I have a deep, dark confession to make today…
As I’ve progressed along in my read food journey, I’ve noticed that my taste buds have changed. I’ve gradually lost my cravings for many of my once-loved processed food favorites, and I’m pleased to report that my palate has happily adjusted to fresh ingredients and flavorful whole foods.
However.
There is one “junk food” that I still love just as much as ever.
French fries.
And not just any french fries– I still adore the ones that come from America’s favorite fast-food chain (you know, the one with the big yellowish arches…)
But those delicious sticks of potato-perfection are fried in a canola/soybean oil blend… And I definitely try to avoid processed vegetable oils…
Thankfully, french fries don’t have to be junk food if you make them with the proper ingredients. Wanna know the secret to perfect fries?
Beef tallow.
In fact, that certain fast-food chain referenced above used to cook their fries in beef tallow, until they sadly switched to the icky vegetable oils in 1990.
Did you know that, contrary to popular belief, beef tallow is actually a “good” fat? More and more evidence is popping up, showing us that animals fats (like tallow) are actually better for us than modern industrial oil alternatives. Lard is back, baby!
(You can easily render your own tallow at home– check out my beef tallow tutorial for all the details.)
Now, I like oven fries too (the kind you stick on a cookie sheet and bake in the oven). BUT. Sometimes only a true-blue fried French fry will do, and that is where these babies come in.
How to Make French Fries at Home
Ingredients:
(There aren’t really precise measurements for this– you’ll just have to eyeball this one according to what you have on hand.)
- Potatoes (You can use any kind, but I particularly love using my homegrown Yukon Golds. I usually use 4-6 potatoes for my small family.)
- Cold water (optional)
- Beef Tallow OR Lard (see my note below for other fat options)
- Sea Salt (I use this one)
Instructions:
Cut the potatoes (peeled or unpeeled– your choice) into sticks or wedges. Keep in mind that the thicker they are, the longer they will take to fry.
Place the potato sticks in a bowl and cover with cold water. Allow the potatoes to soak for about an hour.
Once you are ready to fry, place the beef tallow in a deep stockpot (enough for there to be 3-4 inches of liquid fat once it melts) and heat it to approximately 350 degrees.
Remove the potatoes from the water and pat them dry. (I usually just use a clean kitchen towel to do this, although paper towels work as well.)
Carefully place the potato sticks into the hot oil. Do not fry the entire batch at once– you’ll need to do several, smaller batches for the best result.
It takes anywhere from 5-10 minutes per batch, depending on how crunchy you prefer your fries and how thickly they are cut. (I like softer fries, while my hubby prefers them nice and crunchy.)
Stir them occasionally and watch for them to turn that lovely shade of golden brown. If you aren’t sure if they are ready or not, taste-testing is best way to check. (And it’s also one of the perks of being the cook…)
Once they are finished, remove them from the hot oil and place on a paper-towel lined baking sheet. Generously toss with sea salt and serve immediately.
Kitchen Notes:
- If you don’t have lard or tallow, I’ve heard that palm shortening is another healthy fat that is stable at high temperatures (although it won’t have the lovely “beefy” undertone of the tallow….)
- It’s thought that soaking the potatoes in water helps the end result to be crispier. (I think it has something to do with the starch.) I’ve had great results using this method, but it’s not absolutely necessary. If you find yourself short on time, just skip that step.
- I’m sure a home-fryer like this one would work for this recipe. However since I don’t have one, I’ve found that a deep stockpot works just as well.
- I also don’t have a frying thermometer, so I just experiment until I find the right temp. I’ll often place one “sacrifice” fry in the oil as it heats up. Once it starts sizzling, I know it’s ready.
- Be careful not to overload the pot– stick with smaller batches. A crowded pot takes forever to fry, and they are more prone to be soggy.
- These do not store well– you’ll have to eat them all right away. (I’m so sorry. ;))
- I hope you have better self-control than I do, because I usually can’t stop myself from devouring them while I wait for the remaining batches to finish…
Enjoy your homemade fries with some grassfed burgers and a generous side of ketchup. Who says healthy food has to be boring?
PrintThe Best Homemade French Fries. Ever.
Ingredients
- Potatoes (I use 4-5 Yukon Golds for my small family)
- Cold water (optional)
- Beef Tallow OR Lard
- Sea Salt (I use this one)
Instructions
- Cut potatoes (peeled or unpeeled) into sticks or wedges
- Place potato sticks in a bowl
- Cover with cold water
- Allow potatoes to soak for about one hour.
