Cold Oil French Fries
Cold Oil French Fries. How to make perfectly golden, crisp and tasty french fries starting with cold oil. No need to preheat the fryer!
Today's recipe isn't a recipe at all. It's more of a quick cooking tip to explain the method for making perfectly crisp french fries, starting with cold oil.
I have to admit when I first heard of this technique on a cooking show, I was very skeptical. I really couldn't imagine how this could be done without creating overly greasy french fries.
Wouldn't the potatoes absorb more oil in the cooking process? I like a crispy fry but not one that has the oil soaked beneath the crunchy exterior.
However, when I heard that the technique was pioneered by Michelin-starred French chef Joel Robuchon, I thought there must be something to it.
Cold Oil French Fries from a famous chef.
I have tasted his world famous Pommes Purées at his namesake restaurant in Las Vegas. Those butter loaded silky smooth spuds were just incredible.
The late chef clearly knew his way around a potato, so I knew I could trust this process.
Apparently the science behind it is that potatoes cook more slowly before crisping. This allows the water inside to steam off before a hot oil can seal it inside.
This is very often the cause of french fries going limp. Too much water trapped with the potato starch inside the french fry can cause this.
My result.
The technique was a success in first attempt and both Spouse and I marvelled at just how crispy the fries were. The definitely absorbed less oil and were super soft and fluffy inside.
In my observation, they also tend to stay criper longer while you may be preparing the rest if the meal. I'm not saying to plan to make them and leave to cool for longer than a few minutes, but they did seem to do well on a rack in a warm oven for several minutes.
I almost always use Russet potatoes for French Fries, because if their high starch content, but I have tried this recently using softer Yukon Gold yellow potatoes and the results were very good indeed!
As you can see, we have made them with several meals when testing the technique and they turned out exceptionally well every time.
Give them a try and be sure to let us know what you think in the comments below if you give them a whirl.
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Cold Oil French Fries
Ingredients
- 4 large or 6 medium potatoes (Russett work well) (about 2 lbs or just under 1 kg)
- About 6 cups of canola oil (depends on the size of your fryer)
Instructions
- Peel and cut the potatoes into about ½ inch wide fries. (1 ¼ cm)
- Rinse them in cold water and pat dry with paper towels.
- Add the uncooked fries to the fryer basket or stovetop Dutch Oven (see Notes)
- Drop the basket to the bottom of the fryer.
- Add only enough oil to submerge the cut fries. The same applies to the Dutch oven.
- Turn on the fryer to 375 degrees. (Start with medium high heat for the stovetop method and regulate the burner so that the oil stays at 375 or below on your thermometer readings.) NOTE: THIS IS NOT A WALK AWAY AND LEAVE IT RECIPE. Any fryer recipe requires constant monitoring and supervision for saftey and final quality reasons. Things can go from cooked to burnt in a fryer in just a minute or two.
- Leave the oil to heat until the potatoes begin to bubble and start to fry.
- Let them fry for about 10-12 minutes before shaking the fryer basket to loosen them so they don't stick together. (In the stovetop method, use a silicone spoon or spatula, to very gently stir the fries in the oil. Metal spoons can break the delicate fries at this stage.
- Give them another shake about 5 minutes later, to make sure they are not sticking.
- Watch the fries for until they start to gain some colour. At this point, they will only need 5 minutes or a little longer until an even golden colour is reached.
- Remove the fries from the fryer and drain on paper towels.
- Season lightly with salt while they are still piping hot and serve.
- In most instances the cooking time from when they start to bubble to fully cooked should be 20 minutes or so. This will depend largely in the water content of the particular potato variety used.
Notes
If not making French Fries in a dedicated deep fryer, always use a food thermometer to constantly monitor the oil temperature.
It should stay in the range of 350-375 degrees F. (175°C – 180°C) Any higher is too high.
When making a couple of batches at a time, as you would do with any other method, it's okay to take them out a minute or two early and hold them on a cookie cooling rack while the second batch fries.
When the second batch is fully ready, simply put the first batch back down for two minutes to crisp, and you're ready to serve up to 8 people at a time.
Nutrition Information
Yield
4Serving Size
1Amount Per Serving Calories 286Total Fat 7gSaturated Fat 1gUnsaturated Fat 7gSodium 32mgCarbohydrates 49gFiber 5gSugar 2gProtein 6g
The nutritional information provided is automatically calculated by third party software and is meant as a guideline only. Exact accuracy is not guaranteed. For recipes where all ingredients may not be used entirely, such as those with coatings on meats, or with sauces or dressings for example, calorie & nutritional values per serving will likely be somewhat lower than indicated.
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