How do you make McDonald's-type fries?

Omni · #1 05-08-2007, 12:21 AM

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I have unsubscribed from this thread, and won't be returning looking for further replies; move along, folks, there's nothing to see here.

Every recipe I can find tells you how to make fries that are "nice and crispy"... but I HATE crispy fries. The best fries I've ever had are from McDonald's; pale, smooth, not mushy but totally non-crispy, not mealy or greasy. Can anyone tell me how to make fries like that? We've got the frozen pre-cut potatoes from Ore Ida for now, and we're using beef lard because it gives the best flavor; I'd truly appreciate knowing how to combine the 2 into tasty fries. Thanks!!

(Who's Omni? You can find me here: Every Topic in the Universe(s?))

indianwells · #2 05-08-2007, 02:02 AM

I'm sorry, you've completely thrown me a curve ball with that one! The best fries you've ever had are from McDonalds?

The beef lard I agree with but I like a much thicker fry. Cooked twice for a crisp surface with a light, fluffy centre.

Omni · #3 05-10-2007, 02:44 AM

Someone? Anyone? We've got professional chefs here, and I've never had crispy fries in a restaurant, so I know you know how to make non-crispy ones... can't you share the secret with a non-chef?

DC Sunshine · #4 05-10-2007, 05:21 AM

The only time I've made non-crispy fries is when I started them in oil that wasn't hot enough...turned out all bendy like McD's. Hated them. Maybe make crispy fries then leave them for an hour in a baine marie? hehehe. That could be the secret

Omni · #5 05-10-2007, 06:54 AM

It's STILL a secret, since I don't know what a baine marie is.

Do you by any chance have any idea how hot the "not hot enough" oil might have been?

Ninja_59 · #6 05-10-2007, 07:23 AM

Hi Omni

This is a bain marie, its 2 pots in one

3x 1/1 65 GASTRONORM CONTAINER Pan+Lid for Bain Marie

eBay.co.uk: 3x 1/1 65 GASTRONORM CONTAINER Pan+Lid for Bain Marie (item 230126930802 end time 10-May-07 16:26:22 BST)

Anneke · #7 05-10-2007, 07:35 AM

McDonalds used to cook their fried in beef tallow and cottonseed oil. Now they use veg oil but compensate with "natural flavour" added to the fries. They continue to use russets, which are frozen.

My guess is, the fries are blanched (fried at lower temperature until technically cooked but not crispy) a little longer than usual, then frozen. They spend less time in the fryer at the restaurant and therefore don't crisp up as much.

DC Sunshine · #8 05-10-2007, 06:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Omni

It's STILL a secret, since I don't know what a baine marie is.

Do you by any chance have any idea how hot the "not hot enough" oil might have been?

What I meant by baine marie is those big stainless steel food warmers over hot water which keeps food at temperature in fast food places (I've prob got the wrong word) but anyhow once something crisp goes in there it generally comes out soft like McD's fries.

Unfortunately I'm not sure what temp I used for the fries - I used frozen shoestring fries, was in a great hurry with famished kids, and when I put them (the fries not the kids!) into the oil they only went to a slow bubble, not a nice furious boil. So I kept them in there until they were halfway presentable. That's the kind of temperature - hehehe very precise I'm sure

Austin_ · #9 05-10-2007, 11:47 PM

McDonalds uses artificial beef flavoring in their fries. They're okay, I guess. But I've tasted so much better and crunchier fries before that I've found no point in going to McDonalds in the first place. If you want to make McDonalds fries, cut them into french fry shapes (juilienne, I suppose, but thicker, only relatively thin) Fry them in vegetable oil on 350 degrees in a large pot with oil no more than half way through that you add artificial beef flavoring to, just a teaspoon maybe, and top with endless portions of salt. I heard that burger king fries are cooked in coconut oil as well.

Sleepy_Dragon · #10 05-11-2007, 07:04 AM

McD's primary french fry supplier is Simplot, and Simplot adds other ingredients and also alters the sugar and starch content of their fries to account for seasonal/growing differences in order to produce fries which meet McD's specifications for product consistancy (ref: "Fast Food Nation", by Eric Schlosser)

I think your best bet is to check out the Simplot website and have a look at the ingredient list for their fast food style fries, and pick something similar from your grocery store.

