If you’re able to get kennebec potatoes, comment below to share where you got them. Also, if you’re in the UK, there’s a similar variety called Maris piper. Start speaking a new language in 3 weeks with Babbel🎉. Get up to 60% off your subscription ➡Here: go.babbel.com/t?bsc=1200m60-youtube-brianlagerstrom-jul-2023&btp=default&KZfaq&Influencer..brianlagerstrom..USA..KZfaq

Great video. A little potato science from my husband who grew up on a potato farm… the reason why the russet is darker than the kennebec is that it was stored (after harvesting) in a colder potato storage than the Kenny. Potatoes raised specifically for fries are kept at a warmer temperature in storage in order to keep the starches from turning to sugars. Spuds raised for table use and grocery store bags are stored in colder temperatures in order to keep them from sprouting and breaking down. Whenever they would bring a truckload to the processors they would have a potato sliced and dropped in oil, called a fry color check. That would tell them where to unload because the processors wanted like fry colors together and not mixed. Just thought I’d add that info coming from the grower perspective- they grew kennebec as well as russets.

My french fry secret weapon: you can deep fry oven fries.

Bri, I'm so sorry you had to suffer through that bowl of fries, we appreciate the sacrifices you make for our education. You a real one.

Hey Bri - Two things that upped my fry game: - Use peanut oil, super tasty for fries (even better is beef tallow, but that's a whole thang) - Use popcorn salt, tinier granules that stick well and have that classic fry taste (big fast food places use this)

One tip people trying to fry some russets - boil in a combo of water/vinegar, this will keep the potatoes from crumbling and falling apart (see Kenji's recipe).

Found the Kennebec at my local farmers market yesterday. Made your fish and chips recipe with them and the wife was blown away. Thank you for the tips!

I've turned countless thousands of pounds of potatoes into french fries and this is the process we'd always use. No other way to do it

Russets can be improved by parboiling 10min w/ a little vinegar - the lower pH will slow the maillard reaction upon frying such that you use a slightly hotter temp for longer too cook the water out without the fries burning

Brian, we have a lot in common. I may not be a former baker or run a wildly successful cooking KZfaq channel, but I sure as hell can smash an entire bowl of fries as well.

I've seen these types of potatoes at my local farmers market in St. Catharines, Ontario in Canada. I haven't seen them this year yet but I think they are in season later in the summer if I remember correctly. I will definitely try this out when I can get my hands on some!

Right off the bat I think you have the absolute right idea about the precook. In my younger days, I worked at a famous fast food hamburger place that is famous for it's huge portions of home made French fries. And their procedure was a much shorter precook, in a much hotter oil...The same temp oil they did the final cook in. And in my own personal quest for perfection, I learned to do it almost identically to yours. I concluded 290 (splitting hairs), but also did 5 minutes. So MUCH MUCH more cooking in the precook than at 5...erm, that famous Hamburger place. The procedure you are using is PERFECT for serving the public in my opinion. it will yield a fry that most people will think is perfect. I would suggest an added step that people could use if they like those random straggler fries that got either overcooked in precook due to being smaller than average, or just got broken after precook and before final. And that is a 60 second blanch in boiling water prior to precook. This does 2 things, it cooks them more and weakens the surface so they get a more penetrated crunch, and it also helps them get drier prior to precooking in hot oil. When you take them out of hot water, the moisture on the surface tends to self dry as it is hotter and evaporates more aggressively. Again...This is only for people that like something a little more crunchy, broken down, and a tad greasier, due to the surface not being as secure. Also, one last tip...in the early process of rinsing, if you have the time, rather than rinsing 3 times at once, wait 30 minutes between rinses, and agitate them multiple times during each 30 minute period. Also this method will help mitigate the difference in results from a Russet to a Kennebec. As you said, nothing will replace the Kennebec, but this will get the Russet closer.

that's the thing I've been realizing with many of these recipes (as someone learning to cook). Many of them require ingredients i simply don't have access to.

Greetings from Belgium. You get a lot of things right and a few not so right. From a health perspective the temperature of your second bake is really too high. You need to avoid acrylamides. 345° F would be ideal for most potato varieties. Soaking the fries is a waste of time, and you want a thickness of 1 cm, not 1.5 cm. This ensures that you can bake at 345° F, and it only requires 2-3 min., not 7-10 min. Kennebec is a very good choice because it has a medium starch content and it's the right size.

