Name: Homemade French Fries (Five Guys copycat)
Prep time: 1 h
Cook time: 8 min
Total time: 1 h 8 min
Yield: 2
Cuisine: BBQ
Ingredients: -10 medium-sized russet potatoes; -2 quarts peanut oil; -sea salt, to taste

Have you attempted making homemade french fries before? Do you wish you could make them taste like the epic fries at Five Guys? You can make these at home and they are easier than you’d expect. As long as you know THREE key tips, your homemade Five Guys copycat french fries will blow your mind…and everyone else’s!

Homemade French Fries Tip #1: Soak in Water

Cut potatoes soaking in cold water — *It’s important to soak the fresh cut fries in cold water to help remove the starch.*

The Five Guys fries ingredients are fairly simple: russet potatoes, peanut oil, and salt. If you count water for soaking the fries, then count that as a fourth ingredient. Wash and scrub the russet potatoes, then take them to your cutting board. If you have a french fry cutter, then you will save yourself some time here. For the rest of us, you can still slice these up easily with a trusty chef’s knife. Make sure to cut the potatoes into the same size cuts as much as possible for even cooking.

Once sliced, place the raw fries into a large bowl and fill with water. Soaking the slices in water for 30-45 minutes will help remove the potato starch. Removing that natural starch in the potatoes will help the fries get crispy and keep them from clumping together. Once the fries have soaked for 30-45 minutes, drain the water and pat them dry.

Tip #2: Peanut Oil

One of the key Five Guys copycat fries ingredients that make them taste so good is the cooking oil used. While some prefer vegetable oil or corn oil (or even air frying), peanut oil provides that extra flavor that goes perfectly with homemade french fries. It does cost more than most cooking oils but this recipe is worthy of it.

Fill a Dutch oven about three to four inches high with peanut oil. This will equal about two quarts. Since I am cooking these outside on my Camp Chef stove, I’m using a cast iron Dutch oven.

NOTE: You can use a skillet to fry these if you prefer. I recommend using a 12″ pan so you can fit more fries in per cook.

French fries in peanut oil in the cast iron Dutch oven — *Peanut oil and fries go together like milk and cookies (which you may want to eat afterward).*

Tip #3: Fry Twice, Very Nice

The last tip to making some kick-butt homemade french fries is to fry them twice. With your Dutch oven (or pot) on the stove, cook the peanut oil to medium-high heat. Once the oil gets to 300 degrees, gently drop the fries in so they don’t splash hot oil on you. Peanut oil has a boiling point of around 450 degrees, which is just over double that of water. So the oil won’t be bubbling when nothing is in the pot (but will once the fries are cooking). I suggest using a digital thermometer that can handle hotter temps like the Thermapen ONE to make sure you’re at the right amount of heat. Keep the fries in there for 5-6 minutes before removing.

Once you’ve pulled the fries out (I recommend placing in a bowl), crank the temperature to high. The target temp this time around is 400 degrees. Place the fries back in the peanut oil and cook for another 2-3 minutes. Place the homemade french fries on a paper towel-lined cookie sheet. I recommend using sea salt to sprinkle on the fries as they rest. However, any type of salt will suffice. Let the fries rest for a couple of minutes to let them cool down before eating. After that, they are open game!

Serving of homemade french fries — *Would your serving of fries be more or less than this?*

Simple Fry Sauce Recipe

My family likes to dip our fries in fry sauce. This is a simple mixture of equal parts ketchup and mayonnaise. I recommend going with more mayo than ketchup personally. Feel free to spice it up a little with a few drops of hot sauce.

And thus completes the most epic batch of homemade french fries you’ll ever make! And you don’t even have to make the drive to the restaurant for Five Guys french fries. If you are looking for a good burger to pair these with, I suggest checking out my bacon-wrapped jalapeno popper burger!

The Five Guys Copycat French Fries Recipe