Perfect French Fries with Cheddar Cheese Sauce

             There is truly a reason why so many people prefer to get French fries via drive through window, restaurant kitchen or food truck vendor- they require too much damn time to make at home!

            Seriously people, the time it takes to peel, soak, dry, first-fry, drain, second-fry, then eat is incredible. For the same amount of time, I could have practically fetched the potatoes from the field and delivered them to their designated selling points. Or even better yet, I could have tried all the fast-food varieties and done a post about that! But there is a catch…..

            The ones you will make at home will be wwaayyyy better than whatever you receive from someone else. Honestly, the crunch, the salt, the steam from within will have you speechless. Which you should be because once you put these in front of you, you will not want to open your mouth up except to eat!

            Then to make this concoction even better, why don’t you go ahead and whip up some cheese sauce. If you think homemade fries are drool-worthy, you haven’t made your own dipping sauce yet.

            So are they a pain in the a$$? Why yes sir (or mam), they are. But are they worth your time, energy, and patience? You betcha they are! I wouldn’t ask you to waste your time if the end result wasn’t something scrumptious, I promise! So go ahead, get fryin’ my friends! Enjoy…

Perfect French Fries with Cheddar Cheese Sauce

Serves 2-3

Fries recipe source (adapted for amount): The Pioneer Woman

Cheese Sauce recipe adapted from: Serious Eats

OBJ: TCW be able to create better-than-fast-food fries in her own kitchen and serve it alongside an irresistible bowl of cheesy dipping sauce  

Ingredients:

5- 6 Russet Potatoes

Vegetable Oil for frying

Sea Salt

For Cheese Sauce:

4 ounces grated cheddar cheese

½ TBS corn starch

½ can (12 ounce can) of evaporated milk

Procedures:

For Fries:

1. Peel and rinse the potatoes, then cut them into sticks by cutting the potato in four or five vertical pieces, then cutting each piece into sticks. Place in a large bowl and cover with cold water, then allow them to soak for two or three hours. (You can also stick them in the fridge and let them soak for several hours or overnight.)

2. When you’re ready to make the fries, drain off the water and lay them on paper towels. Blot them with paper towels to dry them

3. Heat a few inches of oil in a heavy pot to 300 degrees or use a deep fryer where you can set the temperature

4. In 3 or 4 batches, cook the potatoes for about 4 to 5 minutes per batch, or until the potatoes are soft. They should not be brown at all!  see below....

5. Remove each batch and drain them on new/dry paper towels

6. Once all the potatoes have been fried at 300, turn up the heat until the oil reaches 400 degrees

7. When the oil’s hot, start frying the potatoes in batches again, cooking until the fries are golden and crisp

8. Remove from the oil and drain on paper towels

9. Sprinkle fries right away with sea salt and enjoy alongside the cheese sauce

For Cheese Sauce:

1. Add cheese and cornstarch to large bowl and toss well to combine

2. Transfer to medium saucepan and add ½ Cup evaporated milk

3.  Cook over low heat, stirring constantly with whisk until melted, bubbly, and thickened (about 5 minutes)

4. Note: Mixture will look thin and grainy at first but will thicken and come together after heating. Thin it to desired consistency with additional evaporated milk