The Secret to Super Crispy French Fries | ChefSteps

These fries are the crispiest, fluffiest of them all, thanks to the fact that they’re not made from planks of potato; they’re a combo of riced potatoes and cornstarch. They’re basically processed potatoes, a Pringles approach to our classic fries.
This process gives you a leg up on time and convenience. You can use any russets you have around for these. And the cooking process is comparatively streamlined: You just boil ’em til tender, rice them, mix them with starch, let the dough chill and set, then cut it up and get frying. Check out the recipe at ChefSteps: www.chefsteps.com/activities/...
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[@brtopacio]

boil em, mash em, stick em in a bag

[@michaelkukula5926]

Poh-tay-toes!

[@454Casull]

@@michaelkukula5926 What's taters, precious?

[@BiggMo]

Fries should be simple….

[@Yeraus]

Looks delicious and I will definitely try it. However, the 'easy' part is a big lie haha

[@satanismybrother]

I mean. Compared to most chefsteps recipes this is pretty tame.

[@chrissnyder4439]

Seems easy, but definitely time consuming

[@JoeS-NY]

Amazingly easy steps thanks !

[@francoischevalier6056]

Your Awesome! Im already more instructed in awsome fries cooking! Thank you!

[@directorj0841]

와! 이건 무조건 해먹어야 해!! 감사합니다! 내 인생 최고의 레시피!!

[@jungleflame6776]

hey i have a question, lots of recipes recommend washing and soaking the potato fries before cooking in order to remove the potato starch, they say that helps with crispiness. yet here you are adding starch to make the crispy. could you explain? when i prepare the potato should i rinse the starch and then coat them in starch once they dry?

[@JDobermann]

CRRRRRRRRispy, yeah, do it if you are reading this. Im sure is not going to dissapoint you. Chefsteps, Thanks for so many work!

[@cookingfoodfusion]

Waoooh just mouth watering and superb tea time snacks❤❤❤❤❤❤

[@lazeritch11989]

I love Chefsteps. That being said, this is not a recipe for French fries, this is fried mashed potato sticks.

[@GrowingDownUnder]

1. Boil until soft and until they start to fall apart (use starch potatoes not waxy potatoes) 2. While they're soft and basically falling apart place them in the freezer so they become rock hard and don't actually fall apart 3. Deep fry the frozen chips in oil until almost cooked 4. Dry on paper towel and then do a second fry again to make them even crunchier Why does the freezer make a difference? because it allows you to boil the potatoes softer than usual and it makes them hard enough to fry without falling apart. The other reason is when you place frozen food in hot oil it pretty much forces the potato to puff up and you get nice puffy crispy airy chips it's amazing. Basically I took this concept and technique from puffy pastry which uses cold butter to create the puff. The other benefit is you can totally use this technique in an oven as well instead of oil as long as the oven is as hot as the oil is so around 180 celsius or even hotter if you can make it hotter

[@allenmorter0313]

I guess it's close to pomme paillasson, but we've all heard of french fries. Also who cares when it's delicious

[@Letters-from-carmen]

Thanks!

[@PMoney365]

Those look great. Will make them for poutine.

[@Ghanshyam00000]

This is a very informative video this is a smashed potato stick I liked the way you made French fries and potatoes thanks.

[@Lilbrunchie]

Thoughts on freezing a batch of the potato/cornstarch mash, then thawing and cutting for later use? I’d like to batch this recipe if possible to expedite fry making at a later time, but I’m concerned about the potato texture after freezing.

[@bostonbesteats364]

On the website they say it works perfectly.

[@Lilbrunchie]

@@bostonbesteats364thanks!

[@justingarner7163]

Could one use the same process to make cheesy tots??! By adding some grated white cheds or something?

[@JvariW]

OOOUUUUU!!! I like this

[@dysartes]

Is this a reupload? I could've sworn I watched this a little while back.

[@BloomerzUK]

Same!

[@BlueDrumSteam]

It was part of the Steak Frites video

[@13Voodoobilly69]

I was thinking the same thing.

[@stevenjacobs2750]

Indeed it is!

[@bmorepanic]

Please, what is the brand of that pot used to boil the potatoes?

[@Ben-pi1ct]

Le cruset

[@tiacho2893]

I noticed Grant seasoned the boiling water but didn't taste the mash. I'm wondering if seasoning the mash would boost the fries' flavour. And this reminds me of those frozen potato shapes (smiling faces) that are always disappointing when baked. Any well fried potato is magical.

