Crispy Thin French Fries (Fast Food Style) is the perfect crisp and tender side with great flavor. Made with 5 ingredients – try these today!
Everyone loves French fries and now you can make them at home! The next time you’re craving French Fries from your favorite fast-food chain, pull out this French fry recipe instead. They’re just as crispy and delicious, plus making them yourself means you can enjoy the fries perfectly fresh and use them as a Side Dish with your homemade dinner. For more fry recipes, be sure to try my Garlic Fries and Sweet Potato Fries.
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Sabrina’s Crispy Thin French Fries
Whether your go-to fast food fries are McDonald’s, Burger King, Dairy Queen, or any other fast-food restaurant, this recipe is sure to satisfy your craving for delicious, salty, crispy fries. They’re surprisingly easy to make on the stovetop and perfect to serve as a side dish with dinner and lunch or bring out as a party appetizer.
If you want to have a fast-food experience from home, serve the fries with your favorite entrees like Chicken Fingers or a Classic Burger. You could also do a healthier spin on the burger and fries combo by making our Homemade Turkey Burger. The great thing about making classic takeout dishes yourself is that you don’t have to wait in a drive-thru or worry about your food getting cold before you get home. You can enjoy it perfectly fresh, and you can always make ingredient swaps depending on your dietary needs.
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Ingredients
- 2 pounds Russet Potatoes: To make a decently sized batch of Crispy French Fries, you’ll need about 2 pounds of Russet potatoes, which should be around 4 large potatoes. Russet potatoes are ideal for fries because they have a sturdy structure that doesn’t get mushy and crisps up nicely.
- 2 tablespoons Distilled White Vinegar: You only need 2 tablespoons of distilled vinegar mixed with the water to boil the potatoes in. It helps prepare the potatoes without adding too much vinegar flavor.
- 2 quarts Peanut Oil: You can always use a different kind of oil to fry the potatoes. However, peanut oil adds a delicious flavor similar to fast food restaurant fries.
- 2 tablespoons Kosher Salt: The only seasoning I used for these fries is kosher salt. It’s perfect for a classic fry recipe, but you can always experiment with different seasonings as well.
- 8 cups Water: This is for boiling the potatoes.
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Kitchen Tools And Equipment
- Vegetable Peeler: This is needed to peel the potatoes.
- Knife: For cutting the peeled potatoes into little batons.
- Large Pot: For boiling the potatoes.
- Slotted Spoon: This is used to remove the boiled potatoes from the pot safely.
- Cooling Rack: This is to allow the boiled potatoes to dry after removing them from the pot. You can use a baking sheet or tray too.
- Deep Fryer or Large Pot: I’m using my Dutch oven to fry the potatoes.
- Deep Fryer Thermometer: Needed to monitor the temperature of the oil. You can use an infrared thermometer which uses a laser instead of the typical metal stem.
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How to Make
Time needed: 1 hour.
To get the perfect crispiness, we’ll be frying the potato fires twice.
- Prepare Potato Sticks
Start by filling a large bowl about halfway with cold, fresh water. Then peel each of the fresh potatoes and slice them into 1/4″ batons. Immediately add the potato cuts to the bowl of water. This helps take away the excess starch.
- Boil
Then add the hand-cut potatoes, water, vinegar, and salt to a large pot over high heat. Bring the water to a boil and cook for 10 minutes.
- Dry Fries, Prep Pot for Frying
After the cooking time, use a slotted spoon to remove the potatoes from the pot and spread them on a cooling rack in a single layer. Let the boiled potatoes dry for about 10 minutes. While they’re drying, rinse the pot out and dry it well.
- First Fry
Add the peanut oil to the pot, and heat it on the stovetop. Once you’ve heated the oil temperature to 400 degrees F, add half the French Fries, and cook them for 1 minute. Then remove them and place them on the cooling rack again. Fry the next batch for 1 minute in the 400-degree oil, then place them on the cooling rack and turn the stove off.
- Cool the Fries
Let them cool for about 20 minutes on the cooling rack.
- Second Fry
Then reheat the oil to 400 degrees. Cook the fries in two batches again, this time frying them for 3-4 minutes until they’re a nice golden color with a crunchy exterior. Serve Crispy Thin French Fries while fresh.
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Can These Be Made Ahead?
