June 30, 2014

Extra Crispy Oven Baked French Fries

Crispy edges, soft centers; extra-crispy French fries baked not fried – so you can feel good about eating them!

When it comes to French fries, the single most important thing is the crispiness factor. We all know what typically makes the fries so crispy is the fact that they take a nice long, deep swim in a huge vat of oil. However, I am not a fan of that method. Why? Because….

1. Our version, which uses the oven is super simple and these fries outshine all the others. They have the crispy outside and soft inside of their deep fried pals, without the oozing grease. And, since they aren’t deep fried, they don’t start to get soft and soggy as they cool off. They stay nice and crunchy, even when they are totally cooled.

2. Oven-baked fries are a bit healthier than deep-fried.

How to Make Extra-Crispy French Fries

The secrets to these incredible fries include a few of things, the main one being soaking the raw potatoes before you bake them to remove some of the excess starch. Less starch = more crispiness.

When it comes to slicing, I like to cut the fries to be a little thin; but not shoestring-style and not too thick. About 1/4 inch wide. To slice the potatoes, I slice the whole potato lengthwise and then slice each piece of the potato again into fries.

After slicing, the potatoes get coated in olive oil, which helps the fries crisp up in the oven

Parchment paper is key in keeping the fries from sticking and getting the best crisp on the outside while keeping a soft inside. You could also use foil, but make sure you spray the foil with non-stick spray because you don’t want your fries to stick to the pan.

Try not to crowd the fries on the pan and make sure they have a bit of space in between each other. The less fries on the pan, the better. Too many fries shoved together and they’ll just steam – not bake. I can normally fit the fries from 3 potatoes on a 13×18-inch jelly roll pan.

Finally, the last trick up my sleeve is my double baking method. The fries are first baked in the oven at 400 degrees for 30 minutes, then baked for another 20 minutes at 425 degrees.

The second most important thing is the seasoning. Whether it be plain sea salt or our spice blend, you’ve gotta have seasoning!

To date, our favorite seasoning is a mixture of seasoned salt, black pepper, dried basil, cumin, and chili powder. That seasoning mix makes these already addicting french fries even more irresistible! To make the seasoning, combine 2 Tablespoons seasoned salt, 1 teaspoon chili powder, 1 teaspoon dried basil, 1/8 teaspoon cumin, and 1/8 teaspoon black pepper per 3 potatoes.

The seasoning goes on the potatoes both before and after baking. If you’re feeling fancy, you could also sprinkle some grated Parmesan on the fries after baking.

The amount of potatoes you use depends on how many fries you want to make. If you’re baking for just yourself, I’d use 1 large potato. If you’re making the fries as a side dish for a family of 4+, I’d use 1 medium size potato per person depending how hungry you are.

I love making these because potatoes are (1) cheap (2) readily available year-round (3) nutritious (4) don’t spoil quickly (5) easy (6) delicious.

These fries would be the perfect side to a big juicy burger at a summertime cookout, family dinner, or a dinner for one! Enjoy 🙂