Hi Zucchini Runner readers. It’s me, Mr. Zucchini Runner. Mrs. Zucchini Runner has been asking me for YEARS to do a post on my french fries. I finally caved so here it is.
This recipe was pieced together from a few different sites and from trial and error over the years. Full disclosure: I hardly ever make these the same way and they are very time consuming. I think the fact that it takes so long to make these makes them taste even more delicious! Mrs. ZR always says my fries are the best and asks me to make them all the time; so give them a shot and hopefully you’ll enjoy them just as much!
What I have below is the most “official” way to do it but feel free to do whatever works for you. I don’t always soak the fries for as long as this and I don’t always dry them as long either. They still turn out pretty yummy.
So without any further ado, here it goes.
For these you’ll need:
- Russet Potatoes – However many you want! (organic is best)
- 2 TBSP Coconut Oil
- Salt to taste
- Pepper to taste
- Other seasonings to taste
- Large Bowl
- Cookie Sheet
- Kitchen Towels
- Heavy books and/or a single dumbbell, just some heavy things
Find yourself some nice Russet Potatoes. These make the best fries. I’ve used two this time, probably more than we need for the two of us but ah well.
Make sure you have a nice big bowl filled with water.
Cut your potatoes into as even of slices as you can. I have this cool french fry slicer that Mrs. Zucchini Runner bought me. It makes this part WAY easier.
After you’ve sliced your potatoes, immediately put them in the bowl of water. This gets the starch out which is step one in allowing them to get nice and crispy.
After the potatoes are all cut and in the bowl the water will turn milky. I always dump it out and refill it with fresh water. At this point let the potatoes sit in the water for about 20 minutes.
While you wait you can get the next step ready. We need to dry these potatoes off really well! This is the second step to getting your fries nice and crispy. There are plenty of ways to do this, but here’s how I go about it. I grab the pan I’m going to use to bake them, get 4 dish towels out. Two go on the bottom, and two will go on the top.
After the 20 minute soak, dump the water and put the fries in a single layer on the toweled cookie sheet.
Now I put the other two towels on top and I put two of Mrs. Zucchini Runners heavy cooks books on top. And just for good measure I throw an 8 lb weight on top. I let this sit for about an hour and a half. You can do it for longer or shorter, just remember the dryer the potatoes the crispier they’ll be!
Before we go to the next step now’s a good time to pre-heat the oven. Set that sucker to 450°F
For the next step I use the same bowl I had the water in. Make sure it’s dry!
Dump the fries in the bowl. Then we get to make these puppies taste good! I used two tablespoons of coconut oil on these and this time went for Real Salt, seasoned salt (a no MSG kind), and black pepper. I’ve used all sorts of different spices and flavors for these fries. I encourage you to experiment.
Dump the oil on the fries and shake them around in the bowl, then sprinkle on the seasonings and shake them around again.*
Dump the fries on the baking sheet you used to dry them. Make sure you arrange them in a single layer. This is the third step to making sure they get nice and crispy.
Now we throw them into the super hot 450°F oven for 15 minutes.
After 15 minutes take the pan out of the oven and carefully use a spatula (and I always end up just flipping them one by one with my hands) to flip them all over.
Put them back in for another 10-12 minutes and voila! Perfect baked french fries!
*At this point, you can put them in a large plastic zipper bag and store in the fridge to cook for later. We’ve done this before and they still turned out great. Just keep an eye on the cooking time, as it may need slight adjustment.
Yum! The below slideshow will break down all the steps with photos as well.
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