BBATTERED FRIES TWO WAYS

Beer Battered Garlic & Parmesan French Fries

Ingredients

• 1 bag McCain Craft Beer Battered Thin Cut Fries
• 3 TBS grapeseed or olive oil
• 7 cloves garlic minced
• Kosher salt
• Good quality Parmesan cheese or Asiago
• 3 TBS scallions thinly sliced
• ¼ cup parsley chopped

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
• Bake potatoes according to package directions.
• In a very small pot or pan (I use an egg pan for this), cook the garlic in the oil over medium heat. Add a good pinch of salt to it and allow it to simmer, take it off and on the heat as necessary for a few minutes. Do not allow the garlic to burn and only allow it to slightly brown. Stirring often.
• Let the garlic steep in the oil off the heat while the fries finish up.
• While the fries bake, grate the cheese (not shred…grate almost like fluffy powder via the finest part of your grater).
• Once fries are out of the oven, place them in a big bowl.
• Scoop the garlic pieces out of the oil (they will be crispy) and scatter them over the fries. Sprinkle with salt and mix well with tongs or your hands. Drizzle a TBS or so of the remaining oil in as you do (not too much or you could make the fries soggy).
• Plate and scatter scallions, cheese, and parsley over-top and serve immediately.

 Beer-Battered Fries

Recipe courtesy of Tiffani Thiessen

 Show: Food Network Specials

Level: Intermediate Total: 1 hr 5 min Active: 1 hr 5 min Yield: 4 to 6 servings

Ingredients:

Oil, preferably peanut or grapeseed, for frying 3/4 cup white rice flour

1/4 cup cornstarch

1 teaspoon paprika

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

1/8 teaspoon cayenne

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper 1 to 1 1/4 cups light beer, such as pilsner

3 pounds russet potatoes, peeled and cut into batons 3 inches long, 1/2 inch wide and 1/4 inch thick, soaked in cold water

Episode: Burgers and Beer

  Directions:

Special equipment: a deep-frying thermometer

1 Fill a small Dutch oven with 3 to 4 inches of oil and heat over medium

heat until a deep-frying thermometer

inserted in the oil registers 325 degrees F. Line a large plate or baking sheet with paper towels.

2 In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cornstarch, paprika, baking powder, garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne, 2 teaspoons salt and 1/2

teaspoon black pepper. Add 1 cup of the beer and stir until smooth, adding more beer a tablespoon at a time if necessary until the batter is the consistency of heavy cream. Set aside.

3 Using kitchen towels, dry the potatoes thoroughly. Working in batches, slide the potatoes into the oil, being careful not to crowd the pan, and cook until

lightly golden, about 5 minutes. Use a slotted spoon or skimmer to remove to the towel-lined plate and sprinkle with a few pinches of salt.

4 Raise the oil temperature to 350 degrees F. Dip the partially cooked fries a few at a time in the batter to coat. Using a fork, slide the coated potatoes 1 at a

time into the oil, about 6 or 8 in a batch so as not to overcrowd the pan. Use a metal skimmer or tongs to keep them separate, as they tend to cling together. Cook until deep golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove to fresh paper towels to drain. Serve immediately.

Cook’s Note

There are 2 advantages to double-frying the fries. First, you ensure that they are cooked through without burning the batter. Second, you can do the first fry in advance and hold them, par-cooked, for several hours. Batter them up for the second fry right before serving, and they are hot and crispy to bring to the table.