Make Your Own Frozen Fries

 

During the holidays I picked up a ten pound bag of russet potatoes on sale for $2.99.  I know that normally buying a bag of potatoes that large is more than I can use up before they go bad isn’t a wise decision.  I usually buy a five pound bag, but when I saw that price my mind got busy.  Before I knew it I had a plan!

 

I wanted to process the majority of these potatoes for the freezer and one of those processes was to make my own frozen steak or French fries to keep on hand to add to some upcoming meals I have planned.  By making my own fries I not only have the convenience of having them ready to go in the freezer, but I also control all of the ingredients in those fries.  Plus, I saved a fair bit of money in trade for my efforts.

 

I began by peeling the potatoes I wanted to use and placed them in a large bowl of cold water so they did not discolor.  Then I cut each one of them into steak fries placing them into a large pot I had filled about halfway with water as I worked.  Once all the potatoes were cut up and the pot was full I turned on the burner and waited until it came up to a boil.

 

Once the water was boiling I blanched the potatoes in the boiling water for three minutes.  Then I removed the potatoes from the boiling water and placed them into a large bowl of icy cold water to stop the cooking process.  I changed out the water as soon as it began to feel warm with more icy cold water before draining them in a colander.

 

The potato fries were placed back into the large bowl and I drizzled them with avocado oil until they were all lightly coated.  The potatoes were then divided amongst two gallon size Ziploc bags.  I laid them flat and pushed as much air out before sealing each bag.

 

Each bag was placed flat in the freezer and one the fries were frozen I jiggled them a bit in the bags to make sure nothing was frozen together in clumps.   These will likely get used up in the next six months, however should I decide to make more I’ll be placing the frozen fries into vacuum bags to seal them for longer term storage and placing those bags into my deep freezer.  The next time I see a good price on potatoes I will most likely be buying them to do just that.

 

Now whenever I want to make myself a diner style meal like fish & chips or a hamburger & fries I’ll be able to quickly and easily make my own healthy steak fries.  I like to make my fries in my little toaster oven and I find that if I start the fries first and then make the rest of my meal they are perfectly cooked and crispy by the time everything else it ready.

 

Now if only I could figure out how to make tater tots.  No, not really.  I don’t think I have that kind of time.  Ha, ha, ha.