Congrats on getting a million subs man. Been here since Weeds&Sardines. ❤❤❤

My secret weapon for really great fries have been triple cooked chips (UK). Cook in water + vinegar first, 2nd fry low temp, 3rd fry high temp. Delicious!

Where I live the main potatoes sold in stores are the atlantic and kennebec varieties, interchangeably sold as "white" potatoes, and russets are sold as russets, not white potatoes. White potatoes are better mashed, baked, fried, boiled, everything. Never understood why russets are the "default" potato in the US when they just aren't as good.

BTW if you live in Europe and are looking for a good potato variety you should look for Bintje Potatoes (pronounced bintsh) ! The are probably the best kind of potatoes for Fry making. Every proper fry cooked in belgium is made with this one, and every respectable fry enthusiast in europe uses them. I dont know if this variety is produced in north america but in europe it is for sure.

7:24 "These fries are literally PERFECT" 🤣

"Call your local produce purveyor" LOL @ Brian

Every year we used to raise 800-1,200 lbs of mostly Kennebecs. Prolific and long-lasting, they were one of our favorite potatoes.

for home cooks, where you don't need to cook multiple batches, the easiest way is to put the potatoes into room temp oil, and fry them until they are done. No double-cook is required. Rinse and soak the cut fries for at least one or two hours, then dry them off, place them in the fryer along with the room temp oil, set the temp for 375, and cook in a single batch until done, about 20 minutes generally. Best oil for frying is pure beef tallow, with peanut oil a close second.

Best snack EVER… the Northern English Chip Butty. Maris piper potatoes fried in beef dripping and lumped into a heavily buttered soft floury bap. Heinz tomato ketchup optional…

I got a easier trick that works in any potato and even sort of work with Airfryer: cut the chips on the thick side, boil them to the point their cooked but don’t break. And then fry them. You can even do doble fry like with korean fry chicken. Love your videos by the way.

I have two fry secrets. The first one is also a secret for popcorn. Instead of salting with kosher or table salt, put a 1:10 ratio by weight of MSG to salt in a mortar and pestle and grind into a powder. This will make the salt stick MUCH better. Instead of dipping in just ketchup, mix up a 1:2 ratio by volume of Worcestershire to ketchup.

Congrats on the 1M subs!!

My secret tip for drastically improving that crispy outside creamy inside texture, is boiling the fries after being cut, then freezing them, then frying at low temp, freeze them again if you really want to go the extra mile, and then fry them hot to serve. Yields perfect restaurant fries even with the lacking variety of potatoes i can get where I live!

Hey Bri - Made your Apple Galette over the weekend. HUGE HIT!

😂🤣THE BEST Babble ad on the internet. "I said 'Wee' and checked in mucho faster."

I really appreciate how methodically you talk through every step. I'm guilty of more than a few failed experiments and the edumacation as to why I may have erred is awesome.

If you're in Europe, do buy the Bintje from Belgium, if you're in the neighbouring countries, they should have that variety available for shipping. Ideal for fries for the same reason as the Kenny. Traditionally fried in beef tallow, of course.

Must be a complete coincidence that in my area Kennebec potatoes are common, especially potato seeds. For years I've just stuck to Yukon potatoes because they're good all around and I love mashed potatoes. I might give these a try next year.

@brianlagerstrom; Good technique, as usual. Pro tip from the fry capital of the world -Belgium-: 1st fry in ox white, far more flavourfull. Then freeze the fries. 2nd fry in peanut oil to chrisp up. You're welcome!

Благодарю за мастер-класс, обязательно приготовлю ! 👍Thanks for the tutorial, I'll definitely make it!

Honestly, get a chip pan if you're not using a deep fryer: having a basket that fits inside your pan makes it SO much easier. Bit wetter than you thought and the oil bubbles up? Lift the basket out. Instant calm. And cast iron for deep frying? Well, yes, OK, it holds the heat, but that's a double-edged sword. If it's getting too hot, it's very difficult to control it and get it cooler again. I'll use a chip pan for the chips and a wok of oil for the fish, chicken or whatever else I'm doing. Controlling the temperature of two deep-frying pans to coincide is a LOT easier if they're thinner! I'm in the UK so I generally use Maris Pipers for the same reasons you use Kennebecs: dry and starchy, not much sugar. I tend to parboil first, so they can evaporate a load of moisture before the first frying, but the biggest difference I've noticed is growing them. Chips made from my homegrown Maris Pipers knock spots off what I can make with store-bought.

The French fry secret weapon sounds like a gadget in a food-themed spy movie.

