Easiest French Fries
Crispy, hand cut french fries that don’t require peeling or double frying and cook in about half an hour? Yes, they do exist, and this recipe for the easiest french fries is sure to make you want to cook french fries way more often.
With Memorial Day approaching and daylight lasting longer, I’m seriously itching for summer break. In Alabama, we got out of school before Memorial Day, and because we lived so close to the beach, it was easy to get there to celebrate. I’ll be there this year for my little brother’s wedding! Where we live currently, kids don’t get out until mid June. Ughhhhhh. I’m so ready to have my big girl home for the summer. It cannot come fast enough. I’ve got all kinds of fun things planned for us, and I foresee many evenings grilling out on the deck in our future.
Cookouts are synonymous with this time of year, and what goes better with a burger than hand cut french fries? (Nothing, in my opinion.) You’ll either be thanking or cursing me once you try this recipe because they really are the easiest french fries ever. They’ve dethroned our former favorite french fry recipe, but we still use the herb additions from that recipe for these.
There’s so much magic in this recipe. The potatoes don’t need peeling or double frying or refrigerating or really any effort whatsoever, yet they still turn out perfectly golden and crispy. I can’t say how much our french fry consumption has increased since trying this recipe, but it’s definitely gone up. We used to make french fries like once a year and have already made these several times. Make these. You will not regret it.
- COOK TIME:
- YIELD: 4 generous servings
2½ pounds Yukon Gold potatoes (about 6 medium)
6 cups (1.4 liters) peanut oil
Fine sea or table salt
I’ve only used Yukon Gold potatoes for this recipe and am not sure if it would work as well with starchier potatoes. Use fine sea salt for these because the smaller crystals stick better to the fries. If you want to add fresh herbs, I love the combination of finely chopped rosemary and thyme.
- 1
Cover your largest baking sheet with paper bags or paper towels for draining, and place it near the stove.
Scrub and dry the potatoes, then cut into ¼-inch batons. Place them into a large (4-5 quart) Dutch oven or deep pan. Add oil (it will barely cover the potatoes), and bring to a boil over high heat.
- 2
Once boiling, cook the potatoes, without stirring, for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, use tongs or a thin spatula to carefully loosen any potatoes that are stuck to the pan. Continue cooking, stirring only if needed, for another 5-1o minutes, or until as crisp and golden as you like.
Use a large slotted spoon or spider to transfer the potatoes to the prepared baking sheet. Toss immediately with salt (and herbs, if using). Keep warm in a 200 degree oven if needed.
This is how I do delicious fries but on the grill in a cast iron pan instead of on the stove. It keeps the mess out of my kitchen 🙂
That is GENIUS! Totally going to try that next time! I typically do my fajita toppings the same way – it makes it so much easier!
Totally with you on NEEDING to have fries whenever we have burgers. Usually I just do the frozen ones, but these sound SO easy. Need to try!
We usually have frozen ones, too, but this recipe is so simple that it’s been too easy to make them (which means we’ve had french fries a lot lately).