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How much french fries?

10K views 29 replies 9 participants last post by  sgsvirgil 
#1 ·
Cooking for a crowd of 11 rugbymen who like to eat. Grilled rib steaks, lettuce salad and french fries.

I'm not sure how many lbs of potatoes I should go for?

Thanks!
 
#4 ·
I agree.....2 Russets per person should do the trick.

If you are working on a home setup, you can save a bunch of time by rinsing and blanching the fries the day before and chilling them in the fridge over night. The next day, simply drop them in the hot oil or oven straight from the fridge and go until they are golden brown. The cook time will be shortened because the potatoes will already be partially cooked. The cold temp should help them get a good golden color.

However, if you are menu is flexible, a great alternative to dealing with all the work that goes into making this many fries would be to simply buy about 10lbs of small, young white potatoes or small reds, boil them skins on in salty water (1 cup salt for every 6 cups of water) and serve with tons of melted butter. If you have a pot large enough, you can boil enough for the whole party in one shot with a lot less mess and hassle. Salt potatoes are insanely tasty and the only way to screw them up is not cook them enough or use too little salt. :)

Good luck.
 
#9 ·
Yes, I grew up in Central New York. Salt potatoes are a huge thing there. Granted, they don't sound like much to someone who is not familiar with them, but, they are tasty as hell. The only way they get too salty is if they sit in the salt water for too long after cooking and by "too long" I mean a half a day or so.
 
#8 ·
I guess I'm the only one here that might assume you would use something like the pre-blanched frozen steak fries that you can get at the grocer. If I was cooking for a large group I would definitely go with a packaged product like that so I could focus on the other items. If that is the case, I'd personally take out what I would consider a decent portion.. if steak fries for instance probably somewhere around 15 to 20 fries and weigh them (assuming you have a little kitchen scale). Then just multiply that times 11 to get the rough weight you'll need to purchase.

I recently tried the Walmart brand (Great Value) steak fries. I know a lot of people will turn their nose up at anything from Walmart but they were the best product I've had. I think the difference was I cooked them on a sheet pan with a baking rack to lift them off the pan. Don't crowd them. They were golden, puffy, crisp. Honestly they are the closest baked fries I've ever had to deep fried. I could not tell the difference.

Food Ingredient French fries Condiment Deep frying
 
#10 ·
What are salt potatoes? I've done salt encrusted potatoes a couple times. With those, you boil little red potatoes in salted water until all of the water has evaporated. The salt forms a crust on the potatoes. I've not yet nailed the ratio of salt/water/potato yet but they are really good.
 
#11 ·
Salt potatoes are a close kin to what you've described except small, young white potatoes are typically used (small reds will also work) and they are boiled soft in briny water. The salt tends to give the thin skins a little more firmness and while the salt doesn't form a crust, it does soak in to the skin and the outer layers of the potato. If the potatoes are left to soak in the salt water, they can become quite inedible. So, there is a "sweet spot" in terms of how long they should spend in the water once cooked.
 
#12 ·
Well in that case the potatoes are not Russet, and come from a friend who grows them, they are of varied size, I just have to tell him how many lbs I need....

Hmm I hadn't thought of par-frying but maybe I'll have to... I'll see how the evening unfolds...

So I figure, about 1 lb potatoes per person to be on the safe side?
 
#13 · (Edited)
That's what I would plan for a group like that. The "standard large portion size" may actually be half that... but I know when a bunch of guys/gals get together that sometimes just isn't sufficient.

A couple of my favorite hamburger joints serves 24+ ounce servings of fries... which is just a ridiculous amount that nobody seems to be able to finish. I can easily eat half that and beyond is just shoveling food down my gullet in either a fit of gluttony or a fit of guilt over wasting a good potato.

But I'd plan for a large serving size and also plan for what to do with leftover potatoes... which I'm sure is no problem for you to do! Hope your event goes well and is enjoyable.
 
#14 ·
I would go for at least half a kg per person.
They will be freshly cooked chips and people tend to eat a lot more when they are good!
Also, they are rugby players.......

And yes, par fry or par boil (I prefer par frying) for ease and speed
 
#15 ·
Oh boy my friend gave me like 20kg potatoes. I think that should be enough.

Ok so the party is 1km from my home... I wonder if I should do any prepping beforehand... peeling... cutting... I'm worried about oxidation though. Or should I keep them in a water bath?

We'll have two fryers... no idea how big they are.

This should be a fun evening.
 
#16 ·
If you blanch in oil at home, there will be no oxidation.
If you just want to peel and cut the potatoes, then keep them in water. I prefer to keep them in salted water. They crisp up better that way. Just make sure to dry before frying and, if you use salted water, adjust salt in the end product
 
#18 ·
You may wish to prep ahead of time (peel and cut at the very least) and have some help with the rest of the food. Fries for 11 people can very easily monopolize your time due to the large amount of prep involved.

Good luck. :)
 
#20 ·
I ended up peeling the potatoes at home, using a fry cutter on location, blanching 5mn in 3 batches, then frying to golden brown at the last minute in 3 batches... success... but I didn't make enough (not sure how many kg I made but about 3 medium/large potatoes per person).
 
#24 ·
Still got a little knot in my stomach when at some point someone asked if there were more and I looked at the bowl and it was empty. :(

I wish I'd weighted them to get an answer to my question... at least a ballpark. I'm really good at cooking for two or four, but then as soon as I get more people I never really know how much to cook. I normally make more than necessary and have leftover but have been trying to be more precise lately.
 
#25 ·
Running out of food at a party is an embarrassing mistake that can easily be avoided.

Portion out your menu based on the number of invited guests and always add 20-30% more. There are two reasons for this. 1) Your head count is never accurate - people always bring an extra friend or someone on the guest list doesn't show up (usually the former); and 2) not everything turns out perfect in the kitchen.

Fries are cheap to make, but, time consuming. It would've been better to over estimate the amount you needed and have left overs rather than run out and have nothing to offer your guests. If you make too much, you can always send food home with your guests. :)

Cheers!
 
#26 ·
Running out of food at a party is an embarrassing mistake that can easily be avoided.

Portion out your menu based on the number of invited guests and always add 20-30% more. There are two reasons for this. 1) Your head count is never accurate - people always bring an extra friend or someone on the guest list doesn't show up (usually the former); and 2) not everything turns out perfect in the kitchen.

Fries are cheap to make, but, time consuming. It would've been better to over estimate the amount you needed and have left overs rather than run out and have nothing to offer your guests. If you make too much, you can always send food home with your guests. :)

Cheers!
See I disagree. I don't find it embarrassing to run out of food. It's just food, it's not like you ran out of medical supplies. Plus, who likes left over fries? Nobody.
 
#28 ·
I agree 100%. Its not that @koukouvagia is wrong. Its a difference in training and experience. From where I'm coming from, running out of food means the money machine stops. Being a professional restaurant owner, if I hosted a party and ran out of food, even a small, informal gathering, I would be mortified. So, we are trained that its always better to have and not need that to need and not have.

Running out fries in the grand scheme of things is really no big deal. I'm sure no one is sitting at home rocking back and forth on their beds stabbing their little french fries doll while plotting their revenge because the fries ran out.

If the party was fun and everyone had a good time, that's all that matters. :)
 
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