Quick Recipe: Home Fries
Filed Under: Do It Yourself, recipe on March 15, 2010
It’s been a while since I did a recipe, so I thought I’d show you one of my favorites. It’s fast, easy, tasty, and healthy. Unlike the McDonald’s or Burger King equivalents. Home Fries are also called potato wedges, homemade french fries, and other names. As with most tasty quick-treats, it’s all in the seasoning.
First, you’ll need some potatoes. How many is up to you and what type or size are also up to you. Any potato will work, including some related tubers like sweet potatoes and especially turnips. Ya, weird, I know, but turnip fries are really good.
Alright, so you cut up whatever you’re using into wedges or bite-sized lengths. In the photo, I used Idaho Russets, or baker potatoes, and cut them into slices roughly 2″ long and an inch or so thick (some larger, some smaller, according to the potato’s size and which part I was cutting at the time). The trick here is the thickness. All of these slices are about 1/3 inch thick. Give or take, but a quarter inch is the minimum (or they’ll probably break) and 1/2 inch is too thick (won’t cook through). Skins on or off are up to you. I prefer to leave them on because it’s easier and nobody in my house minds them.
Using any kind of healthy cooking oil, fill a fry pan to about the same level of oil as half the thickness of your fries (or so). Not enough to fully dunk them, but more than enough to bathe them easily. I prefer peanut or straight vegetable oil, but you can get some very interesting taste from olive oil or sesame oil if you want to try it. Heat the oil, but keep the burner low so you don’t burn it (that’s very bad for you and your wedges and won’t be nice to your kitchen fire alarm either).
Now throw in the pieces so that they aren’t stacked on one another and aren’t crammed in for space. Do two or three cooking batches as needed so the little wedges have enough space to “swim” as they cook. It will take 8-10 minutes per batch to cook and you should turn them at least three or four times during that cooking time. This gives them a great fry bath and keeps your oil from stagnating and burning. Potatoes will generally sink, but turnips will float and won’t require as much turning.
Remove them immediately and put them on towels (rags, paper towels, whatever) on a plate. Before the oil soaks off of them, immediately coat them in seasoning so it will soak in with the oil that’s left.
Here’s the recipe for my favorite Cajun-style seasoning, but you can use anything you’d like that would taste good. BBQ powder, steak seasoning, or anything else you’ve either bought off the shelf or that is your favorite and will complement the meal these wedges will add to.
My Cajun mix for home fries (and grilled chicken) is as follows (mix to taste, items are in order of prevalence in the mix):
- Salt
- Dried garlic
- Cayenne
- Cumin
- Black pepper
You can add or subtract as you see fit. The key for mine is the garlic and cayenne mix, but cumin is a powerful flavoring that is essential to most Cajun and chili mixes. For salt I usually use crushed sea salt, but regular everyday table salt is fine too.
These wedges can be dipped in your favorite BBQ sauce, ketchup, or eaten plain. They’re awesome as sides for hamburgers, chicken, or any kind of home-cooked, simple feast. Enjoy!
Do you know what this mixture does in a plastic bottle over any length of time? In other words, will some of the bottle properties end up on the food?
With the spices, I store those in glass jars. Some of these (cumin, in particular) are relatively caustic, so anything that could be broken down/leeched would probably have it happen. Most cumin in the store is sold in either glass, tin, or waxed cardboard.