I don't do alot of frying, but I do love some steak frites and occassionally like to make fish-n-chips or fish tacos. I usually fry in one of my cast iron enamel Le Crueset dutch ovens, but for my birthday, Jennifer bought me an All-Clad 6 quart pot with a fry basket insert. Made some frites on Sunday and the curry-spiced cauliflower from the BLT cookbook on Monday night. The results were fantastic. The oil hardly loses any temperature and thus far produced the crispiest, least-greasy fried products ever to come from my kitchen! My usual set-up may have been sufficient, perhaps I wasn't using enough oil, but who cares, love kitchen toys!
JW
Showing posts with label fried. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fried. Show all posts
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Friday, October 10, 2008
On Frites...
Love me some steak frites. Problem is that double frying at home on the stove top is a huge pain in the ass and makes a helluva mess. I've been working on a solution that actually is working better for me than double-frying...
1st: I use russet potatoes, peel, and slice 3/8 inch with the mandoline and toss in water to remove the excess starch. I let soak atleast an hour with one change of water.
2nd: For the first cooking, drain the potatoes, dry with kitchen towel and toss with a tablespoon of your frying oil in a microwave safe bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and vent the top. Microwave on ~60% power for 5 minutes. Stir potatoes, recover and repeat.
3rd: Heat oil in your favorite frying vessel to 375 degrees. Blot potatoes well with lots of paper towels. Working in relatively small batches (don't want the oil to cool below 300) toss a big handful of potatoes with about 1 tsp of sifted corn starch (saw this on Tyler's Ultimate) until well-coated. Drop in the oil and fry until GBD. Drain on cooling racks and salt liberally. Keep warm in 200 degree oven until ready to serve...will get soggy if you wait more than 30 minutes.
Comment: the corn starch trick was genius! I generally try to follow classic recipes but without industrial frying equipment the frites always end up soggy. Give this a try and let me know what you think.
JW
1st: I use russet potatoes, peel, and slice 3/8 inch with the mandoline and toss in water to remove the excess starch. I let soak atleast an hour with one change of water.
2nd: For the first cooking, drain the potatoes, dry with kitchen towel and toss with a tablespoon of your frying oil in a microwave safe bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and vent the top. Microwave on ~60% power for 5 minutes. Stir potatoes, recover and repeat.
3rd: Heat oil in your favorite frying vessel to 375 degrees. Blot potatoes well with lots of paper towels. Working in relatively small batches (don't want the oil to cool below 300) toss a big handful of potatoes with about 1 tsp of sifted corn starch (saw this on Tyler's Ultimate) until well-coated. Drop in the oil and fry until GBD. Drain on cooling racks and salt liberally. Keep warm in 200 degree oven until ready to serve...will get soggy if you wait more than 30 minutes.
Comment: the corn starch trick was genius! I generally try to follow classic recipes but without industrial frying equipment the frites always end up soggy. Give this a try and let me know what you think.
JW
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