The Crispiest Fries Get Triple Cooked

When it comes to achieving perfectly crispy fries, a single fry simply won't cut it. You might have heard of a double-fried french fry, which results in a crispy, golden brown fry. Triple-cooking french fries sounds like a scary amount of oil, but don't fret — the first cook actually takes place in a pot of boiling water. This technique is widely credited to British Chef Heston Blumenthal, and it serves to eliminate as much moisture as possible in the potato for a soft inside and incredibly crunchy exterior.

With two different styles of cooking, and multiple cooking temperatures throughout the entire process, a triple cooked french fry will have a texture that is difficult to find with other methods of cooking french fries. The potatoes are first boiled to break down the starch, which ensures that the potatoes has a fluffy, tender inside. Frying one time will result in a crispy exterior, but the double fry will keep the fries crispy for a longer amount of time, even as they cool.

This is a more intensive and time-consuming technique, so it's not necessarily the best way to cook french fries in a time crunch or for a large group. It's also best to make this style of fry in small batches to ensure consistency. These restaurant-quality french fries are great to wow guests at a small dinner party or for a special dinner. 

Go for a potato with high-starch and a lower moisture content, like russet or Idaho — these make for the crispiest fries. Slice the potato into your desired french fry shape, rinse, and then pat dry. For the first cooking step, parboil the potatoes in salted, boiling water for about 5 minutes. The salted water ensures that the inside of the potato is seasoned. 

The potatoes should then be drained and dried before the next step. Drain the fries well, and now, let them cool — this is an important step to let the starch set and solidify before cooking again. If you have the time and patience, you can even set the boiled potato in the freezer until cooled — this further dries out the moisture in the potato.

Now, the boiled potatoes are ready for their first fry. Many chefs swear by using duck or beef fat to fry the potatoes, which infuses a dee p umami flavor — to keep the fries vegetarian, use vegetable oil with a high smoke point like sunflower or canola. The potatoes should not brown or burn on this step, so the cooking temperature should be lower, around 275 degrees Fahrenheit. The main goal of the first fry is to draw out as much moisture as possible, rather than cook them fully or make them extra crispy. After this step, the fries can once again be cooled down or placed in the freezer to continue reducing the moisture.

Now, the final fry serves to create the extra crispy texture. The potatoes can be fried at a higher temperature now, at a hot 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 2 minutes. The goal here is to get fries with a deep golden brown color. If after a few minutes the golden brown color is not appearing, this is a signal that your oil is not hot enough. 

Like after the first fry, you'll want to drain the french fries well, and let them cool slightly. However, this time, there is no freezer involved — the triple-cooked fries are ready to eat! The only thing left to do is salt to your liking. The exterior will have a delicate, crispy crust, while the interior will remain creamy and soft, almost like mashed potatoes. Classic ketchup still pairs nicely with these gourmet fries, but if you're a fan of heavier dips — like ranch, aioli, or mayo-based sauces — triple-cooked fries will hold up to the thicker texture when dipped in.

If you don't feel like making your own labor-intensive, triple-cooked fries — but still have a craving — check out Chowhound's list of best to worst fast food fries.