13 Common Errors in Preparing Homemade French Fries

Making your own french fries at home offers several benefits. First, you can save a lot of money compared to buying fries from a fast food chain or a more upscale restaurant. This is especially true if you are a huge fry lover (aren’t we all?) who likes to have some of these hot and crispy potato strips several times a week. Compared to frozen fries from the grocery store, homemade fries can taste so much better. Making your own fries also puts you in control over how much oil, salt, and other seasonings are added to them. Not only can you better meet health goals, but you can also customize the taste to match exactly what you crave.

However, while homemade fries have a lot of potential, they don’t always live up to the hype. Sadly, there are several common mistakes that people often make when preparing this popular side dish at home. These mistakes can quite possibly ruin your fries completely, leaving them soggy, burnt, or simply lacking in flavor. If you want to make sure your homemade fries are all they can be, avoid making these mistakes by learning what you can do to avoid falling victim to mediocrity.

Choosing the wrong type of potato to use for your french fries will likely be a mistake that you end up regretting. There are two main varieties of potatoes — waxy and starchy. Waxy potatoes, such as fingerling potatoes and red skin potatoes, have a much higher water content. Because of this, a lot of water ends up evaporating when the potatoes are fried. While you may think this would be a good thing for ensuring that they crisp up nicely, it actually causes them to cook too quickly in the pot of hot oil. The result will almost certainly be an overly burnt and unappetizing french fry. And with so much water evaporating as they cook, the insides of fries made from waxy potatoes often end up hollow.

Instead, the potato tip you’ll want to follow when making your own fries is to use a starchy variety. Starchy potatoes, particularly russet potatoes, have a much lower moisture content than their waxy counterparts. Because of these, they are better able to get nice and crispy when fried — without much concern about being burnt to a crisp. There are actually two different types of starch found in starchy potatoes. Amylose starch helps ensure that the fries maintain their shape as they cook, eliminating the concern that they’ll hallow out when fried in the hot oil. The other type of starch, amylopectin, delivers that soft and delicious interior that we all crave when biting into a fresh-cooked french fry.

Now that you have the right type of potato, nothing can go wrong, right? Sadly, no. And, if you’re not careful, you may end up making a mistake as soon as you start preparing the fries. Cutting the potatoes into uneven slices will prevent the fries from cooking evenly. The thinner slices will cook more quickly than the thicker ones. If you remove the fries when these thinner pieces are perfectly crisp, the thicker slices will be too soft. Leaving the fries in long enough for the thicker ones to finish cooking will cause the opposite problem — the thin fries will end up burnt. Imagine the disappointment when you eat your meal — one bite crispy, the next soggy or burnt — yuck!

To avoid such a disaster, work carefully when cutting your fries. Depending on your preferences, you’ll want to aim for slices that are between ¼- and ½-inch thick. When using a knife, ensuring that it is sharp can help you achieve more consistent results. A dull knife is more likely to slip and throw off the thickness of the slice.

While restaurants need a french fry cutter to slice enough potatoes to make large batches, many home chefs dismiss the benefits of purchasing one for themselves. They think the expense simply isn’t worth it if they’re only making fries for a few people at a time. However, this line of thinking can be problematic, especially if you find yourself craving homemade fries a few times a week. Remember, if your potatoes aren’t evenly sliced, it can have a negative impact on the taste and texture of the finished batch of fries. So, without a french fry cutter, you’re either sacrificing your preferred taste or taking an immense amount of time to meticulously cut the potatoes into even strips with a knife.

Neither of these are great options. Adding a french fry cutter to your kitchen tool arsenal may be well worth the investment. First, these models cost less than you may think. Even commercial quality models — like the Sopito Fry Cutter — are available for less than $100. They also greatly simplify the task of slicing a potato, using a lever to send it through a grid-shaped blade. Within a few seconds, that potato will be transformed into evenly cut fries. You can find french fry cutters with different blade sizes, too, to match your preferred french fry size.

It may seem counterintuitive to soak fries before cooking or deep-frying them. However, one of the biggest mistakes you’re making with your homemade fries is skipping that step. You’ll likely end up with sad and soggy fries instead of crispy ones with a soft inside. Fries that are not soaked in water before they’re cooked have a lot of excess starch. This excess starch can interfere with their ability to crisp up properly when they’re cooked.

