When the name of a potato side dish has meat or fat in 75% of the name, you know it will be fantastic. Although I’m a great fan of ones made with olive oil and/or butter, these really crunchy, oven-fried potato wedges, or “steak fries,” as they’re known where I’m from, are done with rendered duck fat.
| Prep Time: | 15 mins |
| Cook Time: | 1 hr |
| Total Time: | 1 hr 15 mins |
| Servings: | 4 |
| Yield: | 4 servings |
Ingredients
- 2 large russet potatoes, each cut into 8 thick steak fry-size wedges
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
- 1 pinch cayenne pepper
- salt and ground black pepper to taste
- 2 tablespoons duck fat, melted, or more to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.
- Place potato wedges in a bowl; sprinkle thyme, cayenne, salt, and black pepper over the top. Drizzle melted duck fat over potatoes and toss to coat.
- Transfer potatoes, skin-side down, to the prepared baking sheet. Season wedges again with salt.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 40 minutes. Increase oven temperature to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). Turn potatoes onto their sides and bake for 10 minutes. Flip over and cook on the other side until golden brown, about 10 minutes more.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 203 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 34 g |
| Cholesterol | 6 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 3 g |
| Protein | 4 g |
| Saturated Fat | 2 g |
| Sodium | 9 mg |
| Sugars | 1 g |
| Fat | 7 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
Nice and crisp
Yum. The Perfect temperature change timing seems to make these the best ever! Chef John always has awesome recipes.
These fries were perfect. I made duck for thanksgiving and used these fat to make these fries. Amazing.
What’s not like?
As with all things Chef-John, this was a winner. Last time I made it, I used sweet potatoes. Boiled the fries until close to being done, drained and dried. Sprinkled a bit of cinnamon on the fries. Was a great compliment to bourbon glazed salmon and raspberry broccoli.
These have amazing flavour!!! Only thing I did was added a bit more duck fat. Scrumptious.
yes, i made some changes…i boiled the potatoes as suggested by another site for 5mins, drained them in a colander & banged them a bit in the process which it suggested roughens the surface allowing for greater browning & absorption of the duck fat. roasted them as chef john suggested. only complaint was i hadn’t made enough. i love chef john.
Made it with russet potatoes followed directions exactly and they turned out great, crunchy outside and creamy inside. Best oven potato wedges I have made. Also works well with sweet potatoes but there not as crunchy.
Absolutely ridiculous!! The thyme is an unexpected and stellar addition. The only change I made was to soak the cut potatoes in very hot tap water for 10 minutes, then I dried them with a smooth kitchen towel before tossing them with the spices and fat. This accomplishes a few things that improve the final product. First, it rinses off excess starch from the surface which prevents the leathery, mottled, overbrowned skin that often forms on oven fries. See the picture above. The skin will be thin and crispy, evenly golden if you do the soak. Secondly, it starts the cooking process, which seals the moisture inside the potatoes, so that while the outside crisps, the inside stays delightfully soft and fluffy. That’s a winning combination, obviously. Thirdly, by sealing the outside, the amount of fat that soaks in (and which you ingest) is minimized. The fat adds a subtle, complex layer of flavor that just isn’t there with fries cooked in vegetable fat. Yeah, yeah, I know. Cholesterol. Just so long as you don’t make a habit of them, which is admittedly a temptation, the occasional indulgence won’t be a big deal. Trust me. They’ll be fighting over who gets the last couple.
These are a go to favorite with steak. I don’t know where to even get duck fat so I use olive oil instead and the potatoes come out great every time.
These. Are. So. Good. Used dried thyme which worked out well. Next time I will be sure to use fresh though, yummy!!
Amazing, super easy and fast to cook. Crispy and crusty with soft inside part.
I just made these using olive oil since I didn’t happen to have any duck fat on hand. I also used Yukon gold and red potatoes. Turned out FANTASTIC!! Will make again and again!! 🙂 Thanks!
A co-worker made them- I couldn’t stop eating them. Crisp, flavorful and delicious!
So decadently delicious !
Amazing crisp out of the oven. Yuuuuummmm!!!
Another winner! Simple and so, so delicious. Thank you, Chef John!