How to Make Homemade French Fries
Learning how to make French fries yourself makes all the difference!
There's nothing more satisfying than biting into a warm, crispy, salty French fry. The only way you could make regular French fries even better is knowing how to make homemade French fries! Along with fried chicken, homemade pie, and cheesburgers, French fries have earned their spot in the pantheon of comfort foods.
They might not be the healthiest food out there, but they are definitely one of the most delicious, and they're a real crowd pleaser, too! They're pretty simple to make, too. Below is our favorite method for making homemade French fries -- the double fry French fries method. They come together in no time!
Plus: skip to the end of this article for a few fun facts about French fries! Ever wonder who evented French fries, where they come from, and what makes them so special? Pop some French fries in your deep fryer, and find out!
What You Will Need
3 large russet potatoes
1 quart vegetable oil
Sea salt
Ketchup or other dipping sauces
1. Peel Your Potatoes
2. Slice Lengthwise into Sticks
Place the potato on the flat side and then slice the potato lengthwise into 1/4-inch planks. Stack two of these planks on top of each other, and then slice into 1/4-inch sticks. Typically, the more narrow you slice, the crispier the end product will be. But be careful not to go too thin! You don't want your homemade French fries to fall apart during the frying process.
Pro Tip: Slice 1/4 inch off of one side of the of the potato. This creates a sort of flat edge for your to balance the potato on, and it will help the potato from slipping when you're slicing. No one wants fileted fingers!
3. Place Into Cold Water
Let the potato sticks soak in the water for about 10 minutes. Then rinse the potato sticks, and then place them on baking sheets lined with paper towels and pat them dry. The process of soaking the potatoes before you fry them is to remove some of that excess starch from the surface. If you don't, you'll end up with unwanted potato debris, floating around in your oil!
While you're waiting for your potato sticks to soak, heat oil in a large pot to about 300 degrees F.
4. Fry the Potatoes in Batches
The fries will need to be fried for about 5 minutes; working in smaller batches is easiest. Once the fries have reached that light golden color, remove them from the oil with tongs or a spider basket and place the, onto a baking sheet lined with paper towels.
Let them cool before moving on to the next step!
5. Double Fry Your French Fries
If you're going to may double fry French fries, which we highly recommend, the oil temperature for the second round of frying should be hotter than the first round. We recommend keeping the oil around 350-375 degrees F for the second fry, but you can play around with different temperatures to see what produces the crunch you're looking for.
While you're fries are cooling from their first fry, go ahead and increase the temperature of the oil. When it is ready, fry the potatoes until crispy and golden, about 3-4 minutes, working in batches again.
6. Serve!
Place your fries on a cooling rack placed over a baking sheet. Sprinkle with sea salt and serve with your favorite dipping sauces. These make a great snack to have around for game day, for a quick appetizer, or just to have around to satisfy those comfort food cravings. Here are a few of our favorite restaurant-style dipping sauces. Give them a try:
- Comeback Sauce
- In-n-Out Animal Sauce
- Popeye's Blackened Ranch
- Red Robin's Campfire Sauce
- Chick-fil-A Sauce
- Homemade Sriracha
BONUS: Five Fun Facts About French Fries
- Origin Unknown: While we do know that French fries were invented somewhere in Belgium or France in the late 1600s, stories vary wildly about the precise origins.
- Do Potatoes Cause Leprosy? No, but the French Parliament was convinced that they did in the 1780s, so much so that they completely banned potato growing in France!
- National French Fry Day! French fries have their own holiday -- National French Fry Day, celebrated on July 13th. Will you be celebrating?
- Mega Spud! The Guiness Book of World Records gave the title of largest potato to a monster potato grown in the UK. It weighed just over seven pounds.
- Late Start: McDonald's French fries are one of their most popular sides, but they weren't a part of the original McDonald's menu! The fast food chain didn't start serving them until 1966, a full eleven years after opening.
Up next:
Our 10 Best Fried Chicken Copycat Recipes
What's your favorite dipping sauce for French fries?
Let us know in the comments!
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MartieG
Nov 07, 2019
I cook french fries in an air fryer, much less grease and just as flavorable. My favorite condiment for fries is a rich beef gravy.
bmjscharffe 176234 3
Jan 10, 2019
In your recent offering of the recipe for McDonalds French Fries, it is stated that Late Start McDonald's French fries are one of their most popular sides, but they weren't a part of the original McDonald's menu! The fast food chain didn't start serving them until 1966, a full eleven years after opening. That is not correct. As per the official history of McDonalds In October 1948, after the McDonald brothers realized that most of their profits came from selling hamburgers, they closed down their successful carhop drive-in to establish a streamlined system with a simple menu which consisted of only hamburgers, cheeseburgers, potato chips, coffee, soft drinks, and apple pie.3 After the first year, potato chips and pie were swapped out for french fries and milkshakes. So it was 1949 when the fries were introduced, NOT 1966 as stated in the article. I remember, well, when the first McDonalds franchise opened in Saginaw, Michigan in 1951. The hamburgers were $.15 and fries $.10. Not sure what you may want to do with this tidbit of information, but thought you should know that we subscribers DO read your offerings thoroughly!
Hippie Chick
Sep 07, 2018
French fries are my weakness. I could and have on many occasions even just made them my entire meal. I am a true carboholic. This is a very easy recipe to follow and only uses a few ingredients. I am not sure that I will ever try it because it is just so much easier to open a bag or frozen fries and throw in the oven.
Jim Moriarty
Jul 19, 2018
I've always grilled my "fries". Seriously. Love it. But I'm open to finally frying them.
Mark
Jun 22, 2017
I would eat French fries every day, if I could!
shelfconsciouskati e
Jun 22, 2017
Homemade fries take a lot of work, but they taste great! Not something I would do every week but it's a fun project every once in a while.
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