Oven Fries/Chips: Oven-fried French Fries

Subject: Oven-fried French Fries
Newsgroups: rec.food.cooking
From: CHERLLEE49 at webtv.net
Date: Thu, 6 Aug 1998 00:15:45 -0700 (PDT)
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Help!
Anyone has a recipe for oven-fried french fries?
Thanks,
Cherl
From: imocku at aol.com (Ilene)
Date: 6 Aug 1998 13:31:19 GMT
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Hi Cherl,

Here's two ways:
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"Spicy" Oven french "Fries"

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.

Take two large baking potatoes and cut them into long strips - not too thin, more like diner fry size (peel or don't peel, it's your choice.)

Beat two egg whites with salt, fresh pepper, paprika and chili powder to taste (if you don't like spicy, leave out everything but the salt and pepper).

Coat the potato wedges and place on a cooking sheet sprayed with non-stick spray.

Cook for 20 minutes turning once. After 20 minutes, place the sheet under the broiler for an additional 15 minutes, turning once. The broiler is the finishing touch that gives them that crunchy outside, soft inside "Fried" crunch.
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Oven Rosemary potatoes

Heat a cast iron pan in the oven for about 10 minuts at 400 degrees. While the pan is heating, quarter new potatoes and toss them with a little olive oil, dried rosemary, chopped shallots, salt and pepper.

When I take the pan out of the oven to put the potatoes into it, I first coat it with a little olive oil.

Place the pan back into the oven. Move the potatoes around ever 10 minutes using a metal spatula to prevent sticking. You can also add some cooking spray if they begin to stick.
Potatoes are done when they are crispy on the outside, but soft in the middle. It could take about 30 minutes or more. The shallots will get very dark, but they taste quite good and add a lot of flavor.
From: linrey at aol.com (LinRey)
Date: 6 Aug 1998 15:54:39 GMT
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Just spray a cookie sheet with nonfat cooking spray, spread your frenched potatoes on the sheet in a single layer, spray the hell out of THEM with the spray, and bake at 400 degrees until they're nice and brown and crispy. Salt them and eat them. (We also put vinegar on our french fries, and sometimes ketchup, too.)
From: A.Ferszt (a.ferszt at nospam.ic.ac.uk)
Date: Thu, 06 Aug 1998 17:51:52 -0700
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LinRey wrote:
> Just spray a cookie sheet with nonfat cooking spray,

What is in 'nonfat' cooking spray? I'm getting a mental image of Teflon or something, which I'd hardly want to eat.

I always put my frozen chips (fries) under the grill (broiler), without the use of any fat etc. Always come out nice and crisp. Usually eaten with mustard and/or mayonnaise.
From: diestandie at aol.com (DieStanDie)
Date: 6 Aug 1998 18:49:14 GMT
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>What is in 'nonfat' cooking spray? I'm getting a mental image of Teflon
>or something, which I'd hardly want to eat.

It's a new name for exactly the same product: Pam. Vegetable oil, alcohol (sometimes), lecithin, and propellent. All the calories come from fat. Why is it now labeled "fat free?" Cos that term may apply to all foods with less than a half a gram of fat. A single "serving" of Pam (a couple of 2-second shots, IIRC) falls into this category.

Ahhhh, the FDA.

G
Enjoying his Misto sprayer filled with cheap, unbelievably fruity Italica olive oil.
From: Relaena Sindelar (see at organization.below)
Date: Thu, 06 Aug 1998 11:29:20 -0800
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A.Ferszt wrote:
> I always put my frozen chips (fries) under the grill (broiler), without
> the use of any fat etc. Always come out nice and crisp.

So you cut potatoes into wedges or fries, flash freeze them, then broil them (still frozen?) If so, sounds like a great idea.
From: TJ (tsingh at gte.net)
Date: Thu, 06 Aug 1998 13:09:15 -0700
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Relaena Sindelar wrote:
> So you cut potatoes into wedges or fries, flash freeze them, then broil
> them (still frozen?) If so, sounds like a great idea.

