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Thick-Cut Oven Fries

Source of Recipe

From "One Hour Comfort" by America's Test Kitchen


Recipe Introduction

"These oven fries will never take a back seat to deep-fried spuds. French fries are so crispy because water is driven out of the starch cells at the potatoes' surface when they're fried, leaving behind tiny air pockets that create the crispy crust. Since oven fries don't heat fast enough for these cavities to form, they usually don't develop a great crust. Here, the wedges are coated in a cornstarch slurry that crisps up just like a deep-fried fry. Arrange the potatoes on a baking sheet coated with both vegetable oil spray and vegetable oil (the former contains lecithin, which prevents the oil from pooling unevenly). Covering the potatoes with aluminum foil for the first half of cooking ensures they're tender by the time they're browned. Choose potatoes that are 4 to 6 inches in length; trimming thin slices from the ends of the potatoes in step 2 ensures that each fry has two flat surfaces for even browning. These beauties are worthy enough to be served naked, but they're also great dunked into Lemon-Chive Dipping Sauce."

List of Ingredients

â—¦ 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
â—¦ 2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, unpeeled
â—¦ ¾ cup water, plus extra as needed
â—¦ 3 tablespoons cornstarch
â—¦ Kosher salt


Recipe

Adjust oven rack to lowest position and heat oven to 425 degrees. Generously spray rimmed baking sheet with vegetable oil spray. Pour oil into prepared sheet and tilt sheet until surface is evenly coated with oil.

Halve potatoes lengthwise and turn halves cut sides down on cutting board. Trim thin slices from both long sides of each potato half, discard trimmings. Slice potatoes lengthwise into â…“- to ½-inch-thick planks.

Combine water and cornstarch in large bowl, making sure no lumps of cornstarch remain on bottom of bowl. Microwave, stirring every 20 seconds, until mixture begins to thicken, 1 to 3 minutes. Remove from microwave and continue to stir until mixture thickens to pudding-like consistency. (If necessary, add up to 2 tablespoons water to achieve correct consistency.)

Transfer potatoes to bowl with cornstarch mixture and toss until each plank is evenly coated. Arrange planks on prepared sheet, leaving small gaps between planks. (Some cornstarch mixture will remain in bowl.) Cover sheet tightly with lightly greased aluminum foil and bake for 12 minutes.

Remove foil and bake until bottom of each fry is golden brown, 10 to 18 minutes. Remove sheet from oven and, using thin metal spatula, carefully flip each fry. Return sheet to oven and continue to bake until second sides are golden brown, 10 to 18 minutes. Transfer fries to paper towel-lined plate and season with salt to taste. Serve.

Serves 4 to 6



Lemon-Chive Dipping Sauce:

â—¦ ½ cup mayonnaise
â—¦ 2 tablespoons minced fresh chives
â—¦ 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest plus 1 tablespoon juice
â—¦ 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
â—¦ 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
â—¦ ¼ teaspoon garlic powder

Whisk all ingredients together in bowl, and set aside for serving.