So, when you’re making fries at home, you’ll want to plan ahead to leave enough time to let them soak. Leave at least two or three hours, but you can also slice the fries as early as the night before and let them soak overnight in the fridge. Don’t worry — since they’re submerged in water, you won’t need to worry about the potatoes darkening from sitting out after being cut and peeled. Fries that are soaked will not only get perfectly crispy when they’re cooked, but they’ll also end up with that beautifully soft and pillowing interior.

While soaking the fries is important, that isn’t all you need to do before frying them. If you take the fries directly out of the water and drop them into the fryer, you’re setting up a recipe for disaster. Not only will there be so much moisture that this mistake can leave you with soggy fries, but it can also create a safety hazard. Dropping wet (or even damp) fries into a vat of hot oil can cause that oil to splash and splatter. As you can imagine, the oil could burn you or, at a minimum, make a mess of your kitchen.

Instead, after you remove the fries from the water, lay them out on a clean kitchen towel. Pat them dry with a second clean towel, and repeat as necessary until they are thoroughly dry. Now, they’ll be ready to cook without the worries of hot oil flying around the kitchen or the fries turning out soggy and gross.

Did you know that the type of oil you choose may also be a mistake when preparing homemade french fries? Certain oils have the potential to negatively impact the flavor of the fries. They simply have an overpowering flavor that prevents the potato flavor from shining through. For example, sesame oil and coconut oil are often seen as too strong for french fries. Beyond the flavor, it is also important to consider the oil’s smoke point. Deep-frying is done at very high temperatures, so if you choose an oil with too low of a smoke point — such as unrefined almond oil — your fries will almost certainly burn.

The best oil for french fries should offer a high smoke point and a relatively neutral flavor. Canola oil is a popular option that checks both of these boxes. It has a smoke point of 450 degrees Fahrenheit, so you won’t have to worry about your fries burning as they cook. Its flavor also isn’t overpowering. It will help the fries crisp up nicely while still ensuring that you’re able to enjoy the way they taste — not the taste of the oil itself.

Deep fryers may be the most traditional way to prepare french fries, but that certainly doesn’t mean they are the only option you should consider. Many home chefs don’t own a deep fryer, and even those who do may not always want to use it. Repeatedly deep-frying foods isn’t exactly the healthiest option, and they can leave you with a fair amount of cleaning up to deal with.

Swapping out the deep fryer for your air fryer, at least on occasion, is one option you shouldn’t overlook. Air fryers circulate heat using a fan, helping everything you cook crisp up beautifully with minimal oil. They are also pretty easy to use and can help you cut down on your cooking time, especially compared to the oven. One key to making crispy fries in the air fryer is to toss them periodically as they cook (unless you’re lucky enough to have a model with a rotating basket). This will ensure that all sides of the fries are exposed to the hot, circulating air to ensure they brown evenly.

Frying french fries is a mistake. That is if you only do it one time. Many people don’t realize their fries will turn out much better if they are double-fried. If the potato slices are only fried once, they won’t reach maximum crispiness. Too much water will remain in the potato and interfere with its ability to brown and crisp up nicely.

On the other hand, when you double-fry french fries, some of the excess water evaporates during the first pass through the fryer. This leaves the fry primed and ready to reach maximum levels of crispiness during the next go-round. When double-frying french fries, you’ll want to use a lower oil temperature (around 250 degrees Fahrenheit) for the first fry when the goal is to let the moisture evaporate. Then, for the second fry, increase the oil temperature to about 350 degrees Fahrenheit. If the oil isn’t hot enough, the fries still won’t be able to crisp up sufficiently.

When you need to cook a large quantity of fries, it can be tempting to cut the total work time down by cramming as many potato slices as you can into the cookware. However, one of the biggest mistakes to make when cooking french fries is looking for a shortcut. Your french fries won’t taste very good at all. They’ll likely end up undercooked or majorly lacking in the crispiness department.

