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The Cold-Oil Fry Method Makes for Faster Steak Frites

Yet another reason to love this iconic french fry cooking technique.
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Published June 3, 2022.

The Cold-Oil Fry Method Makes for Faster Steak Frites

Steak frites offers the best of both worlds: crispy fries accompanied by juicy, tender steak. But serving them hot together requires a bit of finagling. 

The solution? Our favorite cold-oil fry method. We’ve talked about how much we love this method for restaurant-quality fries before, but pairing the resulting fries with steaks brings them to the next level. (And makes steak frites achievable at home.)

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What makes this frying method so perfect for steak frites is that you aren’t fussing over the fries when you’re tending to the steaks. Simply cut up your potatoes and add them to a Dutch oven 30 minutes before you want to eat. You start the fries in cold oil and then don’t touch them for the first half of the cooking time.

While the fries are bubbling away, you focus on your steaks. By the time the steaks are ready (after a 10 minute rest), the fries will be too. No need to worry about preheating oil, extra pots to clean, or your fries getting cold before the steaks are finished. 

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Using this method, you can make the fries an afterthought and dedicate your full attention to ensuring that your delicious steak of choice is perfectly cooked. Crispy fries topped with juicy steak—what could be better than that?

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