Did I ever tell you about the time I threw up a ball of grease? I think I did. It’s a good story. I’ll tell it again.
Throughout my entire high school career I ate the exact same thing for lunch. Every day. Every single day.
At noon, or whenever the bell went off that allowed me to run screaming from math class, I’d head to the cafeteria. Not “the caf”. I’m not a word shortener. I do not go to the caf. to get some fab. veg. for your info. I do not.
No, exploded out of math class to get to the cafeteria to order “Large fries with gravy please“. Sometimes people would chip in to buy lots of plates of fries to see just how many I could eat. ‘Course I could never tell them, what with my trouble with math but in my fry induced sweat I could usually mutter out “Big ‘mount of fries. Lot of fries in my belly”. Then I’d pass out.
Well, you can imagine the toll this took on my belly after 5 years of doing this. 5 years of “Large fries with gravy please“. Somewhere in the last month of grade 13 (yes … we had grade 13 then) I came home from school, marched upstairs and thew up a hard ball of grease.
That is the end of my story. Good one, eh?
Probably not the best choice to lead into a post about making and eating french fries but I like to be unpredictable that way.
I still eat french fries and I still love t hem with all my heart. A little grease vomit isn’t going to turn me off these gems of the food world.
Last week I showed you how to make The Perfect French Fry. Today I’m going to show you a little trick you can do with them.
Follow the first few steps in making The Perfect French Fry. Cut them, boil them, give them their first fry.
Then, instead of cooling the fries and deep frying them again … lay them out on a baking sheet and freeze them. Once they’re hard, take them off the baking sheet and stick them in a bag, bucket or box.
Like so …
Then … when you’re hankering for some french fries just pull them out of the freezer and bake in the oven at 425 for 15 minutes, flip em, and bake for 10 minutes more.
The length of time you bake them will depend on how many fries you’re cooking. Lots of fries means you’ll have to increase the length of time you cook them. Just eyeball them. When they’re brown and crispy they’re done. Brown + Crispy = Done. See? I’m good at math.
They’ll come out hot and crispy with a fluffy interior. (because you prepared them the special way I taught you in The Perfect French Fry post.
You can also throw them in the deep fryer for a couple of minutes, instead of baking them in the oven, but I’ve done it both ways and for some bizarre reason, the ones cooked in the oven turn out just as well.
Homemade Frozen French Fries. You’re welcome.
Yum. It’s bad that I am curious about seeing that regurgitated grease though, right?
My first thought too! It’s a shame she didn’t know she’d be a blogger back then, or I’m sure she’d have taken a photo. (I know there was a 13th grade back then, but, like, you still had cameras, right?)
Hi k, how long do you boil the chips for before freezing them?
Bex – You can’t just boil the chips before freezing them. If you take a look at the post again you’ll see I link to a previous method for cooking french fries. You have to follow that method up until almost the final step, and then freeze the fries. ~ karen
thanks k, I did see the links there, they just weren’t working at that point. Seems to be fine now. So, ai oh, ai oh, its off to the chopping block I go :-)t
it says boil or do we fry and for how long before freezer
Are there any owls in your family? It’s possible that you’re related to an owl. They’re known for up-chucking pellets of undigested tidbits. Kind of like your grease ball. Only with little mouse skeletons.
For some reason I’m stuck on throwing up french fries and no recipe on earth is going to fix that. So I’ll tell about the recipe I just read online for a wrap. I kid you not! I subscribe to the Daily Dish and the recipe was to spread cream cheese on a multi-grain wrap and layer on meat,cheese and lettuce. Really! I just told them in the comments section that people like my late husband who would need a recipe to make a sandwich is not the kind of person who would subscribe to get a recipe a day. LOL They really need to kick it up just a little bit. Now, back to you. You might need to knock it down a notch. Throwing up french fry grease balls is kind of TMI while giving grease ball french fry lessons. Did I ever tell you my daughter has been anorexic all her life?
I can not believe you still like french fries, I usually end up getting sick when I think about a specific kinda food if that made me throw up once…
But that doesn’t cover alcohol 🙂
I was lucky enough to have a great fish & chip place I could walk to at my first two high schools. Fries & gravy-best lunch ever!
Love fries! And gravy! Add cheese curds and I’m a very happy girl.
I also like the looks of your baking pan…I thought you had a post dedicated to the best stuff in your kitchen but I can’t seem to find it. Hints?
Hi Mishibear – The baking pan *is* in one of my favourite kitchen thiungs. It’s a Pampered Chef Bar Pan made of stone. ~karen
i love my Pampered Chef Bar Pan!! i have the small one and middle one. love love love them
11 french fries? really?
and as an aside to yesterdays post i will be really careful from now on when i use the word venting..put a whole (hole) lol..new slant on it.
Ahhhhhh, so that’s how it’s done. Thank you ever so much and I’ll be sure to try this. What is that cookie sheet thingy that you’re using? It’s pretty nifty. Is that the secret for making your oven fries crispy??
Moe – https://www.theartofdoingstuff.com/3-kitchen-tools-i-lovetheyre-expensive-and-theyre-worth-it/ ~ karen!
So I have this friend (who’s originally from Montreal, but living in the States now with her American husband) and she is an absolute french fry fiend. True story: before I had even met her, a group of us at work – which included her husband – were deciding where to go for an after work get-together. I suggested a great barbeque place, and her husband said his wife was a vegetarian so did they have any options for her? I said I was sure they did, so off we went, with the spouses meeting us there.