Instead, you’ll want to work in batches, cooking only a handful of the fries at a time. Tossing too many fries into the oil could actually lower the oil’s temperature significantly. With a lower oil temperature, the fries won’t cook properly and will definitely be lacking that crispy and crunchy outer texture. Overcrowding is just as bad if you’re using the air fryer. If too many fries are in the basket, piled upon one another, the hot air isn’t going to be able to circulate around them all. It is very likely that any of the fries in the middle layers will end up soggy and undercooked. When using the air fryer, you don’t have to stick to using a single layer, but try not to fill more than half of the basket so there’s no overcrowding and the fries will cook evenly.

After you deep-fry a batch of french fries, what do you do with the leftover oil? If you dump it down the sink, then you’ve just identified another mistake you’ve been making. In fact, dumping the oil down the sink after cooking a single batch of fries is actually two mistakes. The first mistake is not saving the oil to use again. Frying oil can be used multiple times before it should be disposed of. You can strain the cooled oil using a cheesecloth (such as the Cotton Farm cheesecloths) or a fine mesh strainer (like the Zulay Kitchen stainless steel fine mesh strainer) and store it in a clean, lidded jar. The oil should be saved somewhere cool and dark and can be pulled back out to use for future frying needs, such as making fries again, cooking homemade donuts, or frying chicken tenders.

Oil can be reused up to eight times. However, the exact lifespan of your oil can vary based on the type of oil it is and the specific foods you have fried in it. When you start noticing changes in the color, smell, or general appearance of the oil, it is probably time to let it go. Old oil that smokes earlier than it should or starts frothing or foaming at the top has also passed its prime and should go. However, you still mustn’t dump the oil down the sink. Doing so could result in a costly clogged pipe. Instead, you’ll need to dispose of it properly. Some counties or cities offer oil recycling, but if yours doesn’t, you can pour the cool oil into a container with a lid and throw it out. There are also products — such as FryAway deep fry cooking oil solidifier — that you can mix with the oil to solidify it so you can simply toss the whole chunk into the trash.

Knowing how to season your fries is crucial if you want them to live up to their potential. Unfortunately, many people don’t understand this crucial step and end up making a mistake. As you can probably guess, the most common seasoning for french fries is salt. But did you know that it matters when you add the salt? If you add the salt before putting the fries into the fryer, most of it will end up getting washed away by the oil. If you add it after the fries have already cooled, then it won’t stick to them as well. Instead, it is essential to salt your fries as soon as they come out of the fryer the second time. Their edges will still be hot and moist from cooking in the oil. When you sprinkle them with salt, the salt will stick and melt slightly over the surface to impart the best flavor.

The second seasoning mistake people make is only adding salt to their fries. Sure, salt is the most common seasoning, but that doesn’t mean it is the only option. To keep your homemade fries from getting boring, it is a good idea to experiment with different seasoning options. A few you could try include garlic and parmesan, Old Bay, or even rosemary. You could even consider giving your fries a flavor upgrade by coating them with some spices before frying them.

There is nothing wrong with serving some ketchup with your french fries. In fact, ketchup and fries are a tasty combination. However, that doesn’t mean that it is the only condiment you should use. There are several underrated sauces for dipping your french fries, including chimichurri, hummus, tzatziki, and pesto. You could also consider other more classic options, such as mustard, barbecue, or ranch.

Whatever you do, just look for ways to keep things exciting. Try different dipping sauces each time you prepare fries. You never know when you’ll find something that leaves you wondering where it’s been all of your life. You could even try boosting the flavor of regular ketchup with some interesting additions. As an example, you could give your ketchup a little kick by stirring in some horseradish, mimic some famous fast food sauces by mixing in some mayo, or sweeten things up with a little squirt of honey.

If you’ve taken the time to make a batch of homemade french fries, you don’t want them to go to waste. Sometimes, our eyes are bigger than our stomachs, and we may be left with a lot of extra fries after eating. Leftover fries can be refrigerated for up to three days, but how you package them will determine how fresh they stay. Start by letting the fries cool, then put them into an airtight container. You can add a paper towel to absorb any extra moisture to ensure the fries stay as crispy as possible.

Plan to eat the fries within the next few days so they don’t go bad. Once you’re ready to enjoy them, please don’t just toss them in the microwave. You’ll be sorely disappointed when the fries emerge soggy with a mix of hot and cold spots. Instead, reheat them in the air fryer or the oven. Doing so will help them heat evenly while also helping them crisp back up. You could even consider tossing them back in the deep fryer for a few minutes.