I don't think most people realize that any decent French fry needs to be twice fried. The first frying in done at a lower temperature, which softens the potato and prepares the starchy surface for the second frying's crispification.

Chef John's French Fries

russet potato,

vegetable oil

salt

Soak potatoes in a large bowl of water for about 30 minutes. Pat dry thoroughly with paper towels.


Heat oil in a deep-fryer or large saucepan to 275 degrees F (135 degrees C). Gently add the potatoes in the hot oil for about 5 minutes, stirring and flipping the potatoes occasionally. Remove potatoes from oil with a slotted spoon to drain on paper towel and to cool completely.


Heat oil in a deep-fryer or large saucepan to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Fry the potatoes again until golden brown, 5 to 6 minutes. Blot with a paper towel. Sprinkle with salt to serve.


I gave this only 4 stars simply due to the double deep-frying, which is how I used to make them (like most restaurants do).  Then I discovered simply par-boiling my cut fries, for about 2 minutes, draining them, and then wrapping them in clean dish towels to cool.. the towels absorb all moisture from the potatoes.  Another good tip is, for crispier fries, drain your fried fries in brown paper bags; paper towels tend to soften them, plus it's easier to shake them up with salt in the brown paper bag.

These were perfectly crispy and delicious! ! I did season them with garlic salt and cracked black pepper ..... My 3 year old and husband gobbled them up :)

Best fries I've ever made at home. I will make them like this (double fry) every time .

Quick, easy and delicious. Try par-boiling and chilling before the first fry to make them really fluffy on the inside.

Darling husband bought a french fry cutter at the flea market and was dying to make his own hand cut fries.  This recipe was a great guideline for making crispy fries.  Thanks!

they are good tasting but  3* because 1. what human wants to wait 1 hr for fries? not this one. 2. only good if you like them crunchy. 3. just use peanut oil and fries and all foods taste good regardless. i chopped my potato put in 375*  fried for 10 minutes came out almost identical close enough to not waste the 50 min lol. i did side by side comparison and the difference was the dbl fried had more potato flavor where as my single fried was more greasy. if you dislike grease perhaps frying is not for you.  i like my fries soft like the chip wagons. canadian here tho we are different! poutines don't come with crunchy fries . also this method makes them extremely brown meh aesthetically not appealing.  we are all different to each his\her own

Double-frying makes all the difference!  I took advice from other recipes on this site and added sugar to the water for extra crispyness.  Also, I use peanut oil - it's more expensive but tastes much better (in my opinion).  I will definitely use this method again.

I am quite the newbie at fried foods. I REALLY like to stick to the baked version, but baked just isn't the same sometimes. This is a GREAT recipe- but I seemed to have a bit of difficulty with it...maybe it was just me?? Soaking the spuds before frying is a MUST! Takes most of the starch out & allows for the taters to seep up the oil (which is unhealthy, but yummy)! Double frying seems to be the key- wonderful the first round on a lower temp, but I ran into problems on the phase 2 of frying on 350 degree is... the alloted time noted by the chef was 5-6 min. on 350 degrees. I had mine in there at that temp for only 3-4 minutes and they were already turniing crispy & VERY brown (maybe I cut too thin since we like shoestring fires?). I was looking for fried you'd see more at one of the deep fried fast food resteraunts- so if you are looking for that, I suggesst more of a frying time on the 1st round, less on the second & keeping an eye on it to make sure it isn't turnng CRISPY/BROWN deep brown. 
All recipes can be "perfect" by trial & error. this one, needs more time on the phase 1 of frying and less time on the phase 2 at a higher temp, keeping a close eye. But, thank you, Chef John! Great one to start (and maybe my deep fryer is different than what was suggested??) Just TRY it! Doesn't hurt to try- trial & error makes perfection. :)

My mother (and me) was born in Belgium.  She always made her French fries like this. I'm 68 and I'm still making my fries this way - nothing better than the old "tried and true" recipes, for sure!

chef john's french fries

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Total: 50 minutes

Servings: 2

Cost: $3.43 /serving

Author : Chef John

Ingredients

Instructions

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