[@chefsteps]

It definitely does season the interior of the fry:)

[@coleary0801]

So just because I don’t know: I see so many recipes where a carb is washed or precooked in some way to remove the excess starch, but then outside starch is added to the product. Does anyone know the culinary/science reason for this? Just seems odd to work hard to remove starch and then add starch back in.

[@chrisl0081234]

Heston Blunethal goes into it, but essentially the science is starch gelatinizes in water. This why starch is used to thicken sauces. Starch when exposed to dry heat breaks down to form dextrins which is why starch can make things crispy. These two properties of starch occur in different conditions and thus adding extra starch to the mashed potatoes gives the water molecule more space to spread out thereby reducing gelatinization. Frying is a dry(more accurately waterless) heating which is why it makes things crispy. Tl;dr starch can do multiple things depending on conditions, excess starch is removed to prevent gelatinization and extra start is added to make stuff crispy

[@Marck1o]

Have you tried just "dehydrate" them in the oil, meaning frying them in low oil temperature for 20min or so and then when they are cooked, and with little water inside, bring temperature very high until golden brown. Works everytime even without the right potato.

[@Marck1o]

and stress free. Peel, cut, throw in the oil. finish

[@klkruger]

THat's the standard way. I am sure he's done it before. Have done that for 50+ years. This is a whole different animal.

[@TraumaChaplain]

Could you brush them with an oil and bake them?

[@dontdoxmebro1780]

Now to get a smiley face mold and make those potato things from Chinese American buffets using this technique

[@ReverendSmoke]

Any reason to not use potato starch if you have it?

[@callum39645]

Potato starch will work perfectly fine. Cornstarch is just more readily available and generally cheaper

[@lindapetersen1800]

I have been doing this with my FF for a long time now !!! It is GREAT like Tony the Tiger says !!!

[@MichaelChoi]

I don’t care what you say but In N Out makes the best soggy french fries and it’s my favorite FTW.

[@dang495]

Thyme Fries when you're having fun!

[@got2bjosh]

For those who didn't watch the steak frites video, here ya SEO go!

[@JayMutzafi]

I was like "i swear i've seen this video a week ago!". This would explain it.

[@88divinegrace]

You can boil them with kombu.

[@marcosalazar5339]

Ooooooof can these be frozen??? Like after the first fry? Because if so, im about to pack a freezer full. Gotta love quick fries

[@aseq2]

I'd say before the first fry?

[@callum39645]

Yes, just have the oil hotter than would be normally.

[@bostonbesteats364]

Yes. I asked on the website

[@rogerbeaulieu4556]

How much cornstarch does he use for the kilo of potatoes?

[@sloth19938]

what would happen if i tried this with baked potato?

[@Blck7]

Potato ricer alternatives? I don’t have one.

[@freelanxe]

I pushed them through a mesh strainer

[@tonyhell234]

so you say you want to keep it super fluffy and to not push it down or it will be dense, but then you proceed to press down hard in the plastic bag to make it dense

[@laurent3506]

Why not using instant mash potatoes in this case, way faster?

[@kdogggggggggggg]

was this not relieased a few weeks bake?

[@dgax65]

So, basically Frispo fast food fries.

[@PVflying]

Cornstarch or potato starch?

[@smoll.miniatures]

Maris piper, wash off the starch, cook in water with vinegar and salt until, almost falling apart, fry at 130 till almost cooked brown , turn up to 170 near the end…

[@Poogoo701]

don't use vinegar it makes the outside tough and not nearly as crispy if you were to not use it. For maximum crisp you should actually use some baking soda in the water.

[@klkruger]

@@Poogoo701 Vinegar doesn't make the outside "tough",. It makes it firm, not the same thing. Baking soda breaks down the structure a bit - good for potatoes that you are then going to roast, not so much for fries.

[@Orionsl59]

wonder what tapioca starch would be like

[@bostonbesteats364]

Different starches have different temperature sensitivities

[@svollensen]

It did disappoint: as soon as I plunged them in the oil, they dissolved into a puree, and they were supposed to be firm enough given that they were out of the freezer.

[@Yeraus]

Sounds like not enough starch, happened to me with falafel once. I feel you. at that time I was devastaded.