Well, it turns out that EVERYTHING in that joint is cooked with meat or meat broth. I felt terrible that this poor woman had nothing to eat, but she cheerfully said “that’s ok, I’ll just have fries!” And proceded to eat a giant plate of them (which, BTW, are excellent at this joint). She was (and still is) a HUGE french fry fan and was perfectly happy, and we’ve become close friends.
AND, despite the frequent ingestion of fries (and ice cream, cause she eats that every day too), she remains pencil-thin and fit. It must be a Canadian thing 🙂
I ate the same thing every lunch in high school too, but not fries! I loved sloppy joes! yuck! Can’t imagine liking those now! Especially “those” sloppy joes! LOL
Thanks for the trick! I do this with gnocchi (potato pasta) …make em, freeze em on a baking sheet, then put into baggie for later! However, I never thought to do it with fries! 🙂
nice timing! I was thinking about a diy version of frozen fries.
thanks!
Sorry, but this post comes up a little short after the lesson we had yesterday…vaganus and all!
Woohoo!!
Nice! This would make all the steps even more worth it – you can do the Perfect French Fry in large quantities and freeze them to experience the marvel over and over again, with way less work! Yay!
Thank you for not being a dieting blog…and I am terrified of deep frying in oil, so my large fries will be consumed really fast as I’m leaving Costco… Have a great day!
If I ate french fries and gravy every day for 5 years, I’d still be working it off. My bestie ate the same thing every frickin’ day of her life as well and she’s still the thinnest person I know. You guys suck. Not really.. but kinda. Now I’m craving fries and gravy when I’m still trying to forgive you for turning me onto that maple syrup dressing o’heaven I now pour all over everything I eat. Ug.
MMMMM, high school cafeteria fries, and then jump in the car, head next door for a side of KFC gravy and drive to the park to eat. (Skipping 3rd period – but whatever… LOL)
I still dream about a dish I ordered in New Orleans, French bread topped with fries covered with gravy. Extra bread on the side to wipe the plate.
Karen I have to know how big was this ball of grease? I had a similar experience last year after going to the fair. My husband and I ate a chili cheese dog and chili cheese fries from Pinks, fried butter (this is really a churro stuffed with butter, a corn dog rolled in hash browns and deep fried(yum),Aussie chips covered in cheese and ranch(yum yum),a chocolate cover corn dog (I hated it, he loved it),fried avocado,a Krispy Kreme chicken sandwich and lots of beer. By the time we got home I was soooo sick, duh, right? I threw up what looked like an orange oil slick. Gross I know but I had to share after reading about your grease ball.
Boo Hoo .. I don’t have a deep fryer maybe time to invest in one but then I would be eating french fries all the time .. not so great for the waistline. I did call it the caf and our caf’s speciality was meatpies with fries and gravy …. soooo good
I don’t like french fries enough to go to such trouble. Is it just me? BTW, who, for the love of God, won the randomized “caption this” hatchet tea towel?
Announced tomorrow. ~ k
Hey wait a minute ! What maple syrup dressing ? I must have missed that one or it was before my time .
I did a search for your maple syrup dressing but nothing came up. Any suggestions ? Sounds yummy ! Have to see it.
Here you go .. https://www.theartofdoingstuff.com/spring-mix-salad-with-spiced-pecans-and-maple-dressing/ ~ karen
Fricken’ genius. That is all.
Thank you. I thought so too, LOL! ~ karen
OK Ladies..I am eating a late lunch today while reading this..I’m going to be throwing up broccoli cheese soup soon..lol
I just usd your iPhone tip to take a screen shot of your maple dressing (on my ipad) so I don’t have to hunt for it later when I want to make it. I think I’m going to start doing this for recipes I see from now on. Its a twofer: using your tip to get your recipe!
Well, that’s a bonus isn’t it? ~ k
I don’t know what it is about Canadian high schools and fries with gravy.
That was my regular lunchtime feast too….
Thank you so much for this post. It’s perfect (and I’ve looked through many a DIY frozen french fry recipe to find quick allergy-free alternatives). Love that you share how to make the perfect fry as well & Your photos are gorgeous.
Thanks Mel! You’re one of the few who doesn’t think my french fry antics are insane. 🙂 ~ karen!
How long can the french fries stay frozen before they go bad?
Hi Amanda – A long time. The only thing you have to worry about is them getting that “freezer” taste if they aren’t wrapped well enough. After 6 months or so they won’t be “bad”, they’ll just be poorer quality. ~ karen!
O.K. Karen. I see right off the bat that you are a complete and total comedienne. AND I FRIGGIN LOVE YOU!! I was reading the perfect French fry recipe and when you said “I will punch you in the vagina” I was done. I politely bookmarked your site (to be sure), closed my computer, put a cold towel on my forehead and lay down. Where have you and your French fry recipes been all of my life? Keep ’em coming! You are appreciated.
Well now I feel pressure. I’ll surely never write another funny thing. ~ karen!
How about freezing them after the boil but before the first fry? Then thaw and fry or bake later? Would that work?
Hello,we Jump Youth Mission is a registered charity in South AFrica,NPO 105-042 PBO 930045058.we have financial problems to sustain the org,so we are looking of doning stuffs that can sustian the work,so one of the project is to make frozen chips and sell door to door and local market,we raise money for org and provide job at the same time.can u please share what use to preservate it and keep it fresh and taste.thank and God Bless
Hi Kevin – There are no preservatives used in these french fries. They’re really only meant for home use. But they should stay fresh tasting if kept frozen for up to 6 months. Good luck! ~ karen