Pommes Frites are traditional Belgian fries, so why are fries called French fries if they are really from Belgium? Well the story goes that during WWI US soldiers thought they were in France because everyone was speaking French and so when the Belgian locals served the frites they were considered French fries.
To make a proper Belgian French fry you will need a few ingredients, a deep fryer is most helpful.
Although I bought one just for this recipe, the first warning it had was do not use animal fat, a beef lard called tallow is what would typically be used.
Historically it was horse or ox. You can use vegetable oil, however the frites seem to absorb a little more of the oil than using tallow. Either way, make them and cook them twice as directed. They are delicious!
Pommes Frites - Traditional Belgian Fries
Ingredients
- 4 very large potatoes Peeled and cut into ½ “ sticks. Yukon gold works well if you can’t find the Belgian potato called bintje.
- 4 cups beef Tallow or vegetable oil
- *You really should have a deep fryer for this recipe to come out right.
- Mayonnaise for dipping
Instructions
- Make sure after your potatoes are peeled and cut that they are dried.
- Heat up your oil to 320 degrees
- Add in your potatoes, when the sound changes to what sounds like a babbling brook, take them out. This should take about 5 to 7 minutes.
- Put potatoes in colander to cool for a couple hours. Toss a few times to get air around them.
- DO NOT EAT THEM YET.
- Once completely cooled, heat your oil up to 350 degrees
- Add in the cooled potatoes.
- Again wait for the sound to change this won’t take as long the second time.
- Drain, sprinkle with some salt and dig in, dip them into your homemade mayonnaise for a real traditional Belgian frites experience!
- AWESOME!