[@svollensen]

strange, I really put quite a lot of starch....may try again with even more @@Yeraus

[@Chenbenoweth]

@svollensen. Check 1:30. That could've been it.

[@svollensen]

it boils down to a potential lack of starch...but still, eventually you are mashing it all, so conceptually, frying mashed potatoes should not lead to anything else than fried mashed potatoes. @@Chenbenoweth

[@Chenbenoweth]

@svollensen the point I'm making is water content of possible water logged potatoes based on cut size vs cooking time. Just a thought for you. A water logged potato will absolutely modify the recipe in a manner that could make it "dissolve" when cooked.

[@PeteD]

"make tonight (and have no time for anything else)"

[@mikesoussan]

WHAT HERB DID HE THROW IN AT THE END?

[@JvariW]

Thyme

[@marcjtdc]

silly. just boil them in water salt baking soda then fry them AMAZING!!!!! I don't even pat mine dry.

[@dbfr2017]

This is to French fries what Pringles are to potato chips. For some people, it's perfect! But for others, it's not the same.

[@icycleragon]

​@@Naftooryou can make the same level of fries if not better from just potatoes

[@Marck1o]

Sorry but I only hve 24h to cook some fries, is there any other way to cook french fries faster? Thanks

[@theblobfish9614]

"Even the best beef fat is dirt cheap" the one you have is 18$ for half a pound. Yeah.

[@40nights40daystv]

I’m opening a fry kitchen in a bar and let me tell y’all, just buy frozen fries 💀 it’s legit such a hack and always comes out the best lmao

[@kdogggggggggggg]

whats behind that white door everybody is so careful to not to expose?

[@julianparmenter1637]

Fries are from Belgium, not from France

[@djrydak]

Wow thats so impractical

[@meriembontemps4753]

Si ça c’est des frites de pdt ,alors ,je ne suis plus une belge de Belgique 😢😢😢😢

[@nuwandakoh]

Are these the world's most crispy fries?

[@citrusandseasalt]

Who is gonna try this tonight? lol

[@jayempreem]

keanu reeves

[@0meat]

That's a lot of extra steps, give this a try, 1- microwave your potato till it's baked. 2- chop into fries. 3- fry in your choice of fat. Baking the potato first makes it all nice and flaky and only takes a few minutes.

[@Annhollyshtman]

Coments😂

[@chefjameso]

look super greasy, inside looks gummy and starchy

[@MarkFredrickGravesJr]

I say, anytime you've used starch to make your fries crispy, you've failed.

[@davidf2281]

If you're gunna process them this much you might as well just buy a bag of McCain's or whatever for a dollar and throw them in the frier.

[@JacquelineHD2827]

This video sucks because now I have to go to the store and buy potatoes! Ugh!

[@JacquelineHD2827]

I made them tonight. I just guesstimated off of the video and did not read the recipe. It was hard to get them to the oil. I ended up using a metal solid spatula to get to in at a time, with 8 fries per batch. Okay. They could have been cut thinner, but I don’t see how you’d get them into the oil easily unless they were frozen. They were not just breaking, but kind of falling apart. Next time, I will roll them slightly thinner. I will also do the first fry, finish whatever else I need to do for dinner, and then do the last fry. I needed better timing. Lastly, the press ricer sucks. I had to make my ex-husband do it. I’m upgrading to a food mill for my tiny hands. But they were worth the effort! Totally. I did 4 large russets, and 5people ate most, but not all.

[@michelpoulain8335]

Why make it simple when you can make it complicated🙄

[@Tonyscarface04]

You expected simple?

[@doctorkennydelicious]

I bet theyre really good. But, "really, really easy"? I dont think so.

[@MetaView7]

That's cheating !

[@julienpenders]

There is really better variety's of potato's to go with. For instanse Agria has much better texture, flavour and colour.

[@ppukderahoma]

it looks a little greasy for me plz comment anybody who have tried this recipe

[@YaNKeeR_]

First!

[@lemagreengreen]

These are not fries

[@chefsteps]

No?

[@chefsteps]

They eat and taste like excellent fries:)

[@noproblematallmate]

Far from easy 😂

[@gab.lab.martins]

*chips

[@28kb]

why no double fry?

[@michaelkukula5926]

He does

[@Jack-gn4gl]

You didn't watch