Here Me Out: Coconut Oil French Fries

[jzeno]

Am I crazy?

So, the starch can be reduced but I'm not certain if the starch is completely cooked or well cooked (as Peat suggests), but I can cook these things in like 5-10 minutes. They're delicious. They're satisfying.

Am I missing something?

Is this not a good compromise?

If someone has some information on how terribly starchy a french fry can be (or a batch) that would be helpful, but all in all I reckon that if you can dramatically reduce the starch content by: rinsing, slicing, soaking, then deep frying in coconut oil, then frying again (most french fry recipes suggest two baths in hot oil, not one), wouldn't this be kind of a great food for the sake of 1) It's a potato 2) The starch content is considerably low (I'm hoping) and 3) Prepared in coconut oil (not perfect, but better than others)?

Help me out here.

Am I crazy?

Please chime in.

For those wondering: Coconut oil has an extremely high smoking point (unlike many other PUFA oils); perfect for deep frying.

Thank you.

 

[ecstatichamster]

if you enjoy them, and they are low in PUFA, why not?

 

[danielbb]

I got an air fryer for Christmas so I am going to fry mine in air and see how that goes. I am pretty much on a no oil diet.

FWI, avocado oil has just about the highest smoke point that I am aware of. Coconut oil is on the lower end. Here is a reference for different smoke points but many of the oils listed are PUFA so obviously avoid those. https://whatscookingamerica.net/Information/CookingOilTypes.htm

 

[jzeno]

FWI, avocado oil has just about the highest smoke point that I am aware of. Coconut oil is on the lower end. Here is a reference for different smoke points but many of the oils listed are PUFA so obviously avoid those. https://whatscookingamerica.net/Information/CookingOilTypes.htm

Just to break down that link a little more: Avocado oil is a monounsaturated fat, not saturated. There are 23 oils listed, coconut oil is in the top 25% (#6 of 23 with respect to smoking point). Among fully saturated fats (excluding all unsaturated fats), coconut oil becomes second only to ghee (clarified butter). It's pretty high up in my opinion. I think this confirms that.

Coconut oil is advertised as good for deep frying, so I'm not too concerned about that. I've done it a number of times already (before delving into Ray Peat stuff, just for fun). I'm mostly concerned about the starch in potatoes. I know coconut oil is good alternative to PUFAs for me for the most part (it's not perfect, of course, but a good middle ground). I'm trying my best to balance what I've learned from Peat and live a semi-normal life. Trying not to be too restrictive.

Anyway, I'm mostly concerned about the potatoes.

Nonetheless thank you for sharing.

 

[schultz]

I eat them. The way I do them is...

Cut potatoes into fry shape. (russet work best)
Pressure cook in water for 5 minutes.
Take out and let dry on paper towel for a few minutes.
Deep fry in refined coconut oil or ghee (CO is cheaper).

Amazing fries.

I use a Presto "FryDaddy" or "GranPappy" depending on amount of people I'm cooking for. I like these because they use minimal oil.

 

[jzeno]

Pressure cook in water for 5 minutes.
Amazing fries.

They are delicious. I like French fries so much I bought a French fry cutter.

I don't have a pressure cooker, but this sounds good. I will look into getting one.

Is there any particular reason to pressure cooking? In sure it reduces the starch in the water and the partial cooking, yes? Does it improve the fry, too?

I've never heard of that before. Might be in to something extra profound here.

Thank you.

 

[schultz]

They are delicious. I like French fries so much I bought a French fry cutter.

I don't have a pressure cooker, but this sounds good. I will look into getting one.

Is there any particular reason to pressure cooking? In sure it reduces the starch in the water and the partial cooking, yes? Does it improve the fry, too?

I've never heard of that before. Might be in to something extra profound here.

Thank you.

When I was trying to figure out how to cook fries a lot of the instructions on the internet were overly complicated it seemed. Some articles said to deep fry them twice, some said soak them for a day in sugar water, and on and on. I hate stuff like that so I came up with my own way. I've refined my method and I get the best results with the 5 minutes in the pressure cooker and about 4 minutes in my deep fryer (I go by colour). Nice crispy outside and soft inside, without being burnt. You just have to handle them gently when they come out of the pressure cooker as they can fall apart. I cut them a little on the thick side to help prevent this.

