Who can say they don’t like fries? Especially when they are crispy and tender. Choose the right potatoes, the right oil, and follow our recipe as well as that of Cyril Lignac for fries as you will like them, inevitably.
No more frozen fries! Preparing tasty homemade fries isn’t rocket science. You just need to choose the right potatoes and the right oil. We give you all the tips to succeed for sure. As a bonus, access the magical method of famous chef Cyril Lignac.
Table of Contents
1. Which potatoes to use?
2. Which oil to use?
3. Recipe
4. Some tips
5. Cyril Lignac’s method
Which potatoes to use?
The ideal when you want to make good fries, tender on the inside and crispy on the outside, is to use so-called floury potatoes. The latter has the particularity of having flesh with a large dry matter content which prevents them from absorbing too much oil during cooking.
We will therefore preferably use:
Bintje: potato with pale yellow flesh and skin, Bintje is the most consumed in France.
The Manon: it has a very regular shape and is very yellow in color.
Agria: versatile, the delicious flavor of Agria is also very suitable for all other types of cooking. Its color is dark yellow.
Vitelotte: easily recognizable by its purple color, vitelotte, also called Chinese truffle, gives off a little nutty taste, especially when it is prepared as fries and crisps.
Can also be used: Franceline, Mona Lisa, Nicola, Belle de Fontenay …
Which oil to use?
All Belgians will tell you, real fries are made with animal fat. Beef or pork fat (lard), it is true, brings a very special flavor to potatoes. The only problem, this type of fat is very bad in terms of cholesterol and needs to be replaced with each use.
Less interesting in terms of taste, but also less expensive and less rich in bad cholesterol, vegetable oils are obviously very suitable for cooking French fries. Among these, peanut oil, the alpha-the linoleic acid content of which lends itself particularly well to high cooking temperatures.
It is possible to prepare the fries in olive oil. In this case, the potatoes should be dipped in cold oil and then simmered for about 30 minutes, until the fries are ready.
Whatever oil you use as an oil, it is recommended that you renew it after five to seven frying baths, filtering it between each use if possible.
When cooking, do not immerse too many potatoes each time in the frying bath, as this may drop the temperature by several degrees and miss your fries. So be sure to fry your potatoes in small amounts. Finally, to know when your oil is hot enough, you just need to immerse a small piece of bread in it. The oil is good when small bubbles appear on the surface of the bread.
Recipe
The best fries recipe is undoubtedly that of pont-neuf potatoes. Once cut into strips, immerse your fries in very hot and lightly salted water for a good ten minutes. Make sure to wring them out with absorbent paper, to prevent the water from turning into steam once in the fryer and dissociating the frying oil.
The cooking then takes place in two stages:
First cooking, done in advance: immerse your potatoes in oil (or melted fat) at 130/150 ° C for 10 to 15 minutes, the time that a solid crust forms on the surface, but without letting them brown.
Second cooking: just before serving, immerse the fries in oil heated to 180 ° C (the oil boils but must not smoke), and let them brown until desired.
Some tips
Do like Joël Robuchon and salt your fries in half. The first time with fine salt to fully salt, then with ground coarse salt to stimulate the palate.
Multiply the shapes: matches, washers, large “potato” style quarters, and even garlands. But don’t forget that the thinner the fries, the faster they cook.
Never prepare your fries in advance: they will be dry and floury and will not stand to be reheated.
And why not try the oven fries? Brush your potato sticks with olive oil and Provence herbs, spread them out on a baking sheet, and put them in the oven at around 230 ° C, turning them from time to time.
Drier it is true, these fries are nevertheless healthier and give off a delicious scent of potatoes.
Cyril Lignac’s method
The chef first recommends grapeseed oil for frying which is neutral and excellent for the body. In terms of potatoes, Cyril Lignac offers the Nicola variety cultivated in Europe and more precisely originating in Germany. As for the preparation of the fries, it depends on individual tastes. For a crispy result, cut your fries finely and immerse them directly in the fryer at 190 ° C., first blanch the fries before cooking them. In this way, you will obtain a melting interior and a golden exterior. For seasoning, use salt, pepper with paprika, or curry.
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