At my Fast Food Outlet - I'm trying to stop using pre made frozen fries and start making my own. I've come across this recipe: I've adapted this recipe to my needs and i'm following the same procedure on slightly thicker fries. However, a recurring problem has been that the fries remain quite mushy from the center.
What can possibly be causing this? Could it be that i'm boiling the fries a bit too much in the first step? What's the general cause of mushy fries? Any help would be much appreciated. The recipe is copied for your reference:
2 pounds russet potatoes (about 4 large), peeled and cut into 1/4-inch by 1/4-inch fries (keep potatoes stored in a bowl of water)
2 tablespoons distilled white vinegar
Kosher salt
2 quarts peanut oil
[h2]Procedures[/h2]
1
Place potatoes and vinegar in saucepan and add 2 quarts of water and 2 tablespoons of salt. Bring to a boil over high heat. Boil for 10 minutes. Potatoes should be fully tender, but not falling apart. Drain and spread on paper towel-lined rimmed baking sheet. Allow to dry for five minutes.
2
Meanwhile, heat oil in 5-quart Dutch oven or large wok over high heat to 400°F. Add 1/3 of fries to oil (oil temperature should drop to around 360°F). Cook for 50 seconds, agitating occasionally with wire mesh spider, then remove to second paper-towel lined rimmed baking sheet. Repeat with remaining potatoes (working in two more batches), allowing oil to return to 400°F after each addition. Allow potatoes to cool to room temperature, about 30 minutes. Continue with step 3, or for best results, freeze potatoes at least over night, or up to 2 months.
3
Return oil to 400°F over high heat. Fry half of potatoes until crisp and light golden brown, about 3 1/2 minutes, adjusting heat to maintain at around 360°F. Drain in a bowl lined with paper towels and season immediately with kosher salt. Cooked fries can be kept hot and crisp on a wire rack set on a sheet tray in a 200°F oven while second batch is cooked. Serve immediately.
What changes did you make? I always use a variation of this method, so I can tell you what I do differently:
Dont start the boiling in cold water, have the water at a rolling boil
Waiting five minutes before the first fry is not nearly enough. You want then cold and dry, at least three hours in a fridge
How much bigger are you cutting the fries? Steak house size fries are trickier with this method, unless you are using something like a circulator.
I dont think boiling less is the problem, you really want to push them as far as you can, very nearly falling apart. They should break with a light pinch. Shocking them in ice is critical, and the trickiest part of the procedure to be honest. Thats where you run the biggest risk of breaking.
I'm tried everything from 1/4'' to 3/8'' with this recipe. Have had varying results. But mushiness generally tends to increase with the increase in size.
Shocking them in ice is critical, and the trickiest part of the procedure to be honest. Thats where you run the biggest risk of breaking.
When should i shock them in Ice? The recipe that i'm following doesn't state that
Can you suggest an alternate method for the fries? I don't want thick steakcut fries ... just slightly thicker then the 1/4'' Mc Donald type would be fine.
I would guess that after I drop the fries in on the 2nd fry, my oil temp will drop to 350-375 like @chefbuba is doing. If you have an industrial size fryer with a larger mass of oil, this is less of an issue. I'm doing smaller batches.
Use the ice to "stop" the cooking, and help set the starch in the potato. Carry over cooking in this method will leave you with a sheet pan of mashed potato. If you are not cooking the spuds to an extent where this is a concern, then you are not taking them far enough. I have played with this a lot and from my experience, if you dont cook them that much, there is no point and you would be better off saving the time and doing the conventional blanch in moderate oil, finish in hot method.
The triple cook, to my mind, gives you A+ fries. They are super crisp, and almost like mashed potato inside. They also stay crisp really well, so for any poutine, chili cheese fries type of thing, it works really well.
That said, the regular way of doing fries is still a great method. Unless you want to offer boutique fries, or expect small volumn, it might not be the best fit for our operation.
For a twist if you want bigger fries, you can try par boiling the potatos in a bag (a replacement cause i do not have a vacuum machine) and then fry in 1 or 2 ssteps..
Paxil : that's a lot of work for fries and I have never in my life boiled potatoes just to make fries. Your mushy fries just might stem from being over cooked.
I make my fries the way Fred does , never a problem .
After you soak your fries make sure they are soaked good so all the starch is off , blanch in oil, second fry at 350-375.
Paxil : that's a lot of work for fries and I have never in my life boiled potatoes just to make fries. Your mushy fries just might stem from being over cooked.
I make my fries the way Fred does , never a problem .
After you soak your fries make sure they are soaked good so all the starch is off , blanch in oil, second fry at 350-375.
I cook it the way I described probably 95% of the time. Sometimes though, I want that simple dirty greasy fry that's kind of soggy. That's also a perfect fry, but for reasons of nostalgia. Cut, then drop it in at 350 the whole time. Don't clean the skin too well, so it tastes a little dirty, like a potato should.
The fries boiled in plain water disintegrated, making them nearly impossible to pick up. When I added them to the hot oil, they broke apart even further. On the other hand, those boiled in the vinegared water remained perfectly intact, even after boiling for a full ten minutes. When fried, they had fabulously crisp crusts with tiny, bubbly, blistered surfaces that stayed crisp even when they were completely cool.
Okay - so i did a few iterations. Mushiness isn't that big of a problem as the oil content/grease in the fries is!
I did a side by side comparison with ready made Mc Cain fries and my home made fries (in their final stage). Both were cooked in the same fryer, side by side. The homemade fries come out to be FAR more greasy and it seems like they've absorbed oil on the inside. What can i do to rectify this?
The thing about your frozen fries is that they probably get a water blanch too; the method is supposed to help crisp them up. But in my experience house made fries tend to go greasy fairly quickly.
Are you following the whole procedure there? Water blanch, chill, oil blanch, freeze, and final cook? How long are putting them in the water for?
My fries are crispy (most of the time), depends on the spuds that I get. They are never greasy. Twice fry method only. You can't control a water blanch well enough to get a consistent product.
Listen to Master Chefbuba. He's the man. Twice fry only. If they get oily, the temperature of your oil dropped.
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