1ST ATTEMPT AT FRYING POTATO WEDGES

[CDA 455 II]

Decided trying frying potatoes.

I cut the potatoes into wedges and soaked them in water overnight.

This round #1 at frying (300° @5min):

After round #2 frying (350° @5min):

Turned out way better than I expected being this is the first doing it.😎
I used Walmart brand veggie oil.

What's your method of frying potatoes?

I'm going to try peanut oil next time.

 

[Tech Tim]

Beef Tallow is the only way, pork fat is pretty good too, but I like the flavor better with beef.

Duck fat is supposed to be awesome. Have never tried it.

 

[AKnate]

Why are the heat controls in the headboard of the stove?

Seems like you'd burn arms trying to run that thing.

 

[CDA 455 II]

Why are the heat controls in the headboard of the stove?

Seems like you'd burn arms trying to run that thing.

Because rented townhouse.🤷‍♂️

 

[smurfblue40]

I have done regular “French fries” in peanut oil with good results.

Recently, I did seasoned fries in the air fryer with pretty good results

 

[Etyler2]

I haven’t disliked much fried, sounds good.

 

[2big bronco]

So did you fry them 2 times or 2 different batches at different temps? Which ones came out better?

Ive never fried anything and automatically assume id get splatered oil everywhere.

 

[CDA 455 II]

So did you fry them 2 times or 2 different batches at different temps? Which ones came out better?

Ive never fried anything and automatically assume id get splatered oil everywhere.

The internets told me to fry them twice; 1st time at 300* for 4-5min./let cool/2nd time at 350* for 4-5min.
I also soaked the potato wedges overnight in water.

I fried in a deep pot to contain the splatter as much as possible: 7" tall/9" dia/2" oil depth.
It contained 95+% splatter.

I used a laser pyrometer to keep track of temp.

 

[dwygrsshpr]

Soaking overnight may be overkill but you definitely want to soak ahead of time - this pulls a lot of excess starch out of the potato which makes the frying better. Several soak and rinses can be done if you don't have the time for overnight. And a double fry also accentuates the crispness. If you watch commercial ops (McDonalds as an example), they have several baskets where they pull them up out of the oil for a rest and then dunk back down...

Peanut oil can go higher in temp before the smoke point than veggie oil so that is the benefit there. Avocado oil has the highest smoke point but I would generally think that is to expensive to fry with.

 

[2big bronco]

Alright, found 2 potatoes in the cubbord and choped them up. They came out more as chunks then wedges. I only have an hour and a half to soak but will try anyways.

My ir thermometer broke so I might have to see how high the digital meat thermometer goes.

 

[CDA 455 II]

Alright, found 2 potatoes in the cubbord and choped them up. They came out more as chunks then wedges. I only have an hour and a half to soak but will try anyways.

My ir thermometer broke so I might have to see how high the digital meat thermometer goes.

Round #1 frying potatoes won't look golden brown.
It's round #2 where you get said golden brown color.

A lesson I learned; start with a higher temp because the potatoes dropped the temp by about 50*.

 

[CDA 455 II]

To prevent getting burned from grease splatter, I used new/unused chemical glovers:

 

[2big bronco]

Meat thermometer worked fine but the first time around the temp dropped to 250 with the fries and never came back up. I went 6-7 minutes on round 1 starting at 350 and 4 minutes on round 2 starting at 375 and it dropped to 350.

Seasoned with some salt and Italian seasoning and they were as good as any restaurant wedge fries.

Will make again with more effort and fresher potatoes.

 

[CDA 455 II]

Meat thermometer worked fine but the first time around the temp dropped to 250 with the fries and never came back up. I went 6-7 minutes on round 1 starting at 350 and 4 minutes on round 2 starting at 375 and it dropped to 350.

Seasoned with some salt and Italian seasoning and they were as good as any restaurant wedge fries.

Will make again with more effort and fresher potatoes.

 

[Lawless]

Potatoes need to be cut in a uniform size, I soak mine about an hour in salt water. The next thing I do is dry them off pretty good after they soak, I don't know why but they seem to fry better when I dry them. I'll run my oil closer to 400 and when I add the fries I only add about half of what the frier will hold, this will keep the temp from dropping very much.

I can get by with one trip through the frier this way with good results but two trips is still better.

 

[holdmypocket]

For quick and lazy: boil em till you can stick them with a fork, then pan fry em to finish. Less time, less oil.

 

[Gtrplyr78]

To prevent getting burned from grease splatter, I used new/unused chemical glovers:

I am planning on investing in one of these, perfect for frying jobs.
Think another name for them is kitchen spyder.