- When ready to fry, place enough beef tallow in deep stockpot to equal 3-4 inches when melted
- Heat to approximately 350 degrees
- Remove potatoes from the water
- Pat dry (a clean kitchen towel works)
- Carefully place some of the potato sticks into hot oil
- You’ll need to do several, smaller batches for best results
- It takes 5-10 minutes per batch, depending how thickly cut they are and how crunchy you like them (I like softer fries, hubby prefers crunchy)
- Stir occasionally and watch for that lovely shade of golden brown
- Taste-test
- Once finished, remove from hot oil and place on paper-towel lined baking sheet
- Generously toss with sea salt and serve immediately
They look delicious!!! Homemade fries are the best!:)
I use only russet potatoes and soaked them for several hours or over night. Soaking the potatoes removes starches and allows the sugars to come through over the outer surfaces, thus giving colour and crisp to the fries. Blanching is a must, remove from water and blanch fries for 3-5 minutes at 300-325. Place them back into a container and into the fridge to cool down completely. Once cool cook to order, sprinkle with pink or course salt. Definitely cook in tallow, either beef or duck. Prep may seem extensive but if you do large quantities at one time you can portion them into servings and freeze for later, I use a “Food Saver” vacuum system. When you want fries, just pull them from the freezer and your good to go!
A suggestion for crispier, better tasting, less oily fries: Cook the fries as instructed above for about 2 -3 minutes, then take them out and allow the oil to drain back into your fryer for 5 minutes while keeping the oil at cooking temp. After the 5 min wait, drop the fries back into the oil and finish cooking.
I have heard of the double-frying technique– I think I’ll have to give it a shot!
We do the double fry method and love the result!
Double fry is the only way to go
Yes! Pommes Frites are only made correctly by first blanching in cooler oil, say 325, until tender but not brown, Remove and drain. Then you raise the temp to about 375 to fry and brown. Thats why true Pommes Frites are the best I typically use russets for best results. This is a quick fix recipe, Thank You!
Hey!
It’s nice to see fries done right! I would like to mention that the way we get good crispy fries is to fry them for about 5 minutes, remove and drain and then when they have all gone through once, re-fry them for another 5 mins and they will be nice and crispy on the outside and soft and grainy in the inside. They can also be frozen after the initial frying, that’s how it’s done commercially, just not with good fat.
Thanks again, it’s a nice post.
Ooooh– good idea on the freezing. I hadn’t thought of that!
I’ve never used commercial frozen french fries–so if I were to freeze them as you mentioned, would I bake them or re-deep fry them when I’m ready to use them?
Yum! I love good french fries with a cheeseburger. Grass fed isn’t an option for us yet, pricewise, but I’m working on it. 🙂
Dottie, store bought grass fed is cost prohibitive but if you can cow share with friends and family, I’m putting my half cow in the freezer every year for $5.10-$5.25 per lb. We split that cow between 4 households. Only must have, labeling by your butcher needs to have weight on each package.
Dottie – You can pick up grass-fed hamburger at Aldi (across the USA) for $5.99 per lb. We have loved it but now get it for about the same price with ButcherBox.com. Try one of those locations.
These look amazing! I usually bake our fries, but I think I need to try this sometime with the lard we have. I’ve never tried soaking the potatoes but heard about that recently. Worth a shot! I’m sure the family won’t mind being guinea pigs. Might try the refrying technique, too. Looks like a popular suggestion!
If this is in a pot/pan you use often, what do you do with the lard/oil that you’ve just soiled with potatoes? That’s my big problem. I don’t want to waste the oil but not sure what to do with the used stuff.
Good question Allison- I meant to mention this in my post. I will pour my “used” tallow back into a jar while it’s still warm and re-use it next time.
How many times can a person re-use the oil for deep frying?
We usually strain our oil and keep in jar. If you keep refrigerated, it’ll last longer. You can usually tell by smell when its ready to throw out. Like maybe 8-10 times if French fries. If its battered food and you can strain most of food out of it, 3-5 times. This is about what we do. Not sure if its correct or not.
Those look absolutely DELICIOUS! Wow! Thank you for sharing how you do this. I don’t know how to make homemade fries… that actually taste as good as the ones you eat out.
And this is totally off topic, but did you ever do a post about your finished kitchen cabinets that you painted? I’ve been wondering! 🙂
Blessings,
Janet
Ha- good question Janet! I am still finishing up my cabinets– but the post is coming– promise! 🙂
These look so good! And they remind me about the lard I’ve been planning to render…must get on that!
The big yellow arches used to fry their french fries in beef tallow. They stopped in 1983. Their fries used to be out of this world until then. They took the bad advice to stop using animal fat because IT WAS UNHEALTHY> Boy people sure did fall for that lie.
