PREPARATION 20 minutes REFRIGERATION 1 hour COOKING 20 minutes SERVINGS 4
Ingredients
- 5 to 6 large white potatoes (peeled or unpeeled)
- Vegetable oil, for frying
- 6 slices of bacon
Instructions
- Using a knife or a French fry cutter, cut the potatoes into sticks about 1 cm (½ inch) thick.
- Place them in a large bowl of cold water and let them soak for 30 minutes to 24 hours in the refrigerator. Drain and pat them dry thoroughly with a clean cloth.
- Preheat the frying oil to 150°C (300°F). Line a baking sheet with paper towels.
- Place the bacon slices in the fryer basket and blanch them in the oil for 8 minutes along with half of the potatoes. Watch for splattering. Drain on the paper towel-lined sheet. Let cool and refrigerate for 30 minutes or until the potatoes are cold. Remove the bacon slices and reserve for another use.
- Increase the oil temperature to 180°C (350°F). Line another baking sheet with paper towels.
- Preheat the oven to 95°C (200°F).
- Fry the remaining half of the potatoes in the oil for 2 to 3 minutes or until they are golden and crispy. Watch for splattering. Drain on the second paper towel-lined sheet. Season with salt.
- Keep the fries warm in the oven while you cook the rest of the potatoes.
Additional Notes from the Book
Potatoes We tried several varieties and settled on white potatoes, which are all-purpose and very versatile. However, you can opt for another variety, such as Russet for extra crispy fries, Yukon Gold for its sweet flavor, or red potatoes with firm flesh, which remind us of beef tallow fries.
Soaking This step is important to remove the starch from the potatoes. After cutting them, rinse them and soak them in a bowl of cold water for a minimum of 30 minutes. The potatoes will absorb water and you will get fries that are crispier, with a more uniform golden color and without the grainy texture of the starch.
Smoky Flavor After testing different oils (peanut, olive, canola) and different animal fats (duck fat, lard), we settled on canola oil. It is one of the least expensive oils. Because it has a more neutral taste than the others, we perfumed it with bacon slices. This gives the fries a pleasant smoky flavor, similar to the fries from the past that were made with beef tallow.
Double Frying The recipe is cooked in two stages. First, blanch the potatoes at a low temperature (150°C/300°F) to cook them gently until lightly golden. Wait until they cool and firm up, losing their floury side. Then plunge them again into the hot oil (180°C/350°F), where they will become crispy.
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