The Operative Word is they make me "HAPPY" 😊 😋😊

Beef tallow is my secret weapon. I render my own from fresh suet. There is absolutely nothing better for french fries. Tallow is also great for fried chicken.

Take a pot o' cold water. Cut russets into desired shape, drop them into the water as soon as they're shaped. Once all tates are cut, go to the sink and wash away starch as described in the video (though I'm usually less thorough). Replace the water and take it over to the stove. Boil until they're about to fall apart from a poke with a fork. Strain them in the sink and let them sit in the strainer to steam off. Do a similar double fry method as described in the video. I've never timed it. I pull them up on the lower temp after they basically start to get any color on them. I pull them up on the high temp after they've passed the "I scraped them with a fork and found them sufficiently crispy" test. Salt and enjoy. Make a Raisin Caines ripoff fry sauce for bonus points. This method gets me pretty impressive results and I can be eating fries within an hour with it. I'm sure the upgraded Kenny potates would also help bring this method to the next level, but I've never heard of them before today.

Personally I'm less concerned with having to track down the right kind of potato than I am with the fact that I have to plan this a day and a half ahead. I want fries NOW dangit!

Thanks! I'll have to see if our local farmers' markets have the Kennebecs. My mom used to make fries at home in the 60s and 70s and she'd do the two-step thing, and they were tasty (probably to a large extent because we ate them while they were still quite hot). BTW, your French accent is charmingly midwestern, mawn-soor!

As a Micmac Indian, we used to lightly dust them in corn starch before frying ??? 🤔

These look fantastic, buuuut, i'm happy with my more widely applicable method. The 36 hour soak, is a must. After the soak, you want to BLANCHE your cut fries in a pot with a mixture of 1 part vinegar to 9 parts water , i like shoestring, boil for 3-4 minutes. Remove to a paper towel lined tray to drain, cover with paper towels, then use a tea towel to pull out additional moisture, let sit for 30 minutes, bring a pot of neutral oil to 350f as they sit. Once they're drier, flash fry for 60-90 seconds, just to get a bit of crisp on the exterior. Back on the baking sheet to cool. Once cooled, PUT THEM INTO THE FREEZER. Let them freeze at least 12 hours, preferably 24. It's a pain in the ass, but the addition of vinegar elevates the flavor without overpowering anything and you end up with the same crispy on the outside, soft on the inside you get from the frozen supermarket fare.

❤Kennebec - They are delicious and good for anything; I grow them in my garden. Last harvest fries are mind blowing. Reaction @8:20 - spot on. Not kidding. Russets are preferred by stores and restaurants because of abundance and grow fast, you can get a couple harvests per year. Like imagine the Russet like a 1500 pick up truck, it does the job very well, loved by many. The Kennebec is like a Camaro, you pick your date up with it.

I worked at a McDonalds in the 80s and I remember topping off the vats with vegetable shortening.

Finally someone comes out with the truth! I doubt I can manage to get a hold of these potatoes but at least now I know why no matter what I did the previous results were unsatisfactory, even worse most of the recipes/advice I saw made no mention that I wasn't going to get perfect fries so I thought I was doing something wrong.

Have you tried freezing the fries before frying? Same technique works for Tofu. The freezing creates little air pockets that makes the fries crispier or the tofu more permeable to flavor.

No boil with vinegar? That step is a huge win in the overall process. It'll prevent the fries from breaking allowing you to use russets no problem

Something tells me it'd probably just be easier to go with frozen fries from a restaurant supply store. :D I don't have to worry about eating all those potatoes before they go bad that way too.

As true west flemish belgian farmer, eating twice a week fries ( wednesday and sunday ) the secret is when you cook them the first time 160degrees is the temperature, 140 is to low

For the best Fries (English style chips) boil them first. Them let them cool. Then fry using the method in this video.

Crispy on the outside, smooth on the inside... armadillo!

Red skin potatoes from Prince Edward Island are pretty good for the typical roadside french fries you get in Quebec

The secret of French fries is to be fried in white beef fat. And the size of the fries. And the temperatures for the 2 baths in oil. And the rest time between each bath. It’s art.

"Unadulterated mouth pleasure" Hahaha! You kill me. Thanks for the tip about Kennebec potatoes, great video.

Regular old potatoes are good enough for me. I load em up with so much salt and ketchup I don’t notice any grease.

I asked an employee at IN-N-OUT Burger (here in El Segundo, Ca), what potato they use for their fries, his reply; Kennebeck.

