The Crispiest Frozen French Fries Begin With This Unexpected Step
For perfectly golden and crispy frozen french fries, a TikTok video (below) suggests an unusual tip: soaking them for 30 seconds before draining, shaking, microwaving, and cooking the frozen fries in an air fryer. The TikTok video specifically cites the chef and YouTuber Chris Young, who claims that soaking frozen fries straight out of the bag helps to thaw their surface while leaving the center frozen. If done correctly before you shake and heat them, this technique leads to crispier fries with a soft interior. Is there anything to this unusual preparation method? We spoke to Edmund "Ed" McCormick, founder and CEO of food science company Cape Crystal Brands, for some technical expertise.
@flakeysalt I forgive the air fryer thanks to this French fry method. #fyp
According to McCormick, soaking frozen fries can be a good way to make them crispy, but people often assume that rehydrating them is what helps. This isn't quite true. Instead, "It's really about surface starch and temperature shock, not 'rehydrating' the fries. I see this confusion a lot. You're washing off excess starch left from processing, then rapidly drying the exterior in the air fryer, which helps browning."
Despite the fact that starch helps make potatoes crispy (which is why high-starch spuds like russets work well for fries), too much starch on the exterior can lead to overcooking. Washing that surface starch away can help achieve an even, golden color.
Soaking frozen fries in water
You don't need to soak the fries in anything besides water to get crispy french fries at home. McCormick explains that additions to the water like salt can change the french fries' surface while unevenly seasoning them — plus, frozen french fries already contain salt in their ingredients. You also don't need to soak your fries for more than a minute, as longer soaks could make them flimsy. What's most important is that the water partially thaws the fries; just enough that you can rough up the texture of the french fries' outer edge without the whole fry breaking apart.
As the video points out, after soaking you need to drain the water and shake the fries inside. In his original video, Chris Young explained that to make crispy frozen fries, you want to break up the fries' exterior slightly to create a textured proto-crust. According to McCormick: "Roughing up the edges absolutely matters. That's one of the more legitimate parts of the hack." Shaking frozen fries creates jagged edges — aka surface area — and that leads to more browning. Once shaken, microwave the fries for a few minutes to quickly heat the insides and create a properly soft interior before popping them into the air fryer to form that crispy crust.