Animal fat can be “washed” when it gets dirty from cooking. Add water and boil, allow to cool. Clean tallow/lard hardens on the top. Scrap off dirty underside and discard.
Good tip Edith– thanks for sharing!
Awesome idea! And obvious now that you mention it 🙂 Lol. I had been told that if you plan on saving any oil/fat/grease then pour it through a filter (many layers of cheesecloth or a coffee filter) to remove food particles, which can go bad causing bacteria growth and the oil to go rancid faster. Also, we always refrigerate used oil/fat/grease as an extra precaution.
When I was growing up my mom said you could ‘clean’ the oil by frying a potato to remove residual flavors left by other foods. So other than the solids that might collect, there shouldn’t be any problem using the fat again after frying potatoes.
You are very welcome.
Just to let you know that while fries like these do not keep well, if you DO have leftovers put them in a frittata with ham and a good cheese, and they will make that spanish dish a wonderful thing. Keep it organic. If you want some pointers I will be happy to tell you how I do this.
What an AWESOME idea Joel! I love frittatas. 🙂
I have TONS of home-rendered tallow I use for soap, but I never thought of using it for french fries! What a great idea! : )
Awesome direction and I’m going to try and make some fries tonight!
Enjoy Andy!
Thanks and was awesome! Really the best fries I’ve had in a long time and also easy to make.
Good post. Homemade French fries may not be considered junk food. Thanks for the post.
Just came across this web site. There is a difference between cultures here. Born in London, England, I now reside between Toronto and Bangkok. We have chips, not the thin crispy things in bags for snacks, which are slightly different from your French fries, which are much thinner. French fries and chips can be cooked only once and that is traditional. At fish and chip shops, traditionally, beef fat, known as :suet” was used. Now, regretfully many now use “other” stuff. As an ex-chef, may I say comments and suggestions are generally good. I, though. still make many goodies from suet, such as cakes, puddings, pies, etc. It has a higher melting point than most other products and produces great food. (I never use lard due to personal preference and beliefs.) Why am I giving so much information? Well, I have attached a recipe that is even better than the one(s) suggested. Give it a try, although it does take longer that the usual “fast” style developed in your country and now around the world. Thanks for reading and hopefully trying.
‘nuf sed. Plamuk aka travellingchef
Put the cut chips into a bowl under running water for 5 minutes to wash excess starch off. Place 2 litres/2 quarts (Imperial measure) of cold tap water into a large saucepan and add the potatoes. Place the pan over a medium heat and simmer until the chips are almost falling apart (approximately 20–30 minutes)
Carefully remove the potatoes from the water and place them on a cooling rack to dry out. Place the rack in the freezer for at least 1 hour to remove more moisture. Heat a deep-fat fryer or a deep pan no more than half filled with oil (to a depth of around 10 cm/4”) to 130C/265F. Add in the chips in small batches and fry until a light crust forms. Remove from the oil and drain on paper towels. Put the potatoes on a cooling rack and place in the freezer for at least 1 hour. (If you do not want to cook and serve immediately, cover the chips after they are frozen and they will keep for 3 days.)
Heat the oil in the deep-fat fryer or deep pan to 180C/356F and fry the chips until golden. Drain, sprinkle with salt and serve.
plamuk aka travellingchef
You can make your fries ahead of time, and freeze them. Before cutting the potatoes, bake them, until they are about 3/4 of the way done, then refrigerate for 24 hours. After 24 hours peel and slice into fries, then put them. On a cookie sheet in the freezer until they freeze up a bit, after that just bag them up to store them, then just take out the amount needed and fry them up, the fries are awesome this way, i have been told they will keep for months this way, but I dont know for sure, ( they don’t last that long in our home)
I saw in a previous comment that you say the tallow can be re-used, how many times can it be re-used for this type of frying? Once or more, and if more, how do you tell? Thanks
I’ve used mine 6-7 times! (For frying the same foods, as it does start to taste like potatoes, etc, after a while)
I have fat that I skimmed off from making beef bone broth. Can I use that? It seems to be similar to the wet method
That can work, if you have enough of it.
if you reuse tallow to frying is’nt the tallow color will turn into black or dark?
Tallow/lard, or any oil will become black, or at least very dark, when it is used too much (it is picking up bits of the food being fried and that food is burned after reuse), or is burned. When it turns color, it’s done, and needs to be replaced. Also beware of using lard or any oil that has been stored for long periods that has been used. It will become rancid, and shouldn’t be used for food.
Ok, I’ll admit my husband spoils me and makes the best homemade fries. I like them crunchy so he double fries them. This is a treat and doesn’t happen very often but when it does, they are amazingly delicious.
