Recipe: Crispy Oven Baked French Fries (2024)

FAQs

How to make crispy French fries in the oven? ›

First, preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Then, spread your French fries out on a parchment-lined baking sheet, making sure none of them are touching (if they're too crowded, they won't get as crispy). Heat them in the oven for about eight to ten minutes, then give them a quick toss.

A lot goes into making restaurant-quality french fries, from labor and expertise to equipment and proper seasoning. The key step to making fries that have that characteristic light golden-brown and crisp exterior and pillowy interior is blanching in oil.

Bake two bags or less per tray.

Remember, fries are full of water. The more fries you add to a tray, the more steam they'll be releasing in your oven, reducing crispness.

Soaking your fries in cold water helps remove excess starch, which allows for crispy, golden fries! The cold water bath also helps the french fries retain their shape and contributes to a fluffy inside.

Bake fries on an open rack for optimum air flow.

"Baking frozen fries on an oven rack ensures even cooking and allows air to flow all around the fries, which increases your chances of getting golden-brown fries from the oven," Harvey said.

Refined peanut oil is the best oil to use for making french fries. You can also use canola or safflower oil. Additionally, restaurant fries are so crispy because, among other things, they use old oil continuously.

If you're pressed for time, the slightly sticky, cut potatoes should be soaked for a minimum of 15 minutes. However, a longer soak time may allow more starch to be removed. So, if you can prep the fries ahead of time, a few hours of soaking can help make them even crispier.

The suppliers we work with first peel, cut and blanche the potatoes. They then dry, partially fry and quickly freeze the fries for our restaurants. Once in our kitchens, we cook them in our canola-blend oil so you can have them crispy and hot—just the way you like them. Want to hear more about our fry ingredients?

Instead, set your oven to 400 degrees and heat for 5 to 10 minutes. The dry heat will help maintain the original texture. Saucing strategically: If you're adding sauce to a crispy dish, wait until the last moment to apply it.

If you wash potatoes and don't give them enough time to dry, the excess moisture on their surfaces will lead to the fries steaming rather than browning and crisping. Many fry recipes will also call for soaking the cut potatoes in water to remove extra starches, which can help you get the crispiest fries possible.

What oven setting makes things crispy? ›

The broil setting on your oven cooks food quickly with direct heat—typically at 550°F (289°C)—and produces a seared finish that's similar to grilling. Smaller or countertop ovens usually preheat to the broiling temp faster, so you can quickly finish baked or slow-roasted dishes with crisp browned edges.

The main reasons to cut the potatoes and pre-soak in water are: To allow the excess starches and sugars to be removed from the outer surface of the fry strips AND to keep the potatoes from browning prematurely from exposure to air. Covering in water helps the potato from turning a dark color.

When a small amount of vinegar is added to the soaking water before frying, it can help impart a tangy flavor to the fries without making them taste overly vinegary. The acid in the vinegar can also help to slightly break down the surface of the potatoes, aiding in the development of a crispier texture during frying.

A: First let's talk about why cut potatoes need to be immersed in water to begin with. The reason is to prevent the potatoes exposure to air, which causes dehydration, oxidation, and discoloration. Immersing cut potatoes will also help rinse off excess starch.

Soggy fries have usually either been cooked in oil that isn't hot enough, or were cooked in too large a batch, overcrowding the pan and reducing the heat. The secret to getting tasty French fries that are crisp on the outside and nice and fluffy on the inside is to fry them twice.

Fries have a very high starch content. When they are cooked at high temperatures, they absorb moisture which gives them their signature crispy exterior. When they are left out to cool, the starches secrete moisture, which eventually makes the fries' crust soggy.

Corn Starch: Adding a thin coating of corn starch to the potato fries before frying can help create a crispier exterior. When the corn starch comes into contact with the hot oil, it forms a barrier that traps moisture within the potato while also developing a crunchy crust.