Belgian Frites

Where This Goes Wrong

Two fries, two temperatures. There is no one-step version of this.

Dry the potatoes completely. Wet chips are dangerous and soggy.

Salt the moment they come out, while the surface can still take it.

Cooking Belgian Frites

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1. Peel the potatoes and cut them into batons a good 1 cm thick — Belgian frites are chunkier than French fries.

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2. Rinse under cold running water until the water runs clear, then soak in cold water for 30 minutes.

   Mark done Start 30 min timer

3. Drain and dry them completely on a clean tea towel. Any water left on them will spit violently in the fat.

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4. Heat the dripping (or neutral oil) to 140°C / 285°F. Fry in three batches for 6 to 8 minutes each, until soft and pale but not coloured.

   Mark done Start 6 min timer

5. Lift out, drain on a rack, and cool for at least 30 minutes. They can sit for hours at this stage.

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6. For the mayonnaise, whisk the yolks, mustard, vinegar and salt, then add the oil drop by drop at first and in a thin stream once it takes.

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7. Heat the fat to 180°C / 355°F. Fry the chips again in batches for 2 to 3 minutes until deep golden and audibly crisp.

   Mark done Start 2 min timer

8. Drain briefly, salt hard while they are still glistening, and serve in cones with the mayonnaise.

   Mark done

Related guides: Prep, cook and total time · Ingredient substitutions.

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What's Going On Here

The first fry at 140°C / 285°F cooks the potato through and drives water out of the surface; the second at 180°C / 355°F sets a glassy shell before the inside can dry out. Doing it in one go at a single temperature gives you either a raw middle or a leathery outside — there is no temperature that does both.

After You've Cooked It

Eat immediately. The blanched chips can be refrigerated 24 hours or frozen before the second fry.

Changing the Recipe

• A dry vermouth keeps for longer than an open bottle of white wine and is the closer swap than a random white left in the fridge; for an alcohol-free version, use the same amount of stock with a squeeze of lemon.

Good With

• Homemade mayonnaise or andalouse sauce
• Carbonnade flamande
• A Belgian blonde beer

Questions and Answers

The Numbers per Serving

No nutrition figures are given for this recipe: they cannot be worked out reliably from its ingredient list (some ingredient lines cannot be read). Why some recipes have none.

Vegetarian when made with neutral oil rather than beef dripping.

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