Hi Charlene, I’m Belgium, where the best fries are maked in the world, but the are called french fries:your husband do it on the right way:) you must always do a double fries first time on a lower heat 160°C 4 min.then takes them out the pot,do so with all the fries ( when all done for the first backing, let them wait and set heat higher 180°C for the second fries, they only need a 2 or 3 min backing time, and also it takes less time to bring all the fries on the table.the are very crunchy that way and soft inside.
Rose – I agree with you …. as my husband is Dutch and he cooks fries the same way as you do. They are great tasting! Thanks for sharing.
Gee. I have never asked for the tallow when we have a cow processed. What exactly is tallow? Is it the fat trimmed off the outside? Or is it kidney, heart fat? Is that also called “leaf fat”? We normally slaughter a lame cow, rather than send to auction. 2-8 years old. Not sure if older cow fat will taste good? THANKS.
Nice recipe. I don’t use coconut oil because I’m allergic. Never thought about using lard. Will have to try it. What would you use instead of sea salt can’t use that because hubby is allergic?
Pink salt? Himalayan
It is so funny to read this particular blog in light of what I know, as a former Owner/Operator of that particular National chain, which is: All the yellowish arches fries were made with lard, and only lard, until the Food Police made it impossible for them to continue to do business using that incredible, natural, best-pastry-ingredient-ever fat. They were literally bullied into changing to that soy mix oil, forever ruining the best fries on the planet. That was then; this is now. Have you tried just spritzing your fries with EVO oil, then baking them? Sprinkle a little salt on when they come out of the oven. Better yet, choose a favorite seasoning like a steak rub/blend, salt, pepper, onion, garlic (let your imagination go wild) sprinkling liberally after spritzing with olive oil, then baking them? (400 degrees, 20 minutes for sweet potatoes, turning half way through baking time) This works wonderfully, too, for sweet potato fries, for those of you who are unable to eat regular potatoes and who haven’t access to a deep fat fryer, or don’t want the added heavy fat.
Oh, by the way? The real secret to those Golden… fries is that they are parboiled before flash freezing them for shipping. In the old days they were cut up at the store, parboiled, drained, and dropped in the hot lard just before serving to a very happy clientele. Super yummy!
Sorry, I misstated: NOT parboiled, but blanched, however the “traveling chef” made that sound like a really interesting option. I think I’m going to pull some lard out of the freezer and give this a try, since you mentioned using your stock pot. I’m going to try it with sweet potatoes. Allergies… 🙂
If I’d read through your post, Jill, I’d have realized that you included baking the fries. Great blog. Love reading it. I’m not a homesteader but am always dreaming of doing it. I certainly have acreage but the energy….?” I especially enjoyed your time management topic this week from your newsletter.
It’s five AM, I’m heading to the kitchen with a 50 lb bag of russets on my shoulder. I dump them into the skinner, a nasty looking machine that grinds the outer surface of the spuds. If you forget what you are doing, you end up with golf balls!
One by one, the potatoes go through the french slicer. Nope, don’t wash them, just right into the Fry-o-Lator for 20-30 minutes at 250 to 275 degrees for the pre-fry.
The fries are laid out on a hotel sheet, 13 X 19 or so, and bundled into ‘servings.’ From there the fries go into the walk-in cooler.
When the lunch hour rush hits, the sheet comes out and the cook tosses a serving into the Fry-o-Lator, now at 375 degrees, for less than five minutes to give the fries that perfect brown effect.
We called it “double down,” but it’s similar to twice cooking. We are also talking the mid 60s, so the technique is not new.
Were the fries good? None better!
It’s “palate”, not “palette”.
Whoops! Thanks for pointing that out. Fixed! 🙂
This is a fantastic recipe that I have used innumerable times!
I love tallow for so many different things that when I wrote my first blog series: Tallow is Awesome! I had to include your article in my 10+ Awesome Ways to Use Tallow post 🙂
Thank you for sharing such useful and intelligent content!
I’m heading to the kitchen with a 50 lb bag of russets on my shoulder
I first heard of cooking french fries in beef fat in Herter’s Bull Cook and Authentic Historical Recipes and Practices, and that was in the 1960’s. Also when I was growing up in the 50’s and 60’s my mother always kept a can on the range to keep bacon fat or any other rendered animal fat in and when you got ready to fry something you just dipped a tablespoon or two into your cast iron skillet and made some of the tastiest dishes.
Another method I have found is to microwave your potatoes until they are about 3/4 cooked (in my microwave I usually cook them for 4 minutes instead of 6) cut them into fries and then deep fry them and they only need to fry for 2 to 3 minutes and brown beautifully. Interesting website.