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Spicy Crispy Oven Fries

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These spicy crispy oven fries are everything a home fry should be.
(And there’s scientific reasons why!) 

These Crispy Baked Oven fries are everything an oven fry should be. Crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside. (The spice mixture is amazing!)

Updated from the archives. 

A few weeks ago, I got my hands on a copy of The Food Lab. This book is the happy place where science and food meet. SUCH a fascinating and tasty read. They’ve got tested (like, scientifically tested) methods for producing some amazing dishes, from extra-gooey mac and cheese, to the best ways to prepare meat, to perfectly braised vegetables and beyond.

One of the first methods that caught my eye was their formula for extra crispy oven roasted potatoes. They prepared theirs cubed, but I wondered if the same method would work on fries or wedges.

Turns out, it does. Really, really well.

Spicy (and CRISPY) Oven Fries to go with dinner. These are so good!

According to the Food Lab (and my slightly less scientific home testing), partially cooked (or par-cooked) potatoes provide a much crispier end result when roasted or fried. The reason is that, when you’ve partially cooked them (boiling for a few minutes) and then toss them with olive oil and seasonings, you rough up the surface a bit. That roughed up surface gets extra crispy and extra delicious in the oven, and the inside is fluffy and cooked through.

So, basically everything a person could want in crispy oven fries.

The Food Lab went much further into detail about the science of why and how this method works so well (involving terms like “dehydrated layer of gelatinized starch”), but I’ve crystalized some of the finer points below.

The PERFECT oven fries - crispy on the outside, fluffy on the inside. The secret is the method!

NOTES ON THE RECIPE

1. Po-TAY-toh, Po-TAH-toh. Which potato works best? Russets get the crispiest and fluffiest thanks to their high starch content. Yellow or Yukon Golds are next on the list. We used Yukon Golds for the photos since we had them on hand, but both are awesome.

2. Which fat to use? You can choose a lot of different fats and have good results. Some people can’t get enough of duck fat, but honestly, that grosses me out for some reason and it’s also really hard to find where I live. Bacon fat was also highly suggested. I can tell you from personal experience that it’s amazing. If you prefer to stay away from animal fats or simply want a less saturated choice, extra virgin olive oil will also get the job done (though, admittedly, not quite as crispy).

My personal favorite? I go halvesies with bacon fat and olive oil. I buy pretty high-quality bacon, so I feel comfortable using a little bit of bacon fat here and there.

3. Par-cooking really makes a difference. I tried this both ways (see, I can totally science!) to see if it really did make as big a difference as the book said. It absolutely did. The par-cooked potatoes had that nice roughed-up, crispy exterior and the inside texture was MUCH better. The potatoes I roasted from a raw state didn’t get as crispy or have as nice a middle texture.

The other thing I tested was that you can par-cook them ahead of time. So, I can par-cook the potatoes in the morning, pop them in the fridge and then roast them in the super-hot oven for dinner, which saves me time on evenings where we don’t have quite as much time for dinner prep.

4. Do NOT over stir. If they’ve been coated with a layer of cooking fat and you’ve got your oven hot enough, the potatoes shouldn’t stick to the pan. Seriously. No little potatoes stuck or accidentally cutting off the crispy outer layer as you try to pry potatoes off the pan. They’ll naturally release from the pan when they’re good and ready. It was like magic.

The secret to perfect oven fries every time --Crispy on the outside, soft and fluffy on the inside!

AS FOR THE END RESULT…

They really were crispy on the outside and dynamite on the inside. The spice mixture is one of my recipes and it put them over the top (though you could certainly leave it off). It’s spicy, but not mouth-burning (I’m a wimp). If you’re nervous, skip the cayenne, or reduce the amount.

If you have any leftovers, they re-heat really well in a skillet for breakfast potatoes, or you can give them a rough chop and pop them into a frittata. Your future self will be so glad.

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Crispy Spicy Oven Baked Fries


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5 from 1 review

  • Author: One Lovely Life
  • Yield: Plenty of fries for 4-5 people.

Description

Russets or Yukon golds work best for this recipe. I leave the skins on since they crisp up so nicely and provide a tiny bit more nutrition.


Ingredients

Scale
  • 4 medium potatoes, scrubbed and diced or sliced into wedges
  • 2 Tbsp cooking fat (bacon fat or olive oil), plus more for greasing baking sheet

For the spice mixture:

  • 1/2 tsp salt (or, to taste)
  • 1/2 tsp garlic powder
  • 1/2 tsp onion powder
  • 1/2 tsp paprika
  • 1/4 tsp smoked paprika
  • 1/4 tsp oregano
  • 1/81/4 tsp cayenne pepper (start small and add more, to taste)

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
  2. Place the potatoes in a saucepan and cover with water by about an inch (the water should be an inch above the potatoes). Add a pinch of salt to the water. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat to a simmer. Simmer 8-10 minutes, or until a knife can easily pierce the potatoes. Drain the potatoes and transfer to a large bowl.
  3. While the potatoes are cooking, combine spice mixture ingredients (if using) in a small bowl or jar.
  4. Add cooking fat and spice mixture (or, more salt if you’re not using the seasoning blend) to the hot potatoes and stir to coat.
  5. Grease a baking sheet with a little more oil or baking fat. Spread potatoes in a single layer across the baking sheet.
  6. Roast potatoes until the bottoms are crisp, about 20-25 minutes. If you go to flip the potatoes and they are sticking to the pan, wait another 3-4 minutes before trying to flip them. They should naturally release from the pan when they’re browned.
  7. Flip the potatoes over and roast another 20-25 minutes. Serve warm and season with additional salt or spices as desired.

What a difference 8 years makes! These fries were originally posted in 2008.

p.s. This spice mix is one of the first recipes I ever posted on my blog (back in 2008!). My food photography has gotten a little better, and this method is even better than it was then! 

Everything you need for perfectly crispy oven fries. (These are AMAZING!)

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7 Comments

  1. I tried these and girl are they so good. So what books do you recommend a girl reading to plan/get ready for pregnancy? I have really enjoyed taking a step into your world. You are amazing and you and Michael are going to be great parents.

    1. Lynn–thanks so much for your sweet comments. I should probably do a blog post about this, but I read a TON of books during my pregnancy. For a first time pregnancy, I really appreciated the Mayo Clinic Healthy Pregnancy book because it’s written by very well-respected doctors and has LOTS of reference information. I also have a copy of What to Expect When You’re Expecting, but I found myself using the Mayo Clinic book more. I would recommend that every potential parent read a few books about sleep habits, so you can kind of wrap your brain around that before you have a newborn and things are crazy. I read The Baby Whisperer, On Becoming Babywise, and Healthy Sleep Habits Healthy Child. Baby Whisperer and Babywise were my preferred books of those two. Thanks again for your comments! I’ll be sure to write more about this soon.

  2. This is super interesting and I can’t wait to give them a try. Thanks for doing all the ‘science’ and taking one for the team so we can just move forward with your best end results!!

  3. This is brilliant- don’t know why it never occurred to me to try cooking them a bit first! I love the science behind the method. Thanks for the great recipe!

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