefbillyb]

Cut and soak over night. Dry and blanch to about 90% done in the fryer at 300 degrees. Finish at 375 degrees to get color and crispness......The best fries come from aged potatoes. Good luck with that.....

 

[Mischief]

ChefBillyB is pretty much spot on. I used Idaho Russet potatoes, keep them from 10-14 days from my purveyor, then cut 3/8" and soak them in cold water with a cap full of white vinegar or lemon juice overnight, drain and rinse again. Fry for about 6 minutes at 275 F. Drain for several minutes then cool on sheet pan. Store in refrigerated container until service. Fry at 350-400 for 2-3 minutes. Great fry.

The biggest problem with any fresh french fry is that the crispiness doesn't hold up over time. You can make a perfect batch of fries but if it doesn't hit the table within 5 minutes, it's too soggy. That's why all these major companies add additives for crispiness and retainment of said crispiness.

 

[BluePEI]

Try a water blanch. 4% vinegar to water. This will swell the starch cells on the outer surface and give the fry a very crispy surface. It also helps to cook from frozen after blanching but I know a lot of chefs don't want to do the freeze step.

 

[thomas fontaine]

Over here in Belgium we use potatoes (Bintjes), pealed, cut, not rinced (industry even ad some stratch to make them more crispy), precooked in a lot of oil at 140°C(300°F) 8-10' (at the end they'll "sing" in the oil, when cooked they have a little skin outside and texture inside is just like puree), keep at room t°, on demand (same day) fry them at 180°C(356°F) for 3-4', season while hot.

 

[chefbillyb]

Over here in Belgium we use potatoes (Bintjes), pealed, cut, not rinced (industry even ad some stratch to make them more crispy), precooked in a lot of oil at 140°C(300°F) 8-10' (at the end they'll "sing" in the oil, when cooked they have a little skin outside and texture inside is just like puree), keep at room t°, on demand (same day) fry them at 180°C(356°F) for 3-4', season while hot.

Crispy outside, tender inside with a good potato flavor. The best way to get this in the States is by using aged potatoes.....

 

[STEPHEN WOODARD]

Think Im to old......I cut, rinse, and blanch at 260 F for 6 minutes, spread on tray and cool. Refry at 350 or 375. always crispy.

 

[jaymer]

I pretty much do the exact same as Stephen above. I’m a french fry snob and I am happy with this product.

 

[Chef Piya]

Well, I learned a lot from you all chefs. Thank you - But just a thought if make does not made better than buy then why not buy instead?! thing is as a chef you are thinking of Labor cost, utility cost and gas consumption cost and by saying this does it made a good cut of profit. I knew it is pride to do homemade thing - but as you chef have to take care of business and employee. we still need saving money to pay their living when thing get harsh. just for a thought. we do Gaufrette, and other fries where you can't buy them. this is to save time and other cost. for flavor I am personally like smoked Paprika, Cheese, dehydrated herbs blend (homemade), or you can try dehydrate Onion, garlic, Thai finger chili, Thai Parsley(sawtooth), kaffir lime as mixed blend - something new for you perhaps.

 

[jaymer]

if make does not made better than buy

I'd never agree with that statement. Thats the whole purpose of making a hand-cut fry and doing it 'the correct way'... which is a two-stage process (meaning a pre-cook then finishing cook)... it makes a FANTASTIC fry. People who LOVE french fries will go out of their way to buy hand-made fries instead of frozen.

 

[Chef Piya]

I'd never agree with that statement. Thats the whole purpose of making a hand-cut fry and doing it 'the correct way'... which is a two-stage process (meaning a pre-cook then finishing cook)... it makes a FANTASTIC fry. People who LOVE french fries will go out of their way to buy hand-made fries instead of frozen.

Totally agree with you 100% chef - no argument on what is best. but my case if if I am serving French fries a day minimum of 60kgs in isolate island when landing cost of fresh ingredients are higher (I am working in isolated island resort) But Yes, as I do totally agree if you are land base and easy access to raw ingredients and man-power then I'd go for homemade fries the same

 

[Alex Honnold]

I've received a lot of flak for this but this continues to be my favorite hack. I use something acidic like lime juice or vinegar (in small measure) while blanching and after patting them dry, I fry them to about 75% of their full crisp potential and freeze them

This mimics ageing (which as a user rightly pointed out, is something that we want). After a couple of hours, I fry them again till golden crisp and I have the crispiest fries ! (And possibly cancer due to the excessive frying)

 

[STEPHEN WOODARD]

Question everyone should be asking.....how big is your freezer. I've had an outlet that sold 20 cs of frozen fries a day in season. Impossible to do fresh........

 

[jaymer]

Well, some people can pull it off...
"That positive energy and atmosphere is something Price also likes to carry into his product. Unchanged for 80 years, Fiske Fries are simple. Fresh potatoes cleaned and cut onsite, then fried in vegetable shortening. That’s all. What matters to Price is putting out a good-tasting product at a fair price and treating people well."

These guys don't chill them, but cook them in two batches. Awesome fry. Get one everytime I'm at the faire. Cheers to the guy who can sell 20cs a day, but that doesn't mean consumers wouldn't pick the operation next door if he had fresh.

This isn't a debate anyway over which is better... all success isn't good success. Your situation forces you into a particular method and you do what you can do.

 

[L'uovo vulcanico]

I worked in a restaurant that replaced their exec chef, who decided it would be faster, easier, and cheaper to buy pre-prepped items rather than continue to do as they had done, and utilize their staff to prep fresh food. We tried to dissuade him, but, hey, he was the chef, so what did WE mere plebians know...

Their costs and waste went up, their quality plummeted, and morale was in the toilet. Our covers dropped by a third... and our skilled staff decided to seek greener pastures elsewhere, leading to a further reduction of quality.

So I wholeheartedly disagree that pre-prepped frozen food is better than what your skilled employees can do. And if your outlet is capable of pumping out only 20 cases of frozen fries a day, then you can hire someone to prep potatoes and make them fresh a lot cheaper.

 

[STEPHEN WOODARD]

I worked in a restaurant that replaced their exec chef, who decided it would be faster, easier, and cheaper to buy pre-prepped items rather than continue to do as they had done, and utilize their staff to prep fresh food. We tried to dissuade him, but, hey, he was the chef, so what did WE mere plebians know...

Their costs and waste went up, their quality plummeted, and morale was in the toilet. Our covers dropped by a third... and our skilled staff decided to seek greener pastures elsewhere, leading to a further reduction of quality.

So I wholeheartedly disagree that pre-prepped frozen food is better than what your skilled employees can do. And if your outlet is capable of pumping out only 20 cases of frozen fries a day, then you can hire someone to prep potatoes and make them fresh a lot cheaper.

Wished I had found someone who could have processed and blanched 500 pounds of potatoes a day. I do fresh fries when I can. Also can 100% understand how it would be possible if fries were the main item sold.