16 French Fries Recipes For National French Fries Day
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July 13th is National French Fries Day, a cause for celebration because it’s another reason to have fries—maybe for all three meals! How many types of French fries have you had? Crinkle cut and curly fries, sure. But how about Boardwalk Fries? Carne Fries? Elvis Fries? Newfie Fries? Check out the different types of French fries. We’ve got 15 great French fry recipes below, from baked fries to spiced fries. But let’s start with the American version of Poutine: Carne Asada Fries. Below: > Conventional ways to serve carne asada. Elsewhere On The Nibble: > The history of French fries. > The different types of fries: more than 30! > Top 10 favorite dips for fries. > The different types of potatoes. > The year’s 30 potato holidays. > The year’s 24 fried food holidays. > The year’s 30 potato holidays. Carne asada, which means “grilled steak” in Spanish, is a Mexican dish of grilled and sliced beef (skirt steak, sirloin steak, tenderloin steak, or rib steak). It is usually cooked with a marinade and some searing to impart a charred flavor. Carne asada can be served as a main dish with rice and beans, or as an ingredient in other dishes. It is popular as a filling for tacos or burritos. This recipe was developed by Jonathan Melendez, food blogger from The Candid Appetite, for the Idaho Potato Commission, a source for great potato recipes. >>> See 17 More French Fry Recipes Below. You can save time by purchasing the salsa and guacamole. 1. MAKE the fries. Heat a large pot (a Dutch oven is great here) over medium-high heat. Fill it a bit less than halfway with vegetable oil. Attach a deep fryer thermometer and heat the oil to 350°F. 2. PEEL the potatoes and cut them into thin fries. Immediately place the fries into a bowl of cold water to prevent them from turning brown and to rinse away the excess starch. Drain the potatoes and dry them thoroughly with a clean kitchen towel. Make sure they’re completely dry; you don’t want any moisture in the oil. 3. FRY the potatoes in batches until light golden brown, about 3 to 5 minutes. Stir with a slotted spoon and transfer to a wire rack set over a baking sheet. Continue frying the rest of the fries. 4. HEAT the oil to 375°F and fry the potatoes a second time (in batches as well), until deep golden brown and crispy, about 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer back to the wire rack and sprinkle with salt to taste. 5. GRILL the steak. First, heat an outdoor grill or a stovetop grill pan, over medium-high heat until hot. 6. COMBINE in a large bowl combine the flap steak with the salt, pepper, granulated garlic, onion, paprika, oregano, and Worcestershire sauce. Mix until evenly seasoned. Cook the meat until charred on both sides, about 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer to a cutting board and allow to rest for a few minutes before chopping into cubes. 7. ASSEMBLE the fries on an oven-safe platter, baking sheet, or individual ramekins. Sprinkle with the shredded cheese and place in a 350°F oven for about 5 minutes to melt the cheese. 8. REMOVE from the oven, top with the chopped carne asada, sour cream, guacamole, tomatoes, pickled jalapeños, cilantro, and queso fresco, as desired. Serve right away. ________________ *Substitute feta, goat cheese, paneer, queso blanco, ricotta salata, or even farmer cheese. Carne asada, literally “grilled meat” in Spanish, was not originally the name of one fixed recipe or a particular steak cut. Rather, it simply described beef cooked over high heat, traditionally over charcoal or wood. Today, thanks to the expansion of Mexican cuisine in the U.S., it usually refers to thin, grilled beef—often skirt, flap, or flank steak—served sliced or chopped. It’s a popular meat for tacos. Its roots are in northern and northeastern Mexico, where cattle ranching developed after Spanish colonization. Cattle did not exist in pre-Columbian Mexico; they arrived with the Spanish in the 16th century. In the ranching regions that became especially associated with carne asada—such as Sonora and Nuevo León*—beef became an important food, and open-fire grilling suited working ranch life as well as outdoor celebrations. Early carne asada was likely quite simple: a flavorful but economical cut of beef, grilled over fire and seasoned primarily with salt. Lime, garlic, chiles, herbs, and more elaborate marinades are now common, but they vary substantially by household, butcher shop, and region. The characteristic smoky flavor is often associated with charcoal or mesquite grilling. The finished meat may be served with tortillas, beans, grilled onions, salsa, and guacamole—or diced for tacos, burritos, tortas, and other dishes. Importantly, in northern Mexico, “a carne asada” can mean the gathering as well as the food: a family-and-friends cookout centered on a grill, rather like an American backyard barbecue. Beef may be the centerpiece, but chicken, chorizo, seafood, vegetables, beans, rice, salsas, and beer are also often part of the occasion. Mexican immigrants carried these grilling traditions to the United States in the early 20th century. Carne asada became especially important in California, Arizona, Texas, and other Southwestern communities, where carnicerías sold prepared marinated meat and taquerias turned it into a familiar taco filling. The BBC notes that printed references to U.S. carnicerías selling marinated meats go back to 1930. Over time, it moved from Mexican and Mexican-American home cooking and neighborhood taquerias into mainstream American restaurant menus. So the short version is: carne asada began as northern Mexican ranching food, evolved into a beloved communal grilling tradition, and became a cornerstone of Mexican-American taco culture—not merely “marinated steak.” Carne asada is served in many ways, and tacos are probably the single most common and recognizable use—especially in Mexico and the U.S. Southwest. Quesadillas are also popular in the U.S. In northern Mexico, carne asada is also very often served simply as grilled beef on a shared platter, with tortillas and accompaniments so everyone can assemble their own tacos. At a home cookout or carne asada gathering, the meat is usually grilled, rested, and sliced or chopped. If you’d like to grill your own, skirt steak (arrachera) is considered the gold standard: highly flavorful with a distinct grain that holds onto marinades well. In Mexico, it is often mechanically tenderized (pitted with small needles) or marinated in citrus to break down the tough fibers. A second choice is flap meat (sirloin bavette or ranchera) It is similar to skirt steak but often a bit more affordable and very tender when grilled quickly over high heat. Why Flank Steak is popular in the U.S.: Warm flour tortillas in much of northern Mexico; corn tortillas are also widely used. Grilled spring onions or scallions (cebollitas asadas) Charred or grilled green chiles, such as jalapeños or güeros Pico de gallo, salsa roja, salsa verde, or roasted chile salsa Guacamole or avocado Beans—often frijoles charros or refried beans Rice, grilled nopales, or a simple salad Lime wedges People then make their own tacos, usually with meat, salsa, onion, cilantro, lime, and perhaps guacamole. Carne asada tacos Platter with tortillas Quesadillas Burritos Tortas Nachos, fries, and bowls |
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________________ *While cattle are ranched throughout the country, Mexico’s most historically important cattle-ranching regions are largely in the north and northeast, where broad grasslands, a drier climate, and proximity to the U.S. Southwest supported large-scale livestock raising. The regions best known for cattle include Sonora, perhaps Mexico’s best-known beef state, with a strong tradition of wood- or charcoal-grilled beef; Chihuahua, historically associated with cattle and open-range ranching; Coahuila, Nuevo León, and Tamaulipas, northeastern states where beef cookouts and carne asada are especially important socially and culinarily; and Baja California, also known for its excellent beef and grilled-meat traditions, although its ranching and food culture developed somewhat differently from the older mainland northern traditions. CHECK OUT WHAT’S HAPPENING ON OUR HOME PAGE, THENIBBLE.COM. |
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