If you have kids, you will know one of their favorite side dishes for any meal is French Fries, so let's take it to the next level and use real potatoes to make crispy, mouthwatering homemade French Fries that you can feel good about serving. Indulge in the epitome of comfort food bliss from hand-crafted and maybe homegrown potatoes as they are transformed to golden, perfectly crispy fries with tender interiors. Whether enjoyed as a savory snack or a satisfying side dish, these fries elevate any meal to extraordinary heights while reminding you of food truck fries that just hit the spot. Let's celebrate taking an average potato and creating a high quality, simple French fry that will have you wondering why you ever settled for frozen fries to begin with.
Equipment
- Vegetable chopper optional but ideal for making fast fries
Ingredients
- 6 large potatoes Russet or red skin are best
- 4 tbsp lard, bacon grease or your favorite oil
- salt to taste
Instructions
- Thoroughly wash your potatoes (Red, White or Russet). If you want to remove the skin, you can peel them, but we love to leave the skins on them if they are home-grown.
- If you have a handy vegetable chopper, choose the largest fry blade and chop your potatoes. If you don't have a vegetable chopper you will just have to cut your potatoes into long slices like French fries or wedges.
- This is the most important step. Once your potatoes are sliced, soak them in a bowl of cool water for a minimum of 30 minutes or up to 6 hours. This step removes the starch from the potatoes so they crisp up when baking.
- Pre heat your oven to 400 °F
- After soaking, strain your fries and place in a single layer on a cookie sheet. Add the lard, bacon grease or your choice of oil and sprinkle with sea salt. See notes tips for additional seasoning ideas.
- Bake in a preheated oven for 25 minutes. Flipping halfway. Fries should be crisp and golden when done. Sprinkle with a little more salt and serve with your favorite dip.
Notes
- Get creative with your seasonings by adding garlic and parmesan cheese, dill weed, or some homemade ranch seasoning to change up the flavor.
- Smoked paprika and sea salt are the perfect seasoning to add and pair with a pulled pork or BBQ chicken
- Want to make extra fries for next time? After soaking your fries, pat them dry and freeze them in a single layer on a baking sheet. Once frozen, scrape them off the cookie sheet, and put them in a zip lock bag. When you are ready to bake them, take them out of the freezer, rinse them off under cold water but don’t thaw them. Cook from frozen using the above cooking method, adjusting cooking time by adding 10 minutes.
- Give your “fries” a different look by making wedges or cubes for hash browns. Just remember to soak them in water first to get the same result.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!