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One of my most requested dinners is hamburgers and fries. People go crazy for my homemade French fries. I have spent years of experimenting to figure out what the best method is for restaurant quality fries at home and here you’ll find all of my hard-won secrets!

If you’ve ever wondered how to make restaurant-quality French fries at home, the secret lies in two key techniques: the double fry method and using traditional fats like lard or beef tallow. Together, they create fries that are golden, crispy on the outside, and tender on the inside just like the best diners and old-school burger joints used to serve.

The double fry method involves frying the potatoes twice. First, you fry them at a lower temperature until they’re soft and pale. After draining and letting them rest, you fry them again at a higher temperature to achieve that crispy, golden exterior. This two-step process ensures the inside stays fluffy while the outside gets perfectly crunchy.

However, the real magic happens when you fry them in lard or beef tallow instead of vegetable oil. These traditional animal fats were once the standard in fry cooking, and for good reason. They add a rich, savory flavor that modern oils simply can’t match. Beef tallow, in particular, gives fries a slightly meaty, umami note that enhances their natural potato flavor.

Whether you’re serving them with burgers or as a standalone snack, fries cooked this way are next-level. Once you taste the difference, you may never go back to frozen fries or canola oil again.

French fries are totally healthy—after all, they’re just salad in disguise. Potatoes are vegetables, tallow is basically liquid sunshine, and if you count ketchup as a fruit serving, you’ve basically got a balanced meal. Add a side of justification and you’re golden—just like the fries.

Bekah’s Tips:

• I always season my fries with Dan-O’s original seasoning and salt and it is amazing. If you don’t want to buy a specific seasoning just for fries, just season with what you have!
• Serve with my famous smoky fry sauce found here and smash burgers found here
• My mom has this amazing fry cutter, but I find it hard to store and clean and just prefer to cut my fries with a nice knife. I got a Wusthof knife for Christmas in 2021 and I could never go back. My recommendation is to invest in one nice, sharp knife instead of all the chopping and cutting gadgets that go viral!
• Tallow is the best choice for frying. The flavor is unmatched! However, lard is just so much more accessible and is still really good!
• Let the tallow/lard cool slightly and then strain it and add it back to its original container. Refrigerate it, and it can be used 6 times or so.
• I always water my house plants with the brown potato water that I soaked the fries in. It acts as a light fertilizer. Never use water that has been salted on your plants though.

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