What's your opinion of a pre-boil with water and vinegar to remove excess sugars before the frying?

Happily, I live in Maine - which is a great potato-growing state - and live less than an hour's drive from Kennebec County. We stocked these as seed potatoes when I worked at any Agway and they can be found at farmers markets, like the vid said. I never appreciated the differences in the kitchen between these and Russets. Thanks.

Feels like this video was made for me through the ether... been experimenting for months, and this was just fantastic. Thank you as always!!!

Literally made homemade fries last night and complained to my husband that they never seem to come out right 😅 definitely gonna try this cutting and cooking method next time!

I'm actually a big fan of the way russet potatoes deep fry. They're definitely not the same type of crunch as other restaurant fries, but they work really well for newfoundland (local) style fish and chips. The darker colour and somewhat in-between soft and crisp texture works well with a coating of gravy and "dressing" (soft bread crumbs, summer savoury and butter). The Brits consider our style of fish and chips soggy bug I've always loved the messy homogeneous texture of it. If you like poutine you may like this style.

Kennebec potatoes are the same type In n Out uses. When ordering at In n Out order them light well and add more salt. They should be close to Brian made here.

I actually have a trick to make russet potatoes extremely crispy without browning, cook in hot water with vinegar for about 8 minutes, dry and fry and you’ll have the best fries! No need for hard to get potatoes

Na, I used to prep and cook the fries at McDonalds in the late sixties. We got 50lb bags of russets. First wash them in cold water, dump them into a rotary peeler, then into cold water bath for rinsing, then cut them the long way using a big potato cutter that falls into another cold water rinse, then load a frying basket and shake to get the water off then blanch to partially cook them and stack in a basket holder. When you need fries put a basket in the finish fryer and cook until golden brown. The frying oil was 50/50 beef tallow and peanut oil. Fries were 6-8in long and the best fry in the world. I could make a batch of fries in 10 minutes from start to finish and would put them up against any fry the city.

If you only had Russet potatoes would you do the boiling technique first, and then the double fry?

I used to prep fries for a major canadian fast food place, and this is how we prepped them. Cut, wash and blanche.

If you're willing to dedicate a couple hours to the process you absolutely can get amazing glassy exterior fluffy interior fries with the lowly russet. The trick is you boil the fries with a heaping teaspoon of baking soda for 5-6 min (pull and drain when you see the smaller fries begin to break in half or small shards flake off the larger ones). Drain and dry on paper towels and stash in the fridge on a cookie sheet until cold. Take them out of the fridge and let them come up to room temp and fry at 375 until you get the browning you desire. Voila. Best fries ever. Love your channel by the way.

You can use Russet potato , boil 4-7 minutes first , let cool on rack they will dry themselves , then fry at low temp , at this point you can let cool then fry at high temp like Brian did or you can freeze them and fry at a high temp straight out of the freezer. McDonald’s and many restaurants don’t use Kennebec potato they use the Burbank Russets.

I drove across France years ago... i had basic level french, when i stumbled through speaking the response was excellent. Dont pitch english in a non english country..... imagine how you would feel if someone blasted a foreign language at you in your country, dont be stupid. EDIT: I went to a mcdonalds in a small town, staffed by kids, i had the entire staff clustered at the counter, they excitedly clapped their hands and encouraged me when i got my french correct.... try it, learn a little, it pays off.

When I married my husband, he was an "only kennebec potatoe" guy haha we grow them in our garden, but we are lucky that we live in an area where we have a farmers market around every corner that sells them as well!

Not to make this a competition between KZfaq French Friers, but if all you can get is the russet potatoes I've had a lot of great success doing Ethan Chleboski's boil in acidic water followed by a double fry method. Its definitely not a quick weeknight fry option but for homemade french fries its made the best ones I've ever had at home when I do it.

Used to use these all the time in Maine. I think they originated in Presque Isle Maine.

I have made french fries countless ways, and the thing that makes the biggest difference in the outcome is the fat you fry them in. Beef tallow gives french fries by far the best taste. It's so much better than french fries fried in regular cooking oil, that I honestly don't even consider the two the same product.

Here I sit in the capital of Maine in Kennebec county. Taters are mostly grown in Aroostook though. Still yummy! Thanks!

Looks so good!

These look way better than most homemade fries, but I still have the best results if I freeze them first. They turn out far crispier for me. (using Russets) I've heard it has to do with moisture content and surface vs interior cooking, but whatever the reason, freezing works for me. I'll have to find some Kennebecs.