Blue Ribbon 1/4" Shoestring:
Simplot Foods

And get a deep fat frying thermometer.

Also, have a look at Eric Schlosser's book too. One of the chapters involves him going to Simplot to check out the french fry making process for McDonalds fries.

Disclaimer: I do not work for McDonalds or Simplot! My kitchen does have frites on the menu but we cut ours fresh and blanch them ourselves! Harumph!

Omni · #11 05-11-2007, 04:14 PM

It's easy to get fries that taste exactly like McDonald's fries; just fry them in beef lard... that much we've managed to already do.

It's avoiding crispiness, and of course mealiness and underdone-ness, that's tricky; we've tried 350 degrees, and many other temperatures, and have yet to hit that magic combo of time and temp that'll produce fries that are cooked through but not crisp.

Does anyone have any ideas? This is driving me nuts!!

cookingwithfat · #12 05-11-2007, 08:48 PM

Omni... McDonalds fries and those of other fast food places as well as any kitchen that produces that type of fry are coated with various substances that are synthetic to one degree or another. Here is the thing... its a secret. McDonalds fries use a secret coating in the same way that all the others do. The other important aspect of their fries - and other commercially produced fries - is that they are freezer to fryer, meaning they hit the hot grease frozen. There are a number of reasons this effects the final product but I am just not going to go into it right now. If you want to know buy the book "How to read a French fry". A GREAT read. And the last thing that they have going for them that you don't is a commercial sized fryer. You might have a deep fryer, but it is not a 40 pound gas fryer that gets NO significant drop in temperature when you drop a bunch of frozen fries in it. I don't know if this is what you want to hear but I do know that the McDonalds recipe is a closely guarded secret.

Omni · #13 05-11-2007, 09:22 PM

People have made non-crispy fries at home by accident, without "secret coatings" or industrial equipment, so it IS doable... we might try a bit of microwaving 1st to get the interior a little cooked and perhaps sidestep the mealiness issue.

cookingwithfat · #14 05-12-2007, 05:48 PM

Omni, I guess I am confused buy your question. If you want "McDonald's" fries... I assure you it is a closely guarded secret. You were very clear in your initial post that McDonald's fries were the best in your opinion - an opinion that I certainly do not share - and that you want to recreate their results. I am sorry my friend but the coating industry is VERY strict about this and to be sure McDonald's considers it to be paramount to their business plan.

If you want to learn more about French fry coatings read this paper, which is very informative. Towards the bottom you will find the discussion of coatings as opposed to other batters and such. If you want to get truly science geek then you could search out the food grade shellacs and such that are used on French Fries, but I get the feeling that what you want is an easy answer.

Food Product Design: The Great Cover-Up: Batters, Breadings & Coatings

The easy answer is that there are two ways to achieve your stated goal

1) Learn food science in a very serious way... get a job with McDonald's and steal their secret coating formula.

or

2) Accept that a perfectly cook French fry does not necessarily need to be made with chemicals and insect secretion.

If you just want fries that are not burnt to the point of being crunchy.. that is another thing. And one that I think has been answered before in this thread. You need to blanch your fries let them cool then cook them again.

Get your oil to about 250 degrees and cook the potatoes in any old shape you like until they are tender. Remove from oil and drain. Bring your oil up to a temperature of 375 (some say even hotter) and recook your spuds. You will not have mealiness and the outside will be as crispy or not crispy as you like. How you want the exterior is a matter of you figuring out the exact right timing of your personal equipment.

That being said Omni... I am getting the feeling no answer anyone can give you is going to be good enough for you. You want to make a McDonald's fry at home and --- you can't. If you want to make a very nice Pommes Frites then just follow the recipe above or as stated all over the web.

Omni · #15 05-12-2007, 08:22 PM

Cookingwithfat, all I need is something like:

"Cook the fries at 300 degrees for 5 minutes and they'll be cooked through and non-crispy."

The information provided in the responses, although fascinating, doesn't help me, nor do temperatures without times.

If someone here knows how to cook non-crispy fries, I don't mean guesswork but has actually cooked them deliberately in a specific way, and can give me exact instructions, that'd be great; if not, the answer I need isn't on this forum, and I'll move on to another cooking site. Fair enough?