Alton Brown's Genius Trick For The Best Homemade Fries Starts With Your Oven

If you're sick of consuming store-bought frozen french fries, chef Alton Brown has an easy, foolproof way to prepare homemade french fries that, perhaps surprisingly, starts in your oven. Many avid home chefs might assume the only way to make legitimately crispy french fries at home is to blanch potatoes before frying them. However, if you want a simpler method that requires less guess work. In a video on his Instagram, Alton Brown suggests baking whole potatoes and frying them in oil the following day.

Considering Alton Brown has a proclivity for the science behind certain food-related topics and recipes, it makes sense that he would recommend baking potatoes before turning them into french fries. Traditional french fries are usually double-fried to reduce their moisture which leads to an extra crisp exterior. However, baking potatoes before frying them dries out their flesh, especially when they're given time to rest overnight. This way, your potatoes are already cooked and dry when they hit the fryer. You're merely using the oil to give each semi-soft spear a crunchy exterior.

To make your own batch of oven-prepped french fries, pierce, oil, and salt whole russet potatoes before baking them in an oven set to 350 degrees Fahrenheit for one hour. Once your potatoes have cooled to room temperature and rest in your refrigerator overnight, slice them into even spears and fry them in hot oil over your stove. In no time, you'll have extra-crisp french fries with perfectly soft centers.

For one thing, since Alton Brown's french fries require two days to prepare, make sure you plan in advance and allot enough time to bake your potatoes on day one. The evening before you plan on frying your spuds, bake your potatoes whole, let them cool to room temperature, and then transfer them to your refrigerator to cool for at least 12 hours.  

To streamline your cooking process, there are also some special kitchen utensils you may want to use. When it comes to baking your potatoes and heating your oil for frying, use a food-grade, instant-read thermometer like the ThermoMaven Professional Digital Meat Thermometer. When they're done baking, your potatoes should have an internal temperature between 185 and 195 degrees Fahrenheit for the best consistency. By contrast, your fry oil should be 375 degrees Fahrenheit. 

When you're removing your fries from the oil, drain off any excess with an efficient kitchen utensil like the Hiware solid stainless steel spider strainer. Speaking of oil, make sure to fry your potatoes in a variety that has a high smoke point and a decent amount of flavor. While you can certainly make bougie fries at home with duck fat or beef tallow, you can also use peanut or avocado oil for a more classic taste. Just don't forget to give your fries with a hefty sprinkling of salt before enjoying.