Homemade Baked French Fries

Mmmmm. French Fries. But, the frozen variety often end up soggy with an aftertaste, and you can't stop by the drive-thru whenever you want to add a side dish of fries to your dinner. Frying is a mess, but baking doesn't often produce that crispy crust...until now. Follow these steps to make the perfect baked french fry. All you need are parchment paper, potatoes, cold water, and salt. That's it!

2 potatoes makes about 3 servings of fries.

Cut the potatoes in half lengthwise.

Then slice lengthwise creating long, thinner pieces of potato.

Cut into pretty uniform shaped pieces. I can't cut uniform pieces, because I think one eye is uneven on my face. Or, maybe I'm just really bad at cutting. So, just try your best.

Now here is the KEY TO CRISPY FRIES. Soak cut fries in ice water about 5-10 minutes. This draws the starch out and allows the skin to get really crispy in the oven. Skip this step only if you like soggy fries. Don't say I didn't warn you.

Now drain, (don't rinse), and pat the potatoes dry. Coat in olive oil.

Now, here is the second key to your fry making experience. Always use parchment paper. Always. Otherwise they stick and those glorious crispy edges are forever stuck on your baking sheet. Parchment paper. Once you start using it, you'll wonder how you ever survived without it.

Bake in a 425 degree oven for 15 minutes, then flip, and bake for 15 more minutes. They may, or may not, need an extra 5-10 minutes after that. Depends how thick you cut your fries. Just watch them. They go from underdone to burned pretty quick. Just remember you want them brown. I used to take them out too early, and had to suffer through soggy fries.

You're going to be tempted to sprinkle the fries with salt before you put them in the oven. Don't. The flavor will get lost in the baking process. Sprinkle some nice sea salt over the tops as soon as they come out of the oven. Let cool for a few minutes, and the salt will absorb into the skin. Yum.

Serve with anything. Or, eat them straight. These burgers were tasty too. But, I was out of lettuce, so I used a cabbage leaf on the burger for the photo. I was hoping no one would notice. That is, until I told you all.

So, go make these fries, then come back and thank me.

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