Burger King's fries go to the stores pre-made and frozen. They are
oil blanched and then flash frozen, and Burger King thaws the fries
to room temperature before frying. This allows some moisture to
evaporate both in thawing and in the first few seconds of cooking.
That way, unlike McD fries (which are cooked from a frozen state),
there is less moisture inside them after cooking, which explains why
they are still crispy after they cool off, not soggy mush like McD
fries.
The best way I found to imitate BK fries is as follows:
Slice potatoes into 1/8 thick slices by hand or with a slicer from a
food processor (by hand will let you slice the length of the potato,
giving you longer fries, but requires careful knife handling
technique). Next, julianne these slices into 1/8 by 1/8 inch sticks.
Blanch in 425 degree oil for 30 seconds. Blot off on paper towels
and lay in single layer on cold (from freezer) cookie sheet, and then
place sheet in freezer uncovered until fries are frozen (this is the
closest thing to flash freezing the home user can do). Once frozen,
place in container to prevent further freezer burn until ready to
cook.
Thaw to room temperature. Fry at 350 degrees until golden. Salt to
taste as you pull these out.
It is very critical that the fries be thawed to room temperature, or
too much moisture is trapped inside as it cooks. The open air
freezing will slightly freezer burn, but since moister removal is the
goal, this little bit is a good thing. I am not sure why, but flash
freezing does remove a bit of moisture also, but in a different way,
and only at the surface. If you have access to liquid nitrogen and
can do your own flash freezing, this would be desirable, but
expensive.
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jt august
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