How to Make French Fries Almost As Good As McDonalds

McDonald's is consistently voted to have the best fast food fries. No other fast food restaurant chain comes close. Here is my version of getting their special taste and crunch. It's work to make them, but they are significantly cheaper to make and home, and you'll never get a bunch of cold hard fries that have been sitting around too long.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Oil that heats to 400 degrees F without too much smoking, such as canola or vegetable shortening.
• Deep fryer or sauce pan deep enough to hold oil and completely submerged fries
• Slotted spoon or fry basket to remove fries from oil
• 1 to 2 Russet potatoes per person, cut in shoestring fashion
• Beef Bouillon cubes
• Popcorn or Sea Salt

1. Dissolve bouillon cubes in water as described on their package. Make enough to submerge cut potatoes in completely.

2. Peel potatoes and cut in shoestring fashion. Fries should be about quarter by a quarter in size. Immediately submerge in bouillon so that potatoes aren't exposed to air and turn that nasty gray color.

3. Peel potatoes and cut in shoestring fashion. Fries should be about 1/4 by 1/4 inch in size. Immediately submerge in bouillon so that potatoes aren't exposed to air and turn that nasty gray color.

4. Place your bowel of submerged fries in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to 2 hours. Drain off liquid and discard. Pat fries dry with paper towels or dish towel.

5. Heat oil to 375-400 degrees F. Add fries in small batches so that the oil temperature doesn't drop too much when added. Fry them for roughly 2 minutes, being sure you remove them if they start to turn brown. Remove and drain on paper towels, then place the fries back in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

6. Reheat the oil, adding more if needed. Add the potatoes and fry a second time, but this time frying until they turn that nice shade of golden brown we all know and love.

7. Remove from oil and drain on paper towels, seasoning with salt. Be sure to taste test them first because the bouillon adds a lot of salt already.

Tips & Warnings

• The beef bouillon adds flavoring that makes it seem as though you used beef lard to fry the potatoes. Lard is too unhealthy a fat, so McDonald's stopped using it and switched to vegetable oil and beef flavorings, which is where I got my idea to use the bouillon. Some people have tried using just a little lard added to the vegetable oil, but this recipe is healthier.
• Be careful adding the potatoes to hot oil. Water rapidly boils off and you can get a steam burn or be hit with splattering oil.

[vintage]

on 9/14/2009 hmm, fries... good article

[tachic]

on 7/13/2009 I love McDonalds fries!