French Potatoes
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Cut raw potatoes into thick slices lengthwise.
Divide each slice into strips.
Fry and serve
Fry the strips in very hot lard.
Dredge with coarse sea salt before serving.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.
Explore the science
What each ingredient does
- Raw potatoes
- Provide the starchy body that softens inside while the outside crisps in the hot fat.
- Lard
- Conducts heat rapidly and adds fat that helps the exterior brown and crisp.
The step that matters
Frying in very hot lard. If the lard is not hot enough, the strips absorb excess fat and turn greasy and soft instead of crisp. Very hot fat quickly sets the surface, limiting oil uptake and encouraging browning.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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