Kennebec potatoes are what "In 'n Out" uses for its FF. Good stuff.

My trick is freeze them after 1st fry or technically Heston Blumenthalls trick to be more specific. It works great but u have to plan ahead to make them

I started my deep fry journey using an enameled cast iron dutch oven, as you use. I thought the thermal mass would help keep the temp consistent. however I found that unless I fry in pretty small batches, the temp drops and because of the mass of pot, takes too long to recover on a fairly wimpy home gas cooktop. So I switched to a carbon steel wok, as easier to regulate heat. Plus, the shape of the wok makes for easier maneuvering of food, and more area for expansion and bubbling of the oil. Just my own observation....maybe not for everyone.

I usually have a problem with online cooks who, say, take a package of food out of the fridge and put it right on the wooden cutting board before preparation. But today you win the prize with your big, dirty, cardboard box of potatoes right there on the cutting board which is supposed to be about the cleanest place in the kitchen! ARGHH... That said, glad to hear how to make delicious french fries at home and which potatoes to choose.

Our preference is using yukon gold for most of our potato dishes. We also rinse the starch off of the fries and soak them.

Another great video. I haven't read all the comments, but I wonder if I'm in the minority of those who greatly prefer the Russets for their bend-y-ness.

>buy a dozen kennebec potatoes >make that potato growing box >convert your backyard into a frenchfry factory

You can also use a french fry cutter. Those things are amazing and helped me get a very even, consistent cut in my fries. That, and boiling my fries in a pot of water with 1 TBsp of white wine vinegar and plenty of salt, gave me the best home fries I've had in a long time.

For people trying to get crispy fries with Russets, I recommend sticking to a shoestring cut with the twice-fry and you should get a pretty good result. The fries will cook faster, which means that they will start crisping earlier and the surface of the fry won't have time to darken too much and throw off the flavour. I find you get a delicious result, but it is a different fry. Personally, I love poutine and I think the shoestring works better than a thicker cut because it will hold more gravy.

I'm LOLing at the timing of this video. I just made your fish & chips recipe last weekend, so I was rewatching that video in preparation. Today's video is an extended version of the "chip" portion, from the Kennebec potatoes to the method. Since I was doing the fish batter GF, I followed your advice & stuck to Ore-Ida steak fries in the air fryer so I could focus my attention on frying the fish - which was EXCELLENT, BTW. It didn't stay as crispy as wheat flour but the fish inside was perfectly cooked, and I hadn't had a good, old-fashioned fish fry in years. Really scratched the itch! Thanks for the great recipe & technique.

I wonder if you can use a dehydrator for 10-20 minutes to get the fridge potatoes totally dry and higher internal temp. They won't get much past 120F but all the moisture on the surface should be done.

Those russet fries looked absolutely _perfect_ for poutine, though.

From Grinding it out, - He went on to explain that when potatoes are dug, they are mostly water. They improve in taste as they dry out and the sugars change to starch. The McDonald brothers had, without knowing it, a natural curing process in their open bins, which allowed the desert breeze to blow over the potatoes.

Might have to try my hand at truffle & parmesan fries after seeing this.

We usually leave the skin on and put the bowl in the freezer for at least 20 minutes before frying or baking. The whole potato can be eaten so if you're going to peel them don't throw out the the skin. Fry them up and season them as a side dish. I can't recall the last time I peeled a spud.

Yo Bri, have you tried frying them in tallow instead of cooking oil? For those of us trying to avoid seed oils, wondering how change would stack against canola. I would imagine it would (at the least) add some flavor dimension to it.

I remember when I first found your channel a billion years ago (Weeds and Sardines) and I was so happy to find both gardening and cooking in one place. Sigh. Good times.

"Instead of dancing... I just ate the fries." hahaha Love it.

Most fast food places use either lard (family places) or sunflower oil (chain).

I’m really looking forward to seeing if you get any dope recipes from Alaska

We grow Kennebec potatoes, and live on the Kennebec river!

If you think that any restaurant goes through all this to serve fries, you are sadly mistaken. I've tried all these tricks for french fries, rinsing, soaking, par boiling before frying, frying twice, it makes no difference. Just cut your own fries from large russet baking potatoes and fry them in peanut oil ( if you can afford it) or beef tallow. ( i can't afford enough of that to fry them.) or vegetable oil. I would not eat anything fried in canola oil.( Look on youtube to see how its made.)

I understand that variety makes all of the difference. Could par-baking the fry effect a similar result as par frying?