The Crispiest Homemade French Fries

When I first endeavored to make homemade French fries, I thought that I did my research. I was taking forever with them. Soaking for half and hour in water. Double frying at specific temperatures. And they would come out of the oil crispy! For approximately 5 seconds total. After that, they would immediate get soggy.

Little did I know, I was missing crucial step: simmering in vinegar water. So let's get into it.

Jump to:

• Why You'll Love this Recipe
• Why Does the Vinegar Trick Work for Fries?
• Ingredients:
• How to Make the Crispiest French Fries
• Tips and Tricks
• More Great Sides
• 📖 Recipe

Why You'll Love this Recipe

• Perfect crispiness: The vinegar water helps remove starch, ensuring fries stay crispy long after frying. THIS IS THE KEY TO THE RECIPE!
• Simple steps: Easy-to-follow instructions make this recipe accessible for any home cook.
• Restaurant-quality: These fries have a professional touch, perfect for impressing friends and family.
• Tender inside: The simmering and double-frying method creates a tender interior.
• Versatile side: Great with burgers, sandwiches, or on their own with your favorite dipping sauce.

Why Does the Vinegar Trick Work for Fries?

After many, many failed attempts to get French fires get crispy, and stay crispy - I went back to the drawing board. Finally, I stumbled across Recipe Tin Eats - which was my unlock for crispy fries. She fully says that she got this method from The Food Lab - a book by J.Kenjui Lopez Alt. But let's get into why the vinegar method is such a key factor to the crispy fries. Because I promise you, if you try the double fry method only - you will fail. Learn from my mistakes.

Starch Gelatinization: Boiling the potatoes in vinegar water helps to gelatinize the surface starches, creating a firmer exterior that holds up better during frying. This prevents the fries from becoming too soft or falling apart in the oil​​​ (Plus

Acidic Environment: The acidic environment created by the vinegar helps break down the pectin in the potato cells, making them more likely to form a crisp outer layer when fried​.

Moisture Reduction: Vinegar assists in removing excess moisture from the potatoes, which is crucial for achieving a crispy texture. Less moisture means that the fries will crisp up more effectively and stay crispy longer.

Ingredients:

Super simple.

Russet Potatoes:

• Why they work: Russets are ideal for fries due to their high starch content and low moisture. This combination results in a fluffy interior and crispy exterior when fried. Despite removing some surface starch through rinsing and simmering, the remaining starch within the potato is enough to create the desired fluffy interior. This makes russet potatoes ideal for fries.

White Vinegar:

• Why it works: Vinegar helps to gelatinize the surface starches, creating a firmer exterior that holds up better during frying. It also breaks down pectin, making the fries crispier, and reduces moisture, which is crucial for achieving a crispy texture.

Water:

• Why it works: Water is used to soak and rinse the potatoes, removing excess surface starch that can cause the fries to stick together and become mushy. Boiling in water ensures the potatoes cook evenly before frying.

Salt:

• Why it works: Salt is essential for flavoring the fries. Adding salt to the boiling water seasons the potatoes from the inside, while sprinkling it on after frying enhances the overall taste.

Vegetable Oil:

• Why it works: Vegetable oil has a high smoke point, making it ideal for deep frying. It ensures the fries cook evenly and become crispy without burning.

How to Make the Crispiest French Fries

Peel your potatoes. Cut them pretty thin, as evenly as you can. About a quarter of an inch.

Rinse the potatoes.

Meanwhile, heat up your water and add the vinegar. Bring to a roiling boil, but before you add the fries, reduce heat until it's barely simmering.

Add your fries, and cook for 10 minutes. Gently remove, and pat dry as best you can with paper towels. Let them cool. If you can, let the fries dry on a cooling rack over a baking sheet.

Heat your oil up to 400 degrees. Pay attention to the size of pot you're using. You do not need, or want, to fill it up to the top with oil. In fact, you should only have the oil 3-4 inches deep. When you add the fries, the moisture will make the oil bubble up. You absolutely do not want this oil to boil over. Super dangerous and scary situation, so err on the side of caution.

Once your oil is hot, add your fries. You may need to do this in batches, especially to ensure the oil doesn't boil over.

Fry for about 1 minute. The fries will still be white! Remove the fries to your cooling rack.

Let them cool off, and then go back for the second fry. Leave the fries for 3-4 minutes this time, until they're golden brown.

Remove the fries to a paper towel lined bowl. Salt and season immediately. The fries will be incredibly crispy, and will remain so long after they come out of the oil!

Enjoy!

Tips and Tricks

Choose the Right Potatoes: Use russet potatoes for their high starch and low moisture content.

Cut Evenly: Ensure fries are uniform in thickness to cook evenly. A mandoline slicer can help, but isn't necessary.

Use Vinegar Water: Simmering in vinegar water removes surface starch and firms up the potatoes.

Pat Dry Thoroughly: Drying the fries well prevents them from becoming soggy when fried.

Double Fry Method: Fry the potatoes twice to ensure crispiness.

Leave Room in the Pot: Ensure there is plenty of room in the pot for the oil to bubble up when adding fries. If you don't it might boil over - and that is NOT a good situation.

Don’t Overcrowd the Fryer: Fry in small batches to maintain the oil temperature and ensure even cooking.

Use a Thermometer: Keep the oil at the correct temperature (around 375°F-400F).

Season Immediately: Salt the fries right after frying while they are still hot for the best flavor.

Reheat Properly: Reheat leftover fries in an oven to maintain crispiness, not in a microwave.

More Great Sides

📖 Recipe