Do you know why fries are soooo fattening at the restaurants? Because they are fried…. twice! Restaurants can make fries super fast because they are already fried first at the plant before shipment. Then, the french fries are fried again before serving. I love this recipe for fries because yields crispy results and very tasty french fries. My kids GOBBLED them up and didn’t complain once they weren’t like the ones at the restaurant. These are my new favorite fries. There are NO fry recipes on my website because I have made this for years in the oven, but never had a great recipe to share until now.
As with most recipes – it isn’t the ingredients, but the method on how to make them. I also include how to make burgers at home in the cast iron skillet. We had a storm the night I was going to make burgers, so I made them in the cast iron instead of the grill. Thanks to Bobby Flay, they turned out great!
**Update 4/16/12** I made these again and doubled the recipe. The baking time on the fries needs extended for crispy fries. They were mostly done after 25 minutes. I tried America’s Test Kitchen’s cheeseburger recipe. It worke better than Bobby Flay’s. (I’m sorry the letter after C in the alphabet is not working on my computer so I can’t use that letter!!)
Best Baked Fries
yield 4 servings
2 large baking potatoes (Russet), cut into strips
1 Tb. parmesan cheese, grated (The stuff in the shaker works just fine)
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. paprika
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1. After you have cut your fries into strips (I cut the potato in half, the slice those halves long ways, then cut into strips), put them in a large bowl of water. Store in the fridge for at least 30 minutes up to over night. (This also works great when you want to prep your mashed potatoes before Thanksgiving. Just cut into chunks, throw in water and store in the fridge overnight.)
2. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Convection Oven: 425 degrees.
3. Pat your fries dry on some paper towels. Put them in a plastic bag with the cheese, salt, garlic powder, paprika and pepper. Shake and coat.
4. Line a cookie sheet with foil or silicone and spray with cooking spray to prevent sticking and encourage crisping! Put them all in a single layer or you will get unbaked fries.
5. Spread the coated fries on the cookie sheet and bake for 25 minutes (shorter in convection). Watch them closely around 20 minutes!! Depending on how small or large you cut your fries will determine how fast they cook. They will have nice, lovely brown spots like in my photo. Add more salt if you wish and eat!
Recipe from Just a Pinch
Bobby Flay’s Perfect Burger
4 servings
1 and 1/2 pounds ground chuck, beef or turkey (I like 93%)
kosher salt and pepper (I like throwing in garlic and onion powder, too)
1 and 1/2 Tb. canola oil or grapeseed oil
cheese
buns
1. Make your burgers: divide the meat into 4 portions. Poke your thumb into the middle to make a large dent. Add salt and pepper to both sides.
2. For grill: Preheat to high. Brush burgers with oil. Grill one side 3 minutes. Flip and grill 4 minutes for medium-rare. Continue to cook until you reach the temperature you like. I like medium-well for myself and cook well done for the kids.
3. For cast iron: Preheat cast iron skillet to high heat. Heat the oil in the pan. Put the meat in the pan and cook 3 minutes. I turned it down to medium at this point to avoid burning. Flip and cook another 4-15 minutes. How well-done you want the meat cooked will determine your timing. Well done took me almost 20 minutes which was much longer than I had expected. Add cheese and buns.
Recipe from Bobby Flay
[…] To make the fries, I also use this recipe. Both work well. Just grease your pan or you get stuck-on […]
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