Fried Potatoes-Help!

[Deborah]

My Mom made the best fried potatoes-a feast in themselves. Both raw fried slices and from sliced boiled potatoes.
When I try, the boiled ones wind up gray and greasy, and the raw slices too brown and greasy.
Somebody please teach me how to cook both raw and boiled so I can get some really good results!

[Gerardo]

I can help you with fries. Cut and rinse thoroughly so they don't stick. Allow water to drain well, otherwise you get a grease-fire if they go wet into really hot oil. Canola/Vegetable oil works great. The thinner the slices (think In'n'Out), the faster they'll cook and the quicker they will lose heat once they are done. The thick slices (steak fries) take a little longer, but are worth it.

Two schools. One says throw them in, shake periodically, remove from oil, allow to sit for a few mins, then return to oil for finishing. This produces excellent fries, but is somewhat cumbersome. Oil temp stays the same. You can alternate batches, 1st, 2nd, 1st, 2nd, etc. About 10 mins each cycle.

The other says you put em in with low temp oil, increase the heat accordingly, then ramp back down. Total cooking time can be as long as 20 mins for that perfect golden brown from Russets. Low stress, all you have to do is use a timer, and increase flame. 10 mins low-med heat. 10 mins med-high. 5 mins med to finish them.

Both will produce well.

The sliced boiled is a different animal. And I'll let others address it.

[zipcode]

Great tip about frying them twice, will try that sometime.

Also, it's important that you use the same potato variety as your mom. I had fried bought potatoes that were just plain bad.

[ginger2778]

They are so delicious, and while they aren't idiot proof, I would say they are idiot resistant!
Cut washed potatos longitudinally into 6 wedges, than drizzle lightly with olive oil, toss to coat well.
Put them on to a cookie sheet, flat cut side touching sheet in a single layer. Then season with fresh cracked pepper and very light sea salt, and I like fresh chopped rosemary too. The olive oil makes the seasoning stick.
Cook at 425 in oven for 25-30 minutes ontil brown. They come out so crunchy, non greasy, delicious!
Best part- no frying oil pan mess.

[clkeiper]

Did your mom cook on cast iron? did she use lard or bacon grease? those factors are huge when making fried food. It may not have been the potatoes, but the tools she used to get them made.

Start with a hot pan and hot oil/grease, too.

[JamesL]

When boiling you need to add 1 tbs of vinegar per quart of water.
Internet food God Kenji does the science -
http://aht.seriouseats.com/archives/...nch-fries.html

[Worth1]

You need to keep a live toad in the kitchen to bring good luck.

Worth

[jillian]

Originally Posted by clkeiper

Did your mom cook on cast iron? did she use lard or bacon grease? those factors are huge when making fried food. It may not have been the potatoes, but the tools she used to get them made.

Start with a hot pan and hot oil/grease, too.

I agree, cast iron is the secret!

[Misfit]

If you're referring to homefries, fried potato slices that have some crunch. High heat is the trick; you will only have to turn them once. Putting a weight on top will help as well.

-Jimmy

[Worth1]

I looked at the the link and saw the guy was trying to make McDonald's french fries.
They are the worst fries I have ever had.

I like what they call Belgian fries and I had no idea that is what I was making.
Growing up all we had was fries cooked in a skillet.
They are known today as German fried potatoes and done right take a long time.
Strangely enough there has been only four places I have seen them done right in the USA.
My mothers house my house and two authentic German restaurants.
Growing up as a young kitchen slave at home was how I learned.

But to the so called french fries or fried potato this is what I have found through many batches of them careful observation and experimentation.

Number one you need fresh potatoes.
The starch in potatoes will start to break down into sugar they longer they keep.
Number two cut the potatoes around 3/8 thick.
Soak in water drain and dry before frying, I like to use fruit fresh in the water.
That is where the acid comes from.
Fry at low heat around 300 to 320 degrees until they just start to break easily, in other words cooked but not browned.
Let cool all the way down on the counter sometimes I put them in the refrigerator.
Now here comes the tricky part.
You have to flash fry them a second time.
Some people say around 375.

Some people think it is burdensome to do this but the pay off is tremendous.
You wont always get it right but it will be better than soggy greasy fries.
I have found the trick is to get as much of the moisture out of the potato as you can the first time around without browning them.
This is where the excess sugar comes in and why you need fresh potatoes.

Experiment, potatoes are cheap dont over load the fryer and use enough oil for the fries to swim in.
Play around with it keep records in your mind or on paper of failures and try to figure out what you did wrong or any other variable.
This is how I figured out the old potato and sugar thing.
Cooking is like anything else if you keep failing dont keep doing the same thing or you will always fail.
If your car slides out of a turn at 60 slow down to 50.

A few thoughts on timing and serving guests or family members.
I cannot tell you how many times I have heard or seen people say they cant do certain things when serving other people.
Like eat at the same time as others.
They will either end up cooking everything and some of it sits and gets soggy or cold while other things are being cooked.
Some of it you would think would be common sense but it isn't.
This is where pre-frying and twice cooking potatoes come into their own.
One thing to remember you are the cook regardless of whether you are a woman or a man.
You always make sure everyone is served first before you eat when it comes to certain things.
Ask everyone how they like their steak and put the more well done ones on first.
If someone asks to help give them a job to do like cleaning prepping or cooking.

By pre-cooking/frying the fries you can slap out enough fries to feed 10 people from one skillet in less than 15 minutes.
You can do this prep work at any time of the day when your not busy and have them ready for that evening.

Worth

[jillian]

This video is pretty much how i do mine, i use cast iron which gets them really crispy. Covering as instructed gets them cooked through before they brown. I add some bacon fat to the butter, and I always throw in a chopped onion. Now I am going to get out my cast iron pan, yum!

http://allrecipes.com/video/4483/qui...sy-home-fries/

[Worth1]

Originally Posted by jillian

This video is pretty much how i do mine, i use cast iron which gets them really crispy. Covering as instructed gets them cooked through before they brown. I add some bacon fat to the butter, and I always throw in a chopped onion. Now I am going to get out my cast iron pan, yum!

http://allrecipes.com/video/4483/qui...sy-home-fries/

Those are close to what they call German fried potatoes AKA home fries/hobo fries.
Lard sliced red potatoes onion and bacon.
Put in skillet fried with lid on till they start to break down.
Take lid off add more lard if needed cook slowly until all of the moisture is out and they start to get crispy on the bottom turn over several times.
What you will end up with is little crispy decomposed potato with the rest of the potato.
You know they are ready when the oil starts to run back out of them.
It can take close to an hour to do right.

I spent close to 30 years eating them and now I almost never eat them for obvious reasons.
Lunch today one egg easy over cooked in EVOO and sardines.

Worth

[Deborah]

I'm reading these responses with great interest and I know I'll go through them again to "study" what you've all said. I miss my Mom, her cooking, her love and everything about her and so you can imagine how much I appreciate your kindness.
My Mom DID use cast iron ! I hadn't thought of that. And good Russet potatoes. She didn't soak or rinse other than the after peeling rinse.
Editing to add: My Mom always used Crisco. Remember, this was in the 1960's.

[Worth1]

Crispy fries.
I had to hit them with the fryer three times to get them right.
They were first cooked today at noon for supper tonight.
Worth
IMG_20151027_5988.jpg

[Deborah]

How did you heat them up for supper? Microwave?