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Homemade French Fries

Category: Misc

Author: The Savvybearcat

Date: 1/1/2007

Rating:

(3.0) by 1 users

Ingredients:

1 lb Beef fat, cut in small pieces
Vegetable oil
1 lb Idaho potatoes
Salt

Instructions:

Here are the results of Chicago Tribune Test Kitchen experiments to
make the best homemade French Fries:

1. To render liquid fat from beef fat, cook it in a heavy saucepan
over low heat, about 40 minutes or more. Discard pieces of fat which
are left over. Add an equal part of vegetable oil to beef fat in pan.

2. Cut unpeeled potatoes into long strips about 1/4- 3/8-inch wide.
Soak in a large bowl of ice water for about 45 minutes. Arrange on
paper towels and carefully pat dry.

3. Heat oil mixture to 365 degrees. Add potatoes in batches so pan
isn't crowded. Fry until they begin to look partially cooked, about
5 minutes. Remove and let oil return to 365 degrees. Return partially
cooked fries and continue cooking until they are crisp and golden, 4
to 5 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel to drain. Sprinkle with salt
and serve immediately.

NOTES FROM THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE TEST KITCHEN: When we asked where to
find the best french fries, no one suggested homemade ones, which
start with fresh potatoes instead of a bag of frozen sticks. Making
french fries from scratch is a mighty effort, raising the question of
whether the end justifies the means, so the Tribune test kitchen
endeavored to find an answer.

With no apologies to nutritionists, we decided to follow the
conventional wisdom that beef fat is the best way to make
good-tasting fries and to try using less saturated vegetable oil. We
got beef fat from the butcher, a big bag of Idaho spuds and a bottle
of vegetable oil to do some experimenting.

Some basic tenets we accepted as truth: The potatoes would be cut by
hand with the peels on. They would be

soaked in ice water for 45 minutes. They would be painstakingly
patted dry. They would be fried twice. The wild cards: What's the
best oil to use? Is it worth all the effort? Beef fat won hands
down-no contest. Beef fat fries were crisp and delicate. They were
not greasy and had a subtle taste. People said it smelled as if we
were cooking Christmas dinner, which we took to mean they were used
to standing rib roast for Christmas, not french fries. Those fries
were gobbled up. On the =============== Reply 26 of Note 1
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Board: FOOD BB Topic: FOOD SOFTWARE Subject: Z-MM POTATO MEGA

To: RNMH52A JANICE MAGUIRE Date:
04/24 From: RNMH52A JANICE MAGUIRE Time:
2:14 PM