The day I realized I was overcrowding the basket

I kept wondering why my fries came out soggy every time, even after following recipes to the letter. Then my buddy stopped by while I was cooking and said, 'Dude, you're stacking them like you're prepping for a crowd.' He showed me his basket half full with everything in a single layer. Now I do smaller batches and they actually get crispy. Anyone else have that "too much in the basket" moment?

2 comments

2 Comments

tessa_kelly24d agoMost Upvoted

Right, because who doesn't love a sad, limp fry after all that effort? Might as well just steam them at that point.

tyler17624d ago

Yeah but see, actually air frying DOES work great if you do it RIGHT. The trick is you gotta give them a quick soak in cold water for like 10 minutes first to get rid of the starch, then pat them COMPLETELY dry before you toss them in oil. If you just throw wet cut potatoes in there, yeah they'll come out soggy and sad. I used to hate air fryer fries until my buddy showed me that step, and now they come out crispy on the outside and fluffy inside. Plus you don't have to deal with a vat of hot oil splattering everywhere. Not saying it's EXACTLY the same as deep fried, but it's way closer to that than steamed would be.