I suspect they are the store bought precooked kind. I'll be pleasantly surprized if they aren't.

For my oven fries, I follow the JOC method, which involves cutting the fries, and soaking them in ice water for at least half an hour. I often do this wayyyyyyy ahead of time, and rinse them well, then soak for up to several hours. One must then *dry* them well. I drain, then rub well with tea-towels. Next I slather my hands with peanut oil and again rub the fries well. Not much per fry is needed. I get the oven nice and hot, and put them in, turning at least twice. Cooking time depends on size of fry, and how brown you want them.
From: mikel at REMOVETHIScityusa.net (mikel)
Date: Fri, 07 Aug 1998 02:10:16 GMT
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Not a french fry cooker myslelf so this isn't from any experience. but, on one of the cooking shows I saw... the person metioned that soaking potatos like this removes some of the starch and helps them crisp up better..... any opinions on that?
From: rdyoung at wcc.net (Bob Y.)
Date: Thu, 06 Aug 1998 20:34:01 GMT
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>What is in 'nonfat' cooking spray? I'm getting a mental image of Teflon
>or something, which I'd hardly want to eat.

It is an oil spray, first marketed under the brand name Pam. According to the Nutrition Data a single serving contains no calories or fat. Unfortunately a "serving" is a 1/3 second spray. If you can manage that, you have spray out such a small amount of oil, you can claim the 0 cal., 0 gms. fat under U.S. rules.

I like to spray it on frozen fries because it does give the extra zip of oil without adding nearly as much as would regular deep frying would. OTH, when I REALLY want French fries, I double fry them. I get more oil, but still less than single frying.
From: Ramone at worldnet.att.net (Ramone)
Date: 6 Aug 1998 21:44:43 GMT
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Bob Y. wrote:
>I like to spray it on frozen fries because it does give the extra zip of oil
>without adding nearly as much as would regular deep frying would.

You've tested this, have you? How much is "nearly"? Articles I read in restaurant trade publications say that potatoes retain the same amount of oil whether you spray it on and bake them or whether you "regular" deep fry them, provided they are deep-fried the correct amount of time and properly drained. Most people over-fry them and they puff up and the blisters fill with oil. These blisters are imperceptible except under close scrutiny. Potatoes get done long before they get brown, and people continue to cook them to the brownness they like, resulting in blistering and the retention of more oil. The only advantage of baking is that this doesn't occur unless the potatoes have been improperly prepared, that is, covered with an excessive amount of oil. In fact, improperly prepared baked french-fried potatoes can retain more oil than properly deep-fried ones. Deep-fried potatoes prepared at home usually contain less fat than restaurant-prepared ones anyway because the home cook usually cooks fewer potatoes at a time and drains the potatoes on paper towels, separating the pieces. Potatoes prepared in this manner differ very little from baked ones.. Restaurants allow them to drain in baskets, which means they don't properly drain, so restaurant potatoes contain an excessive amount of fat compared to anything cooked at home by any method. Technique can make all the difference, but usually, any difference in a properly fried potato and and a baked one is in your mind.
From: doggie at teleport.com (steve knight)
Date: Fri, 07 Aug 1998 05:49:59 GMT
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The easiest way to add very little oil is to put the fries in a bowl and a little oil and mix them up with your hands. I do this to fry potatoes pasta and rice.
From: linrey at aol.com (LinRey)
Date: 7 Aug 1998 16:01:45 GMT
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I don't know about all of them, but I use PAM, which, I understand, is an all-vegetable product.
From: Vera Ehmann (careerad at ma.ultranet.com)
Date: Sat, 15 Aug 1998 06:29:51 -0400
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Slice potatoes
Coat both sides with sparingly with oil
Sprinkle with tarregon (optional)
Bake at 375 for 20 minutes or until golden brown
I like to flip the potates over about 10 minutes into the baking process