If you don’t have a deep fryer, you could pour the oil into a large Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed saucepan. Place the pot on the stove over medium-high heat. Use a frying thermometer to monitor the temperature of the oil. It should remain at 350 degrees Fahrenheit (180 degrees Celsius) for the duration of the cooking process. Adjust your temperature settings as needed to achieve this.
Thorough cleaning is important if you intend to keep the skins on for your fries. On the other hand, if you prefer fries without skin, peel the potatoes first and rinse them under running water when finished. Since the dirty skins are gone, you won’t need to scrub the potatoes with a brush.
The waffle blade should have ridges on it. If your mandolin allows you to choose the thickness of the slices, choose a thickness of at least 1/4 inch (6 mm). If you don’t have a mandolin, you could also use a ridged cheese knife. Make a straight cut down over the end of the potato and create slices roughly 1/4 inch (6 mm) thick, if not a little thicker.
The resulting crisscross should produce the waffle fry shape. If you do not rotate the potato, your slices will look like ridges instead of waffles. Continue slicing in this manner, rotating the potato 90 degrees in between each slice. Repeat until you slice through both potatoes.
Watch the fries closely to prevent them from burning. You need to fry the potatoes in batches instead of frying them all at once. Adding too many to the hot oil can crowd out the pan and cause the temperature to drop. As a result, the fries won’t cook correctly.
While waiting for the oil to drain, you can start on your next batch of fries.
Alternatively, you could lightly coat the baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray instead of using oil.
If you wish to keep the skins, you need to scrub off the dirt in this manner. If you don’t wish to keep the skins, peel the potatoes first and rinse them under running water when finished. You should not need to scrub them since the dirty skins are already gone.
The waffle blade should have ridges on it. To prevent the fries from becoming too thin, use a thickness of 1/4 to 1/2 inch (0. 6 to 1. 25 cm). If you don’t have a mandolin, consider using a ridged cheese knife. Chop straight down over the end of the potato using this knife, making slices that are 1/4 to 1/2 inch (0. 6 to 1. 25 cm) thick.
Rotating the potato in this manner should create the crisscross waffle pattern. If you don’t rotate the potato, you’ll get ridged fries instead of waffle fries. Continue slicing both potatoes in this manner, rotating 90 degrees in between each slice.
The exact amount of time may vary depending on how thick you cut the fries. You may need to check the progress every 5 minutes after the first 15 minutes to prevent the fries from burning. If you’d prefer evenly browned fries, consider turning the fries with a spatula after the first 15 minutes. Allow the other sides to brown for the duration of the cooking time.
You should be able to use nearly any standard-sized waffle iron for this procedure. Usage instructions will vary based on the manufacturer and model, however, so you need to be familiar with the machine you’re using before embarking on this recipe. After the waffle iron preheats, consider spraying the grate with a light coating of nonstick cooking spray. This may not be necessary if the waffle iron has a nonstick cooking surface, however.
If you’d prefer to keep the skins, wash the potatoes under running water and thoroughly scrub off any dirt using a stiff vegetable brush.
At this point, the raw potatoes should look similar to hash browns. Do not rinse the shredded potatoes since doing so will rinse away too much of the potatoes’ natural starch. That starch is necessary since it will help bind the shreds together.
If desired, you could use margarine or olive oil instead of the butter.
Use your hands or a mixing spoon to toss the ingredients together, coating the potatoes evenly with the butter and seasonings.
Depending on the size of the waffle iron and the size of the potatoes, you may need to separate the shredded potatoes into two batches. Cook one batch, remove the finished fries, and cook the second batch in the same manner.
The amount of time may vary depending on your waffle maker. It’s generally a good idea to check on the fries after 5 or 6 minutes, though. If the bottom of the fries are cooking faster than the tops, consider flipping them over before you finish cooking them.
