McDonald's French Fries - Copycat Recipe

A white plate full of homemade McDonald's French Fries and kechup.

McDonald's French Fries - Copycat Recipe

Learn how to make McDonald's classic French Fry recipe at home! (And exactly how the restaurant does it!) These fries are golden and crispy on the outside, and soft on the inside!

Prep Time30

Cook Time12

Soaking Time2

Total Time2 42

Course: Appetizer, Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Servings: people

Calories: 420kcal

Author: Stephanie

Ingredients

Brine

8 cups cold water
½ cup corn syrup (can sub 1/3 cup sugar)
3 tablespoons salt
1 teaspoon white vinegar

Fries

6 large Russet potatoes About 4.5 pounds
1 quart vegetable oil
½ cup vegetable shortening
Salt for seasoning

Instructions

Combine the brine ingredients and set aside.
Peel and rinse that potatoes.
Slice them into strings just under ½ inch. (A french fry potato cutter makes this easy.)
Place them in the cold brine as you slice them. Ensure the potatoes are completely submerged. Add more cold water if needed.
Cover and place the brine in the fridge for 2 hours or overnight.
Drain and rinse them twice with cold water. Pat them completely dry.
Preheat oil to 300 degrees. (A dutch oven and oil thermometer is very helpful.)
Fry the potatoes in batches for about 5 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and place on a paper towels. They will be very soft. (This is a good thing.)
Add the vegetable shortening and increase the heat to 400 degrees. Fry in batches again until golden brown. (It’s hard to be patient during this part.)
Remove and place on paper towels. Season with salt right away and serve!

Notes

How To Store and Reheat Leftovers

Refrigerating:

Let any leftover fries cool completely and store them in a Freezer bag in the fridge, removing as much air from the bag as possible.
To reheat, bake at 350° F for about 10 minutes. They reheat very well.

Freezing:

Flash freeze them on a baking sheet or plate until solid, 1 hour or so.
Store them in a freezer Ziploc bag in the freezer until ready to eat!
Reheat in a preheated 350° F oven until warm and crisp, about 15 minutes or so.

Make-Ahead Method

Soak the fries as instructed, dry them completely. Fry them in batches at 360° for 5 minutes. Place on a paper towel.
Transfer to a plate/tray and flash freeze them for 40 minutes.
Transfer to them to a freezer bag and freeze them for up to 3 months.
When ready to serve, remove them from the freezer and fry them in batches at 400° until golden brown, about 5 minutes.
Transfer to paper towels and season them immediately with salt.

Be sure to try my French Fry Seasoning Recipe next!

Nutrition

Recipe Source: TheCozyCook.com - For pro tips, step-by-step photos, storage information, and to save it to your account, visit https://framework-keystone.live/mcdonalds-french-fries/%3C/strong%3E%3C/p%3E%3C/div%3E%3C/div%3E%3Cscript%3Ewindow.wprm_recipes = {"recipe-30377":{"type":"food","name":"McDonald's French Fries - Copycat Recipe","slug":"wprm-mcdonalds-french-fries-copycat-recipe","image_url":"https:\/\/thecozycook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Copycat-McDonalds-French-Fries-.jpg","rating":{"count":8,"total":40,"average":5,"type":{"comment":8,"no_comment":0,"user":0},"user":0},"ingredients":[{"uid":1,"amount":"8","unit":"cups","name":"cold water","notes":"","link":{"url":"","nofollow":"default"},"unit_id":12935,"id":4711,"conversion_item_snapshot":{"amount":"8","unit":"cups","timestamp":1778513318000},"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"8","unit":"cups","unitParsed":"cups"}}},{"uid":2,"amount":"\u00bd","unit":"cup","name":"corn syrup","notes":"(can sub 1\/3 cup sugar)","link":{"url":"","nofollow":"default"},"unit_id":12934,"id":7611,"conversion_item_snapshot":{"amount":"\u00bd","unit":"cup","timestamp":1778513318000},"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"\u00bd","unit":"cup","unitParsed":"cup"}}},{"uid":3,"amount":"3","unit":"tablespoons","name":"salt","notes":"","link":{"url":"","nofollow":"default"},"unit_id":12930,"id":3646,"conversion_item_snapshot":{"amount":"3","unit":"tablespoons","timestamp":1778513318000},"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"3","unit":"tablespoons","unitParsed":"tablespoons"}}},{"uid":4,"amount":"1","unit":"teaspoon","name":"white vinegar","notes":"","link":{"url":"","nofollow":"default"},"unit_id":12938,"id":6065,"conversion_item_snapshot":{"amount":"1","unit":"teaspoon","timestamp":1778513318000},"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"1","unit":"teaspoon","unitParsed":"teaspoon"}}},{"uid":6,"amount":"6","unit":"","name":"large Russet potatoes","notes":"About 4.5 pounds","link":{"url":"","nofollow":"default"},"id":7347,"conversion_item_snapshot":{"amount":"6","unit":"","timestamp":1778513318000},"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"6","unit":"","unitParsed":""}}},{"uid":7,"amount":"1","unit":"quart","name":"vegetable oil","notes":"","link":{"url":"","nofollow":"default"},"unit_id":13048,"id":3726,"conversion_item_snapshot":{"amount":"1","unit":"quart","timestamp":1778513318000},"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"1","unit":"quart","unitParsed":"quart"}}},{"uid":8,"amount":"\u00bd","unit":"cup","name":"vegetable shortening","notes":"","link":{"url":"","nofollow":"default"},"unit_id":12934,"id":6566,"conversion_item_snapshot":{"amount":"\u00bd","unit":"cup","timestamp":1778513318000},"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"\u00bd","unit":"cup","unitParsed":"cup"}}},{"uid":9,"amount":"","unit":"","name":"Salt","notes":"for seasoning","link":{"url":"","nofollow":"default"},"id":3646,"conversion_item_snapshot":{"amount":"","unit":"","timestamp":1778513318000},"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"","unit":"","unitParsed":""}}}],"originalServings":"8","originalServingsParsed":8,"currentServings":"8","currentServingsParsed":8,"currentServingsFormatted":"8","currentServingsMultiplier":1,"originalSystem":1,"currentSystem":1,"favorite":false,"unitSystems":[1],"originalAdvancedServings":{"shape":"round","unit":"inch","diameter":0,"width":0,"length":0,"height":0},"currentAdvancedServings":{"shape":"round","unit":"inch","diameter":0,"width":0,"length":0,"height":0},"collection":{"servingsUnit":"people","servingsUnitRaw":"people","originalServings":"8","originalServingsParsed":8,"type":"recipe","recipeId":30377,"name":"McDonald's French Fries - Copycat Recipe","image":"https:\/\/thecozycook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Copycat-McDonalds-French-Fries--500x500.jpg","servings":8,"parent_id":"30363","parent_url":"https:\/\/thecozycook.com\/mcdonalds-french-fries\/","cachedAt":1778513318,"modifiedAt":1757445837}}}