The picture above is from a blog about how to make McDonald's style french fries at home. The average blog on french fries does not make it to our news section, but this blog is in no way average!
First of all you will admire the length this blogger, J. Kenji Lopez-Alt, went to "deconstruct McDonald's french fries".
But it does not stop there: some of his experiments may actually inspire you to some experiments of your own.... At least I will be doing some testing in the kitchen later this week!
I'm gonna come right out and say something that I'm sure you won't all openly agree with: McDonald's french fries are great. At their best, they are everything a french fry should be: salty, crisp, light, and not greasy. Granted, you get the occasional odd franchise that lets'em sit under the heat lamp for a couple hours too long, but on the whole, I find it remarkable that the bigwigs have discovered a way to create a frozen fry that even a one armed eyeless chimp has trouble screwing up. And I know, because they've got one working the fry station at the franchise on my corner.
To be absolutely honest, I've never been able to make fries as good as theirs..... Sure, my thick-cut pub-style fries are super-potatoey and fantastic, and when I'm in the mood for them, my seasoned steak fries can't be beat, but for thin, super-crisp fries (I'm talking the kind that only appear in fast food restaurants and French bistros under the name frites)? I'm always better off running down to the take-out window than bothering to fry them myself at home.
Until now