French Fried Potatoes

A bare-bones deep-frying method from the days before kitchen thermometers. The one line that matters is the last: the fat has to be moderate enough to cook the potato through before the outside colors.

• The temperature the recipe is hinting at"not too hot" probably means something in the region of 325-340F for the first cooking, though the book gives no figure. Modern practice often splits it in two: blanch at around 325F until limp but pale, rest, then finish hotter, around 375F, for color and crispness.
• Cut sizeEighths lengthwise from a medium potato gives thick wedges closer to steak fries than to the thin sticks now called French fries. Thick cuts are exactly why the fat must stay moderate.
• Potato varietyRussets or other high-starch baking potatoes fry driest. Waxy red or new potatoes hold water and go limp.
• Drying is not optionalSurface water drops the fat temperature sharply and makes it spit. Dry the pared, cut potatoes thoroughly; if they have soaked in water to keep from browning, dry them twice.
• FatThe recipe does not say what fat to use; lard, beef suet or vegetable shortening would all have been plausible choices, and all work well here. Peanut, corn or refined sunflower oil behaves much the same way and holds up to repeated frying.
• Depth and batchesAllow at least three inches of fat and no more than a third of the pot's capacity. Fry in small batches; crowding drops the temperature and steams the potatoes.
• Drain and salt"Soft paper" is paper towel, though a wire rack over a tray keeps the bottoms crisper. Salt the moment they leave the fat, while the surface is still oily enough to hold it.
• Uncovered dishCovering traps steam and softens the crust within a minute or two. Serve them loose and immediately.
• YieldReckon one medium potato per person as a side dish, two if the fries are the point of the meal.