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The average American eats 30lbs of French Fries a year! (Source) I haven’t met a person who doesn’t love the fried potato-ey goodness that is the crispy french fry!
Everyone knows french fries are best when they are fresh out of the oil. Nothing is worse than when you get your food to go and get home to find your fries limp and cold. Making them yourself is the best way to combat this!
Ingredients
- 5lbs Russet potatoes
- 1 TBS Lemon Juice
- Fryer oil of your choice
- Salt and other spices to taste
Instructions
- Cut potatoes into 1/4″ strips. Place them into a large bowl and cover with water – water should be a few inches over the potatoes.
- Add of lemon juice to water and stir. Allow fries to soak for a minimum of 30 minutes. For best results fries should be soaked for 1-2 hours.
- Preheat deep fryer to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Drain water and remove potatoes from the bowl. Dab fries dry with a paper towel. **THIS IS IMPORTANT! Do not add wet fries to hot oil!
- Deep fry handful-sized batches of fries for 3 minutes, shaking frying basket about every 30 seconds to keep fries from sticking together. Remove from oil and drain. Allow fries to return to room temperature.
- Once fries have cooled, return to oil and fry again for about 5 minutes or until golden brown.
- Remove from oil and drain. Sprinkle with salt and serve hot!
- After the first 3 minute cook time (see step 5 above), allow fries to cool to room temperature. Arrange on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. You can layer the fries with parchment paper in between.
- Place in freezer for at least 2 hours, preferably overnight.
- Place frozen fries into freezer safe bags. Remove as much air as possible. Frozen fries can be stored in the freezer for up to 6 months.
- When ready to eat, cook as instructed above for the second cooking time.
Make ahead fries for the freezer
We serve ours hot next to our barbecue pulled pork sandwiches or smothered in chili and cheese.