Broiling is one of the best ways to make food crispy and brown. It uses radiant heat from above to quickly cook food by exposing it to a high temperature. Since crispy French fries are a treat, broiling may seem like a good way to make these delicious snacks. So, can you broil French fries?
Yes, you can broil French fries. It reduces the need to use oil, making it a great way to prepare fries. To broil French fries, you can arrange the potatoes on a flat baking tray with hot oil on the middle rack of the oven. Place it under the broiler for five minutes, and it will turn golden brown.
Let’s talk about broiling French fries in more detail now.
Different Methods To Prepare French Fries
There are many ways in which you can prepare French fries.
Fast food joints usually use the deep-frying technique to prepare this popular finger food.
However, deep-frying isn’t the healthiest cooking method since it uses large amounts of oil.
Apart from deep-frying in hot oil, you can also prepare French fries by baking.
You will need a convection oven or microwave oven for this purpose.
Another way to make French fries is in an air fryer. These are considered to be much better than deep-frying.
However, broiling is the best way to make them if you’re looking for a quick and easy way to make French fries.
Broiling is a cooking technique in which high heat is applied from the top to cook food.
Although broiling is done in a convection oven, it’s different from baking.
Baking uses moderate heat for cooking, while broiling uses high heat.
Hence, food cooks faster and becomes crispier than in baking.
Another difference is that baking uses indirect heat to cook food. Meanwhile, broiling exposes food to direct, radiant heat.
Since the food is directly exposed to heat, it chars and develops a beautiful brown color on the surface.
This technique of direct heat exposure makes the food very crisp.
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Benefits Of Broiling French Fries
Broiling is commonly used for cooking meat, seafood, and other calorie-dense cooking ingredients.
However, it works for vegetables also.
You can also use broiling to create a beautiful and crispy crust for dishes with cheesy toppings.
Broiling is considered to be a great cooking technique for various reasons. Let’s look at what they are.
1. Requires Less Oil
Broiling uses direct heat for cooking and less heat, thus reducing the calories in a dish.
You can use spices and seasonings instead of oil to add delicious flavors to your dishes.
In the case of French fries, potatoes are delicate vegetables.
You can quickly transform them into delicious French fries without the copious amounts of oil used in deep-frying.
2. Fast And Simple
Broiling uses high heat. So, the cooking process takes very less time.
This method gives you the benefits of other cooking techniques like baking and grilling without taking too long.
The benefits of broiling are comparable to that of baking and grilling because it uses less oil.
Meanwhile, broiling would take less time than deep-frying. So, it’s a quick and efficient solution to make French fries.
Let’s now look at how to broil French fries.
Can You Broil French Fries In The Oven?
Most ovens with a direct and concentrated heating element have a broiler setting.
In the baking mode, ovens use indirect heat from below and the sides to cook food.
However, heat is administered directly from above in the broiler setting.
The broiler element will usually be located on the roof or at the base of the oven.
Regardless of where it’s located, broilers work by applying direct heat to the food and cooking it quickly.
If your oven has a broiler setting, you can use it to make French fries.
All you will need for this task are potatoes cut into the shape of fries and a broiler-safe baking tray or pan.
How To Broil French Fries?
The first step to broiling French fries is preparing the fries.
It’s good to cut the potatoes into even size rectangular pieces to ensure that they cook properly.
Since broiling uses direct heat and occurs at a high-temperature setting, soaking the fries in saltwater before cooking is highly recommended.
This will reduce the chances of burning, and it will prevent over-browning.
Soaking the potatoes before broiling will also get rid of excess starch and moisture, making the fries crispier.
Based on how much time you have, you can either soak the raw potato pieces for several minutes or even overnight.
Follow this sequence of steps to prepare delicious and crispy French fries using the broiler method.
- Although broiling doesn’t need as much oil as deep-frying, you will still need a small quantity of oil to make your fries crisp and tasty.
- Prepare your pan or baking tray by pouring some vegetable oil on its surface. Turn on the broiler and place the pan inside it for a few minutes.
- Next, prepare the soaked French fries with flavorings or herbs of your choice. You can simply toss the potatoes in the seasoning till it’s coated all over.
- Remove the pan with the oil from the broiler and neatly line the French fries inside it. Place them on the top or middle oven rack and broil for five minutes. The potatoes should turn crisp and have a brown color on the sides.
- Turn them over to the other side and put them under the broiler again for five minutes or less.
Related: Will Deep Fryers Smoke?
Can You Broil Frozen French Fries?
Preparing potatoes for French fries can take some time.
Not only do you have to peel and cut the potatoes, but you also have to soak them before frying, baking, or broiling.
It may be easier to prepare them in advance and freeze them until it’s time to cook.
This will save you the effort of making the fries from scratch when you must prepare them quickly.
Frozen packets of French fries are also available in supermarkets.
These can save you valuable time and effort needed for food prep.
Now, the good news is that you can broil frozen French fries without waiting for them to thaw.
In fact, it’s recommended not to thaw frozen French fries before putting them in the oven since thawing affects their texture.
However, if you want to add any seasoning, quickly run them under water to remove the ice.
Immediately toss them in oil and other flavoring agents. Then, cook them under the broiler.
You can also skip this step altogether and salt the fries after broiling if you prefer.
Remember that it’s crucial to preheat the oven before placing frozen fries inside it.
The rest of the process is the same as with freshly-cut French fries.
You can also switch the baking pan out and use an open oven rack instead to hold your frozen French fries.
If you want your French fries to be extra-crispy, bake them at high temperature for twenty minutes after you are done broiling them.
This will suck all the moisture out of the vegetable and make it extra-crispy and golden.
