Oh yes. I went there. I took potatoes, and fried them in bacon fat. Not 100% bacon fat (I would like to live to a ripe age, you know). But certainly more than what's in an average slice of bacon. Every time we cook bacon, we save the fat. We freeze it in ice cube trays, and have these cool cubes of frozen bacon fat. Each cube is 2 Tbs, so it's easy to measure. Mostly, we use the fat to flavor our refried beans. With the holidays just past us, we have an over-abundance of the stuff. So I decided to use a bunch of it up on some french fries.
One of the local food trucks makes brown sugar bacon fries that are perfection. I did my best to recreate them. I tried the cold oil method of cooking fries as explained by Cook's Illustrated. I had a difficult time figuring out when they had crisped up. They didn't brown as much as I thought they would. And they were slightly more chewy than crispy. But they tasted great! And they have slightly less fat then the double fry method, which becomes a moot point when you fry them in bacon fat.
Brown Sugar Bacon Fries
cooking instructions based on
Cook’s Illustrated
2 lbs Yukon gold potatoes (about 5 medium)
4 c cooking oil
1 c bacon fat
1 tsp salt
¼ c light brown sugar
Cut potatoes into ¼” strips. Place potatoes, oil, and bacon fat in a dutch oven or deep fryer. Heat until the oil comes to a rolling boil. Cook the potatoes without stirring for 15 minutes. If the oil smokes too much, reduce heat to medium, but keep heat high enough to maintain a rolling boil. Gently stir the fries, loosening any that have stuck to the bottom. Cook until the fries have become crispy on the outside, about 10 minutes more. Using a slotted spoon, remove the fries to a paper-towel lined baking sheet. Sprinkle with salt and brown sugar. Serve immediately.
One of the local food trucks makes brown sugar bacon fries that are perfection. I did my best to recreate them. I tried the cold oil method of cooking fries as explained by Cook's Illustrated. I had a difficult time figuring out when they had crisped up. They didn't brown as much as I thought they would. And they were slightly more chewy than crispy. But they tasted great! And they have slightly less fat then the double fry method, which becomes a moot point when you fry them in bacon fat.
Brown Sugar Bacon Fries
cooking instructions based on
Cook’s Illustrated
2 lbs Yukon gold potatoes (about 5 medium)
4 c cooking oil
1 c bacon fat
1 tsp salt
¼ c light brown sugar
Cut potatoes into ¼” strips. Place potatoes, oil, and bacon fat in a dutch oven or deep fryer. Heat until the oil comes to a rolling boil. Cook the potatoes without stirring for 15 minutes. If the oil smokes too much, reduce heat to medium, but keep heat high enough to maintain a rolling boil. Gently stir the fries, loosening any that have stuck to the bottom. Cook until the fries have become crispy on the outside, about 10 minutes more. Using a slotted spoon, remove the fries to a paper-towel lined baking sheet. Sprinkle with salt and brown sugar. Serve immediately.
These should be illegal! They look absolutey sinful and delicious.
ReplyDeleteOh my. As a bacon lover, these sound absolutely divine. I wonder how this would work with sweet potato fries. I may have to do a little experimenting to find out.
ReplyDelete