Oven Baked Seasoned Steak Fries Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Do you season fries before or after baking? ›

When to Season French Fries. Whether or not you season the french fries before or after they are cooked depends on the cooking method that you use: Deep Fried french fries are seasoned immediately after they're finished frying. Baked or Air Fried fries are seasoned before they're cooked.

Soaking your fries in cold water helps remove excess starch, which allows for crispy, golden fries! The cold water bath also helps the french fries retain their shape and contributes to a fluffy inside.

A secret: the 10-minute cold soak!

The secret to the perfect texture for crispy baked French fries? Soak the fries in cold water before baking. Here's why: Soaking makes the outside crispy and inside pillowy.

Spices in fries seasoning

Salt flakes also works well, though I like to crush it slightly with my fingers for better surface dispersion. Onion powder can be substituted with more garlic powder, and vice versa. Cayenne pepper – entirely optional, to add a touch of warmth to the spice blend.

Add herbs and spices for extra flavor.

"Add a bit of gourmet flair to your fries by sprinkling them with some garlic powder, fresh rosemary, seasoned salt, or fresh virgin-olive [oil] or truffle oil," Koeppe said. As well as adding flavor, a drizzle of oil can also help keep fries from sticking together in the oven.

The main reasons to cut the potatoes and pre-soak in water are: To allow the excess starches and sugars to be removed from the outer surface of the fry strips AND to keep the potatoes from browning prematurely from exposure to air. Covering in water helps the potato from turning a dark color.

Soaking potatoes in water helps remove excess starch. Excess starch can inhibit the potatoes from cooking evenly as well as creating a gummy or sticky texture on the outside of your potatoes.

If you're pressed for time, the slightly sticky, cut potatoes should be soaked for a minimum of 15 minutes. However, a longer soak time may allow more starch to be removed. So, if you can prep the fries ahead of time, a few hours of soaking can help make them even crispier.

Toss your Fries into a large bowl, sprinkle with any Seasonings and Salt you desire, and stir well. Place the Seasoned Fries onto a baking tray lined with a Silicone Mat, making sure they do not touch. Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until golden brown and crispy. Serve as desired.

The secret to crispy on the outside/fluffy on the inside is to cook them twice. Use russet (starchy) potatoes. Cut your fries and put them in an ice water bath to rinse off excess starch and prevent them from turning brown while you finish cutting. Try to keep the fries uniform in size so they cook evenly.

What is the secret to the best French fries? ›

The Double-Fry Method

When it comes to the actual cooking, you want to fry the french fries twice. The first round is at a lower temperature to cook the inside of the potato and the second time you'll use a higher temperature to make the fries golden brown and crispy.

Before all that, though, the secret is to briefly poach them in boiling water (or "blanch" them) before they go into the hot oil. This ensures that the fries are cooked all the way through before getting crisped up in the fryer.

It is best to season the potatoes before or during cooking, rather than after they have finished cooking. When you season the potatoes before or during cooking, the salt and other spices can penetrate the potatoes and enhance their flavor throughout. This can help to create a more even flavor throughout the potatoes.

If you're baking your fries in the oven you can usually salt them before or after they are fully cooked, but when you fry them, you should stick to salting after, says Boss the Kitchen.

You can season frozen French fries before or after cooking. If seasoning before cooking, toss the frozen fries in the seasoning mix before baking or frying. If seasoning after cooking, sprinkle the seasonings over the cooked fries and toss to coat evenly.