I'm not sure if it gets rid of starch or not. I imagine it does a bit. It's fast and straightforward, so I like it.

 

[charlie]

I got an air fryer for Christmas so I am going to fry mine in air and see how that goes. I am pretty much on a no oil diet.

Let us know how it goes, please. :)

 

[Luckytype]

If there was a less involved way for me to do this I would absolutely be doing it regularly. I love potato and love coconut oil

 

[TeaRex14]

Am I crazy?

So, the starch can be reduced but I'm not certain if the starch is completely cooked or well cooked (as Peat suggests), but I can cook these things in like 5-10 minutes. They're delicious. They're satisfying.

Am I missing something?

Is this not a good compromise?

If someone has some information on how terribly starchy a french fry can be (or a batch) that would be helpful, but all in all I reckon that if you can dramatically reduce the starch content by: rinsing, slicing, soaking, then deep frying in coconut oil, then frying again (most french fry recipes suggest two baths in hot oil, not one), wouldn't this be kind of a great food for the sake of 1) It's a potato 2) The starch content is considerably low (I'm hoping) and 3) Prepared in coconut oil (not perfect, but better than others)?

Help me out here.

Am I crazy?

Please chime in.

For those wondering: Coconut oil has an extremely high smoking point (unlike many other PUFA oils); perfect for deep frying.

Thank you.

I don't see anything wrong with this. I eat potatoes in a very similar way, only difference is I put the coconut oil on the fries and bake them, it requires less oil this way. My coconut oil product isn't cheap by any stretch of the definition, so saving it where I can is always helpful.

I got an air fryer for Christmas so I am going to fry mine in air and see how that goes. I am pretty much on a no oil diet.

FWI, avocado oil has just about the highest smoke point that I am aware of. Coconut oil is on the lower end. Here is a reference for different smoke points but many of the oils listed are PUFA so obviously avoid those. https://whatscookingamerica.net/Information/CookingOilTypes.htm

That link doesn't really tell the whole story. The stability of the fats is just as important if not more important then the smoke point of the oil. Coconut oil is the most stable, and it also looks like they gave the smoke point of virgin coconut oil. Refined expeller pressed coconut oil has a smoke point of 400, because it is filtered. Clarified butter could arguably be considered the best as well, strong stability and super high smoke point (500 degrees).

 

[jzeno]

If there was a less involved way for me to do this I would absolutely be doing it regularly. I love potato and love coconut oil

@Luckytype,

It's pretty easy and straightforward. Just got to get the hang of deep frying, if you've never done it before.

Here's a website with pictures for each step of the way and a gif at the end if you or anyone else wants to learn how to make them: How to Make French Fries at Home

 

[jzeno]

I use a Presto "FryDaddy" or "GranPappy" depending on amount of people I'm cooking for. I like these because they use minimal oil.

I just noticed this. I had no idea something like this exists. I think I'm going to buy one.

I very much like french fries.

Thank you @schultz.

 

[schultz]

I just noticed this. I had no idea something like this exists. I think I'm going to buy one.

I very much like french fries.

Thank you @schultz.

Yes, it is awesome! You just plug it in... there are no dials or anything. I think the temperature goes up to a certain set amount and then will drop down a certain amount before it turns back on or something like that. It is perfect for fries though. The "FryDaddy" version, which is smaller than the "GranPappy", uses 1 litre of oil.

You're quite welcome

 

[yerrag]

Are you using fully hydrogenated coconut oil? This has a high flash point, unlike that of regular refined coconut oil.

I made fries from the supermarket frozen fries. They are very crispy and tastes much, much better than McDonald's fries.

I didn't have the automatic on/off to electric fryer like Presto, so I had to have a candy thermometer to make sure I reach the right temperature of at least 190C. Then it's a matter of getting enough, not too much, frozen fries in, and letting it fry with a lot of steam and bubbles splattering at first. So make sure it's covered. When it's done, the fries will be quiet and ready to be scooped up.

I can make them into Singapore-style salted egg fries after this.

Saute curry leaves in ghee. Add the egg yolks of salted eggs in. Saute until the leaves become thin and slightly crispy. Then add the fries you just made. Enjoy!