Skimmers

If you own a deep fryer, a food skimmer will help you remove debris and food particles from your oil. This way, your oil will stay clean and fresh for longer amounts of time. These skimmers are also helpful for removing donuts from hot oil and vegeta

www.webstaurantstore.com

 

[CDA 455 II]

I am planning on investing in one of these, perfect for frying jobs.
Think another name for them is kitchen spyder.

Skimmers

If you own a deep fryer, a food skimmer will help you remove debris and food particles from your oil. This way, your oil will stay clean and fresh for longer amounts of time. These skimmers are also helpful for removing donuts from hot oil and vegeta

www.webstaurantstore.com

Yeah; I'm looking at skimmers too.

 

[dwygrsshpr]

You want a coarse skimmer for fries (the bamboo handled ones) - this is what they use is wok cooking as it lets more oil out faster. The ones with a hole pattern, mesh, or tight coils are more of a pain as they don't drain oil well/fast, but are fine with water or broths. Obviously pick the tool to match your food. If you are frying really thin jullienned fries, you need to tighten up.

Also pay attention to the diameters compared to your cooking vessel. Once you use one for frying, you'll use it in many ways: dipping out raviolis, pierogis, dumplings, hard-boiled eggs, straining/skimming stocks for fat (need the finer ones for this), just to name a few off the top of my head. Essentially instead of busting out a strainer all the time and dealing with that, you can just dip out.

 

[Drakeslayer]

I use a store bought deep fryer with two baskets made by Presto. We use it several times per summer and fall for both fries and battered bottom fish. I use McCormick's beer batter which I add garlic and seasoning salt to. I like to use a dark porter to mix the batter. Get the oil hot, this gets the batter skinned off before it can absorb oil. Don't over cook the fish. Black rockfish is very good but lingcod is the best. I do the fries in two steps so I can have a large quantity ready for a quick finish fry just as the fish for each serving is ready. I make a homemade dipping sauce for the fish with Best Foods Mayo, a little ketchup, mustard and cream horseradish with a splash of Worcestershire.

 

[Drakeslayer]

For just potato wedges, I find baking them with a little olive oil drizzled or canola oil spray on racks over parchment paper is less messy, faster, and the oil insures they brown nicely.

 

[Tin Roof]

Why are the heat controls in the headboard of the stove?

Seems like you'd burn arms trying to run that thing.

Every oven/stovetop we've had has the controls on the headboard.

 

[Tin Roof]

I'm kind of surprised that this is new to some of you. Maybe it's a regional thing? We've made homemade fries and fried them at home for years. More often fish though.

For large gatherings we'd use a turkey frier with peanut oil and make homemade onion rings, fries, and fish. Beer batter like you use for fish works well for the onion rings.

 

[CDA 455 II]

I'm kind of surprised that this is new to some of you. Maybe it's a regional thing? We've made homemade fries and fried them at home for years. More often fish though.

For large gatherings we'd use a turkey frier with peanut oil and make homemade onion rings, fries, and fish. Beer batter like you use for fish works well for the onion rings.

I didn't know frying a turkey was a thing until I moved up to Idaho from San Diego in '99 at the age of 34.

 

[AKnate]

Every oven/stovetop we've had has the controls on the headboard.

Weird. Mine have all been in the front, over the oven door.

 

[CDA 455 II]

Weird. Mine have all been in the front, over the oven door.

I think it has to do with gas vs electric.

Gas; it's definitely on the front.
Electric has both positions.

 

[AKnate]

I didn't know frying a turkey was a thing until I moved up to Idaho from San Diego in '99 at the age of 34.

Same.

Basic training... 2001. One of the first meals and they're feeding us catfish. I'm thinking this is gonna suck if we have shit food like that!

Had no idea they eat catfish in the south. In Maine, we'd whip them shits off the line into the woods for the bears to eat. Same with chubs.

 

[Lawless]

I'm kind of surprised that this is new to some of you. Maybe it's a regional thing? We've made homemade fries and fried them at home for years. More often fish though.

For large gatherings we'd use a turkey frier with peanut oil and make homemade onion rings, fries, and fish. Beer batter like you use for fish works well for the onion rings.

Beer batter also works well on mushrooms pickles and zucchini too.

 

[2big bronco]

I'm kind of surprised that this is new to some of you. Maybe it's a regional thing? We've made homemade fries and fried them at home for years. More often fish though.

For large gatherings we'd use a turkey frier with peanut oil and make homemade onion rings, fries, and fish. Beer batter like you use for fish works well for the onion rings.

Care to share a basic fried fish recipe?

 

[Tin Roof]

We use a beer batter mix from McCormick or Louisiana. Season to taste. I like fish, so I don't like a lot of seasoning. Usually just something simple like Cavendars mixed in.

99% of the time when we are frying fish it's something we caught, so it usually is catfish or panfish. Rinse well, pat dry, dip in the batter mix, and fry.