Beer-Soaked Crispy Baked Fries ♥

Beer-Soaked Crispy Baked Fries
For crispy baked French 'fries', here's a quick trick, soak the fries in beer first!

Crispy fries are the holy grail of potatoes – steamy hot and golden brown, crispy on the outside and tender in the middle. Starting on Day 325 in 2006 (don't bother, but there you go), I've tried a half dozen recipes, all disappointing. And when you limit your carbs, on those rare occasions when you choose to eat potatoes, they'd darn-better be worth eating!

The recipe was inspired by St. Louis' "Beer Guy" aka Evan Benn of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The headline read, "Beer-soaked 'fries' are baked to crispy perfection". This sounded ever-so-promising!

Evan's a beer guy so natch, he tested the recipe with different beers and had great luck with pilsners, Belgian-style ales, India pale ales, saisons and more. Me, I'm the veggie evangelist so natch, I tested the recipe with russet potatoes (excellent!) and sweet potatoes (tasty but not crispy) and the low-carb turnip (tasty but decidedly limp).

But for baked French 'fries'? These are completely crispy – and for a low-carb eater who intentionally veers off track occasionally, completely worth the splurge.

RECIPE for BEER-SOAKED CRISPY BAKED FRIES

Hands-on time: 10 minutes
Time to table: 90 minutes
Serves 4

1 pound russet potatoes, skins scrubbed
Beer to cover

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon black pepper

To serve, a scattering of salt, to taste

Preheat oven to 425F. Line a baking sheet with parchment.

Cut potatoes into "potato sticks". How? Slice the potatoes lengthwise about 1/3 inch thick. Separate potato into two stacks, cut-sides down. Cut lengthwise again, forming "sticks". Arrange potatoes in a shallow container, keeping the sticks separate and in a single layer. Pour beer over top, enough to cover. Let rest for 15 - 20 minutes, stirring once or twice.

Lift potatoes out into a colander to drain. Transfer to a large bowl, add oil, salt and pepper. With your hands, get in there and distribute the oil and seasoning throughout the potatoes, making sure that all the sticks are touched with oil. Arrange in a single layer on the parchment.

Bake for about 50 minutes, stirring halfway through and then every five minutes. Sprinkle with additional salt, serve hot.



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A Veggie Venture is home of 'veggie evangelist' Alanna Kellogg and the
famous asparagus-to-zucchini Alphabet of Vegetables.
© Copyright Kitchen Parade 2012


Alanna Kellogg
Alanna Kellogg

A Veggie Venture is home of "veggie evangelist" Alanna Kellogg and the famous asparagus-to-zucchini Alphabet of Vegetables.

Comments

  1. Good recipe. I roast potatoes in a similar way (without the beer!), and although their flavor is good, their crispness quotient is a little lacking. I think I might not be baking them as long as you do, and I'm definitely not stirring them as often at the end - I'll try that. The addition of beer sounds interesting. Have you tried the recipe without the beer? If so, which do you prefer? Anyway, thanks for this.

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  2. Check out the method by Cook's Illustrated Jan/Feb '04 "Best Oven Fries". It has worked for me for years to get crispy fries and it would not have the added calories or carbs of beer. I may try yours however to see if the beer adds a flavor that I like.

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  3. Jenni ~ Thanks for the tip! I subscribe to CI and still just never think to look there. FYI the beer taste is subtle so beyond the novelty (and the crispiness!) stick with what works for you! :-)

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  4. Jenni ~ I just checked and now remember looking at the Cook's Illustrated recipe. What held me back from the CI recipe was all the oil, 5T for 1.5lbs of potatoes vs mine, adjusted, 1.5T for 1.5lbs of potatoes. At that rate, I wouldn't worry about a few calories/carbs from the beer. Let me know if you try them!

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  5. Beer soaked fries are all the rage these days ... I must try these for myself!

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  6. I'm making these now. I used the beer leftover after soaking the potatoes to make a beer cheese dip with cheddar cheese, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, pepper and salt.

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  7. Rainbowartist ~ Brilliant! Wish I were there!

    ReplyDelete

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Thank you for taking a moment to write! I read each and every comment, for each and every recipe, whether a current recipe or a long-ago favorite. If you have a specific question, it's nearly always answered quick-quick. ~ Alanna