That’s great advice and I can’t wait to try it.

Do the first steps ahead of time, freeze the blanched fries, and then just zap them in oil for a few minutes when it’s eating time.

First, age a good batch of potatoes. Lots of them (4-20 servings). Cut, soak, chill, and process per Stephen’s instructions.

Blanch the fries, drain, and cool. Don’t worry so much about blanching in small batches this time. A little extra grease absorption doesn’t seem to matter at this step.

Freeze the blanched, limp fries. Just stuff them into a big zip loc bag, and stick them in the freezer.

When you want some good fresh, fries, heat up your oil to HOT, break off a clump of frozen, pre-blanched fries, and throw them into the oil for 3-5 minutes.

I think they’re actually better after freezing and maybe dehydrating a few months in the freezer.

And in a pinch, you can finish off the frozen fries in a hot oven (even a toaster oven). They won’t be as crispy on the outside and melty on the inside as deep fried, but they’ll still be tastier than anything you can buy.

Those Ore-Ida Fast Food Fries are pretty dang tasty — if you fry them. There’s still no way to make good fries in the oven, except maybe for home made steak fries.

Joan —

That’s the spirit!

Nothing like steak-and-potatoes, done right.

Now if there were only something to celebrate…?

Ah! Having a dinner like this is itself reason enough to celebrate.

I’m glad someone finally mentioned it. And, your steak dinner might just end up on our plates tonight.