Yes! These are great to make a day in advance, especially if you’re trying to feed a small army of hungry kids! If you want to complete the boiling part, you can do so up to a day in advance as long as you store the boiled potatoes in the fridge in an airtight container.
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Nutritional Facts
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What to Serve with Fries
When you serve this fast-food French Fry recipe, be sure to have your favorite dipping sauces ready to go. You’ll love your homemade fries with my homemade BBQ Sauce, Honey Mustard, or Creamy Ranch Sauce. You can also try using hot sauce for anybody who wants spicy food. Or, top the Crispy Thin French Fries off with decadent Cheese Sauce for some nacho fries.
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Tips for Crispy Fries
1. The goal before frying the potatoes is to make sure they are as dry as a wet potato can be. Use paper towel to help blot up moisture.
2. Make sure the fries are cut thinly. Too thick of a cut will result in a crispy outer edge and too mushy in the middle.
3. Make sure the oil reaches 400 degrees. Too low temperature cooking oil will not cook as well.
4. Try cooking a minute or two longer on the second fry.
5. Try giving a 10-minute soak to the potato sticks before cooking. Rinse off the starchy water and then add them to the boiling water mixture.
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How to Store French Fries
- Store: Don’t leave french fries at room temperature for more than 2 hours. If you have leftovers, seal them in a ziplock bag with as much air removed as possible. Then you can keep them in the fridge for 3-5 days. Just make sure to reheat them in the oven and not the microwave so that they stay crispy.
- Reheating Tips: If you’ve stored your leftover fries in the fridge, spread them out on a baking sheet. Then put them in a 350-degree oven for 10-15 minutes. They should crisp back up nicely. If you’ve stored them in the freezer, toss the frozen potatoes in a bit of oil, then lay them on the baking sheet in a single layer. Cook at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes. Then toss in oil again and season with salt and pepper. Return to the oven for a few more minutes until the fries are heated through and crispy.
- Freeze: To keep the Crispy Thin French Fries longer, carefully seal them and put them in the freezer for up to 3 months.
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Frequent Questions
We use two cooking methods to prepare the fries to make this delicious recipe as crispy as possible. First, boil them in a water and vinegar mixture. Then fry them twice. The vinegar helps hold the potato wedges together and stops them from becoming mushy. Then using two sessions to fry the potatoes in the oil gives them a nice crispy exterior.
Yes, you can use Yukon or Idaho. I’m using Russett because they can get nice and long which makes for longer french fries! Avoid waxy potatoes like the red ones or other small potatoes. They don’t crisp up very well and are better suited for Home Fried Potatoes.
It’s normal for a few fries to stick together. To avoid big clumps, however, avoid overcrowding the pot, let them fry in a single layer, and use tongs to break apart any clumping.
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Recipe Card
Ingredients
- 4 large russet potatoes , about 2 pounds
- 8 cups water
- 2 tablespoons distilled white vinegar
- 2 tablespoons kosher salt
- 2 quarts peanut oil
Instructions
- Fill a large bowl halfway with cold water.
- Peel the potatoes and cut into 1/4″ by 1/4″ batons and immediately add to the cold water.
- In a large pot add the potatoes, water, vinegar and salt on high heat.
- Bring to a boil and cook for 10 minutes.
- With a large slotted spoon remove the potatoes carefully and spread in a single layer on a cooling rack until they dry, about 10 minutes.
- Rinse the large pot and dry well.
- Add 3 inches of vegetable oil on high heat.
- Heat oil to 400 degrees.
- Add half the french fries and cook for 1 minute.
- Remove to cooling rack.
- Fry the second batch when the heat rises back up to 400 degrees.
- Fry for 1 minute then remove carefully and place on cooling rack and turn off the heat.
- Let fries cool completely, about 20 minutes.
- Heat oil back up to 400 degrees and do a second fry in 2 batches for 3-4 minutes until golden brown.
Nutrition
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Variations
- Seasonings: You can flavor the fries with any of your favorite seasonings like paprika, onion powder, cajun mix, black pepper, or red pepper flakes.
- Garlic Parmesan Fries: Garlic and parmesan is a delicious flavor combo to add to the Crispy Thin French Fries. Just sprinkle garlic salt and shredded parmesan over the fries. Then toss until they’re coated evenly, and serve.
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