Idaho Potato vs. Kennebec Potato
Chips, hash browns, tater tots, mashed, baked, roasted, boiled, we love them all, created from the one and only POTATO. AND, who doesn’t love a good French fry? Most of us grew up on McDonald’s, Wendy’s, Burger King (ugh), pretty much frozen adulterated stuff. And it wasn’t until just recently, Thomas Keller’s Bouchon restaurant was exposed, they too use frozen fries….gasppp..! So, people, where do we draw the line? Are all fries frozen? Not all establishments, examples are In N’ Out Burger and probably a few local restaurants, for instance, my recent visit to Blue Velvet in downtown LA (pictured below), made in the back of the house.
Being the Scientist I am, one sunny Saturday, my friend Dylan and I decided to produce the perfect, almost natural, french fry. Truthfully, Dylan was the mad scientist/stock broker who convinced me of this little experiment. It entailed 2 varietals of potatoes (Kennebec and Idaho), 7 different trials, procedures that included, slicing, blanching, par-frying, deydrating, freezing, and deep frying. Finally, after much tasting, analyzing, and spitting, we agreed on a top notch, ‘gold standard’ product (food scientist jargon).
If you are interested in making a beautiful, crisp, golden brown and flavorful french fry, please follow procedures below.
1. Cut potatoes (preferably Kennebecs), approx 3/8" wide.
2. Blanch in 170 degrees F of chicken or beef broth for 7 minutes.
3. Put in dehydrator until completely dry, about 15 min at 150-160 degrees , let rest for 5 min.**
4. Fry at 290-300 F degrees for 3 minutes
5. Cool to room temp (can freeze potatoes at this point for future use)
6. Fry at 360 degrees until golden brown and crispy.
**If you don’t have a food dehydrator (most people don’t, Dylan!), try to dry with paper towel as best as you can.
1. Cut potatoes (preferably Kennebecs), approx 3/8" wide.
2. Blanch in 170 degrees F of chicken or beef broth for 7 minutes.
3. Put in dehydrator until completely dry, about 15 min at 150-160 degrees , let rest for 5 min.**
4. Fry at 290-300 F degrees for 3 minutes
5. Cool to room temp (can freeze potatoes at this point for future use)
6. Fry at 360 degrees until golden brown and crispy.
**If you don’t have a food dehydrator (most people don’t, Dylan!), try to dry with paper towel as best as you can.
3 comments:
Blanching! Dehydrating!!! You are so fancy. Good work.
So which was best, Kennebec or Idaho. You better say Keenebec.
Properly prepared, the Kennebecs are certainly the best! These are the same potatoes that In-N-Out uses. In-N-Out doesn't really follow a proper two fry procedure, so their fries are much less crispy and declicious than this recipe! Tammy, thanks for writing this up - clearly you would have waited forever for me to do it.
Post a Comment