SERIES: burgers & oven-roasted fries

We’re closing out this 5-week series on burgers with oven-roasted fries.  While not always necessary to accompany a burger, fries sure do make it a meal.  They’re easier to make at home than you may think.  If I order a burger at a restaurant and they serve it with hand cut fries, I’m always a fan.  The frozen fries just don’t cut it for flavor and texture.  And who knows what they’re putting on it in the manufacturing process to keep it from browning.  I’ve heard that McDonald’s contracts their potato farmers to apply some sort of chemical that prevents potatoes from developing black spots in them.  The chemical is so strong, that the farmers applying it have to where the equivalent of hazmat suits.  This is unvalidated hearsay, but enough to scare me away from manufactured fries.  Buying fries is a little like buying hashbrowns – they’re just cut potatoes!  My theory is always, if you can make it cheaper, better, and using basic ingredients, I’m all for it.  Disclaimer, I do not fry the fries when I make them at home.  In my opinion, the level of effort isn’t worth it.  You can make great fries in your oven if you follow a few simple steps.

A Few Tips for Homemade Oven-Baked Fries:

• Use a hot oven (425F), and place the sheet pan closest to the heat.  On a bake setting, that’s usually the bottom rack of the oven.  Let the fries cook until they start to brown thoroughly on the bottom and then flip.  The only times I’ve overcooked fries were when I extended the overall cooking time to accommodate the timing of the meat cooking.  Otherwise, it’s hard to overcook them if you pay attention to the total time they’re in the oven (20-25 minutes at 425F).
• Space out the fries.  As with anything that you’re cooking, if you’re trying to brown or sear, you don’t want things crowded.  If you dump a bunch of fries on a sheet pan and don’t take the care to space them out, you’ll end up with steamed, not crispy, fries.
• Choose a good potato.  You really can use any potato that you like, however the flavor, texture, and size of a russet is tough to beat for fries.
• Season well.  Coat with olive oil (or oil of choice) and season well with salt.  Once the fries are done cooking, I usually season again with some sort of BBQ rub or seasoning salt. 

Be sure to scrub the exterior of the potato.  I cut them into large matchsticks by slicing the potato into ¼” slices lengthwise and then cut those into ¼” matchsticks.  But you can vary your cutting method to your preference to what you’re serving them with.

• Standard matchsticks.  ¼” matchsticks as described above to serve with burgers.
• Steak frites or shoestring.  Cut the matchsticks down to 1/8” to serve alongside a steak.
• Steak fries.  Cut into ½” matchsticks for a fry with a higher ratio of potato filling to crispy edge.