I was gifted a Cosori Air Fryer from my best friend. What would be a great test for something that proports to replace a deep fryer? French Fries of course!
I read the recipes in the book that came with the air fryer. I looked at recipes online. Then I thought about how I learned to cook French fries.
Most of the air fryer recipes toss potatoes in oil and then cooked them in the air fryer. When I learned to make French fries, we soaked hand cut potatoes in water to remove excess starch. Then we threw them in the deep fryer for a minute or two to par-cook them and let them cool. Then we would finish them in the deep fryer. The two part cooking process gave creamy soft interiors with a crispy surface.
The benefit of an air fryer is to reduce the fat in your food. Obviously, par-cooking the potatoes in a deep fryer wouldn’t cut it.
I decided I would par-cook with some boiling water instead and see how it turned out.
I cut 4 medium potatoes into 1/2 inch (1 cm) thick fries. I didn’t peel them. A lot of the flavour and nutrients are in the skin.
I soaked them in cold water for 15 minutes to reduce the surface starch.
While the potatoes were soaking, I made a seasoning mix by combining:
- 5 ml (1 tsp) seasoning salt
- 3 ml (1/2 tsp) paprika
- 3 ml (1/2 tsp) onion powder
- 3 ml (1/2 tsp) garlic powder
- 3 ml (1/2 tsp) black pepper
Drain the water off the potatoes and pour 1 litre (1 quart) boiling water over the potatoes. Let sit and cool for 10 minutes. Drain teh water off and pat the potatoes dry with paper towels.
Sprinkle the seasoning mixture over the potatoes and add 25 ml (2 tbsp) of oil. Toss to coat.
Preheat the air fryer to 380 F (195 C). Put the potatoes in the basket and cook for 27 minutes, shaking the potatoes in the basket twice.
Put on a plate, add salt to taste, and serve.
The Verdict
I must admit I was wrong. I had not expected a great French fry from an air fryer. These were creamy and soft on the inside but had a great colour and bite. The seasoning gave a great touch of flavour.
This is one time I was glad I was wrong. These fries were tasty, crisp and had less fat. What more could you want?
The Old Fat Guy
Ingredients
- 4 medium potatoes
- 1 litre (1 quart) boiling water
- 5 ml (1 tsp) seasoning salt
- 3 ml (1/2 tsp) paprika
- 3 ml (1/2 tsp) onion powder
- 3 ml (1/2 tsp) garlic powder
- 3 ml (1/2 tsp) black pepper
- 25 ml (2 tbsp) oil
Instructions
- Cut 4 medium potatoes into 1/2 inch (1 cm) thick fries. I didn't peel them. A lot of the flavour and nutrients are in the skin.
- Soak them in cold water for 15 minutes to reduce the surface starch.
- While the potatoes are soaking, mix the seasoning salt, paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, and pepper together.
- Drain the water off the potatoes and pour 1 litre (1 quart) boiling water over the potatoes. Let sit and cool for 10 minutes. Drain teh water off and pat the potatoes dry with paper towels.
- Sprinkle the seasoning mixture over the potatoes and add 25 ml (2 tbsp) of oil. Toss to coat.
- Preheat the air fryer to 380 F (195 C). Put the potatoes in the basket and cook for 27 minutes, shaking the potatoes in the basket twice.
- Put on a plate, add salt to taste, and serve.
2 Responses
Hi there,
Since you’re one of the few I could find on the internet talking about par-boiling french cut potatoes before air frying them, I’d like to share my own quick’n’dirty way to do it.
1. cut the raw potatoes in fries.
2. boil them 5-8 minutes and rinse off the remaining starch on the surface afterwards.
3. Let the fries dry, with a towel or something.
3. Coat them with oil and optionally seasoning. Coating them with beaten eggs and spiced breadcrumbs is a great alternative too.
4. cook them in the air fryer for 30-35 minutes at 200 °C, no pre-heating, until they’re gold and crispy.
I have an air fryer with a rotating tumbler basket, so I don’t need to worry about shaking the fries. I don’t soak the fries because I thought boiling them takes care of removing the starch. And so the result is that it take no less than 30 minutes, even though the manual said 15 minutes, and it’s only a bit gold on the surface with some brown parts on the edges and tips. It tastes great. The inside is fully cooked but not too much.
It’s just that I can’t reduce the time, 30 minutes being very long for an air fryer. Maybe soaking the fries in cold water can help. But I can tell that not pre-boiling the fries forces me to fry them longer and they end up looking like a puffed 3rd degree burn (not appetizing, sorry about that). I’ll try your way next time.
Your method of parboiling sounds interesting but I would be afraid boiling that long would not give as good a structure.