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naraburns  nihil supernum  1yr ago (text post)   3011 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for January 1, 2023

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Do you have a dumb question that you're kind of embarrassed to ask in the main thread? Is there something you're just not sure about?

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Why are fast food french fries so dogshit?

They are literally billion dollar companies that literally made their billions making fried shit. Yet most fast food fries are limp dicked excuses of a french fry.

I am irrationally infuriated just sitting here thinking about the sad state of mcdonalds fries. Maybe the real social decay began when mcdonalds stopped frying using beef fat and switched to whatever mystery hydrocarbon they are using now. I am just offended how can you have a commercial deep fryer at your disposal and produce this soggy shit, like what level of not giving a shit about anything do you need to be in aggregate to fuck up french fries.

Transfats legislation killed the french fry, the hash brown patty, the corn dog.

When I was in fast food, we used peanut oil for the most delicious shoestring fries. Topped with ketchup, or chili and cheese, or even “everything,” they were practically a meal by themselves.

I have not since tasted their equal, though I have tasted their near lesser. If you ever pass through Albuquerque, go to Golden Pride, a local fast food chain. Their fries are delicious and crunchy, a real treat.

I dont live in the US so no legislation where I live, but cost is a pretty good reason to use flavorless industrial oil products anyways. Mcdonalds and Burger King taste identical to the US.

I just dont understand why fries are so neglected, they are the second most important component in just about any fast food meal. I certainly would make the trip if I was offered half decent fries even at a respectable markup. Is no one else demanding better fries?

Honestly, Im contemplating just buying some beef fat and making my own, it feels like a distant memory since I had a good french fry.

Chic fil a and Five Guys still use peanut oil, Buffalo Wild Wings uses beef tallow, all of them charge a premium over their nearest competition, and all of them are known for somewhat better fries than the competition.

Whenever I fry pork belly, the leftover pork grease goes to making fries, and it's as good as or better than any restaurant fries I've ever had.

For someone who hasn't made fries at home. Explain like I'm five, please.

I'm not a great cook, but it's not a difficult dish. Wash and slice some potatoes. Heat a pot or pan of oil until it's hot. I'm not exactly sure how hot, probably around 150-175C. (It should be hot enough that if you drop one fry in, the fry should immediately bubble and float. But if the oil smokes, that's too hot. I've never actually measured the temperature, but you get a feel for it if you do it a couple times.) Drop your fries in the oil. The oil doesn't necessarily have to cover the top of the fries, but you need to stir so that everything gets cooked evenly. Cook about 4-ish minutes, or until it's your desired level of crispiness. The time will depend on the temperature of the oil and the thickness of your potatoes. Then take the fries out and let the oil drain off of them. Add toppings to taste.

You get a choice of the oil you use. You can't use olive oil because the smoke point is too low for good frying, but I like grapeseed oil because it has a neutral flavor. My above suggestion is to use the grease which is leftover from cooking pork. I also sometimes mix grapeseed oil and pork grease if I don't have enough grease, but it tastes better the higher the proportion of grease in the mix.

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