Oven baked fries are so simple to make and have the best flavor ever. The trick is to use a bit of melted bacon fat (just a dab will do!) and to season them before they go into the oven, rather than after.
Also, you don’t want to skip the soaking part. In addition to removing excess potato starch, soaking peeled, washed, and cut fries in ice water keeps fries from adhering together while ensuring maximum crispness. Also, adding a teaspoon of salt to the water results in extra-crispy fries.
These days, air fryers are pretty popular. This recipe does really well in an air fryer too. I use a pastry brush to add just a touch of bacon fat to the fries. It seems to work the best for me.
Oven Baked Fries
You’ll Need:
About 2 Large Potatoes per person
Ice Cold Water
Leftover Bacon Fat, melted butter or Melted Shortening
- Wash the potatoes thoroughly, then cut into desired lengths.
- Cover the fries completely with cold water and a few handfuls of ice cubes and let it set for an hour to soak.
- Drain and pat dry. I actually spin mine dry using a salad spinner.
- Dip the prepared potatoes in melted butter, bacon fat or melted shortening, sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper or any desired spices, such as fry seasoning.
- Bake at 400 for 20 minutes, remove them from the oven, flip the fries and return them to the oven for an additional 20 minutes.
- Alternatively, you can place a cooling rack on a cookie sheet and bake them on the rack itself, like we do with our sweet potato fries, which ensures even browning without flipping.
I’ve never made oven baked fries (or any other kind of fries) using bacon fat. To be perfectly honest, that’s a fabulous idea! Waste not, want not, or so my mum used to say.