For some people, when it comes to french fries, they’ll drive across town in rush-hour traffic to get a taste of their favourite treat.
If you ask my daughter, she likes McD’s.
However, I quite enjoy the frites at Pastis. They’re crispy, golden, lightly salted and delightfully addictive (reminds me of the days when I worked at Le Bistingo).
On the other end of the scale, the poutine fries at Smoke’s Poutinerie — specifically the pulled pork poutine — absolutely rock. They’re perfectly gloppy and sauce soaked, yet still hold their texture.
At Starfish, people are always asking how we make our fries. So here’s a few tips and secrets that’ll help you make a similar version at home:
We keep the skin on — a nice, thin skin works best on the Yukon Golds.
If you don’t have a chipper, julienne the potato to your desired size. Then you have to soak your spuds — overnight is best. The idea is to take as much starch out of the potatoes as possible. Two or three rinses is best.
Next get the fryer going and get the oil good and hot. You need to blanch the frites in the oil, so give them a good cooking. Then pull and drain them and just let them rest. At Starfish (this is the secret technique part), we chill them in the fridge for the next day’s service and then we fry them again when the order comes in. The second cooking makes them crisp outside and soft and lovely inside.
As I am not a chef, I found this technique out through happenstance when I was running a media lunch at a restaurant years ago. Nobody showed up and the food turned into a staff meal. The fries were too cold to enjoy so I asked the cooks to pop them back into the fryer to heat up. Low and behold, the best fries ever came out. Decadent as it sounds — twice fried is the only way to go for me!
Once you have the frites out of the fryer, drain and rest on a paper bag. The kraft paper absorbs more of the residual oil. Now, get a stainless steel bowl and toss your hot frites with salt and thyme to season. Place on the serving plate immediately, and call for supper.
A nice light sauce for dipping is another little known technique I only show to folks at Starfish if I know them. Cocktail sauce and aioli — 50/50 mix. Give’er a try, but don’t tell your cardiologist I said so.
Shuckingly yours, Paddy.
Patrick McMurray is the owner of Starfish Oyster Bed & Grill and The Ceili Cottage. He is also a World Champion Oyster Shucker. Catch his blog weekly at PostCity.com.