Cooked potatoes are actually alkaline. Knowing this, it's ALL GOOD!

 

[jzeno]

Are you using fully hydrogenated coconut oil?

No, just the kind you buy at the grocery store. So I believe more sensitive to heat and more PUFAs.

I plan on eventually getting some hydrogenated stuff since Peat seems to suggest it but haven't as of yet.

 

[yerrag]

No, just the kind you buy at the grocery store. So I believe more sensitive to heat and more PUFAs.

I plan on eventually getting some hydrogenated stuff since Peat seems to suggest it but haven't as of yet.

If it's the regular stuff, it's not suitable for deep frying. Its flash point is at 180C. So you're forced to fry at a temperature that's lower than ideal fry temperature, since you don't want the oil to smoke (another term is smoke point). This makes your frys oily, and doesn't give you the dry crisp feeling of a well-made fry.

 

[tankasnowgod]

Am I crazy?

So, the starch can be reduced but I'm not certain if the starch is completely cooked or well cooked (as Peat suggests), but I can cook these things in like 5-10 minutes. They're delicious. They're satisfying.

Am I missing something?

Is this not a good compromise?

If someone has some information on how terribly starchy a french fry can be (or a batch) that would be helpful, but all in all I reckon that if you can dramatically reduce the starch content by: rinsing, slicing, soaking, then deep frying in coconut oil, then frying again (most french fry recipes suggest two baths in hot oil, not one), wouldn't this be kind of a great food for the sake of 1) It's a potato 2) The starch content is considerably low (I'm hoping) and 3) Prepared in coconut oil (not perfect, but better than others)?

Help me out here.

Am I crazy?

Please chime in.

For those wondering: Coconut oil has an extremely high smoking point (unlike many other PUFA oils); perfect for deep frying.

Thank you.

Apparently, the key is to cook them twice- Chef John's French Fries Recipe

They are very well cooked at that point, and very crispy. They taste just awesome. It's as well cooked a starch as you can get.

I have a mini fryer, and I do use Hydrogenated Coconut Oil. That stuff is awesome for deep frying. Normal Coconut Oil does not handle deep frying nearly as well.

 

[Trix]

I still use Matt Stone's recipe. I made today and can attest they were just wonderful, crispy on the outside and soft on the inside.
10 inch stainless steel saute pan
2-4 potatoes depending on size (after cut, put on plate and pat with paper towel to get most of the water off)
Refined Coconut Oil
Turn on oven at 400 degrees before starting to fry.

add 3 T of refined coconut oil to pan and heat on medium high (7). Wait till it is hot. Bring your plate of potatoes to the stove. Tilt pan away from you, as you ease a plate of fresh cut potato fries into pan, now let the pan down, tilt toward you - make sure to swirl the pan a tad to get the fries you just added to pan touched with the CO. Do not touch for 2-3 minutes...then start turning with a tong a couple at a time. This will take you a few minutes to make sure all have been turned at least once. By the time you have turned all of them, it is ready to get the ones really done, to place on the side of pan, and add some of the ones on the side to the middle of pan. When they look brown, they are not done just yet, so now put pan in the 400 degree oven. Set timer for 10 minutes. They should be done now. I would say I use a cut maybe a half inch, by 4 inches long. I have made them bigger and the oven time will take another 5 minutes or so to make sure the potato is perfect.

 

[Dave Clark]

Let us know how it goes, please. :)

I do sweet potato fries in the air fryer, made from fresh, not frozen, and they turned out good. I made the standard orange variety, then I did the Japanese purple and white varieties. I read that regular potato fries turn out good too, I read that you should soak them in water for 30 minutes before you fry them (drying them off first of course).

 

[danielbb]

I do sweet potato fries in the air fryer, made from fresh, not frozen, and they turned out good. I made the standard orange variety, then I did the Japanese purple and white varieties. I read that regular potato fries turn out good too, I read that you should soak them in water for 30 minutes before you fry them (drying them off first of course).

I looked at some of the air fryer videos on youtube and several of them sprinkle olive oil on the fries before air-frying. Some did not use oil and used air alone and those seemed fine too. Are you just using air by itself Dave or are you sprinkling some olive oil on them?