Make Your Own Potato Patch Fries at Home

I love Kennywood, Pennsylvania, Potato Patch fries, I look forward to eating them every summer when I go to Kennywood. Whether it be with cheese, bacon or gravy, they are always delicious and worth the money I pay for them. This is how I make my own at-home fries that taste similar to the ones you can find at Potato Patch.

For 1 batch of fries, I cut and peel about 3 nice sized potatoes. You can make as many batches as you like. I have 2 deep fryers at home, a small Presto Fry Daddy deep fryer, and a large Masterbuilt electric turkey fryer. Both can be used to make these homemade potatoes, although you would be able to fit more potatoes into the large turkey fryer. My favorite kind of oil to use for these fries is peanut oil, because it has a higher smoke point, and it has a neutral flavor, unlike vegetable or canola oil.

First, I preheat my fryer to 400 degrees. I peel all of my potatoes, cut them in half lengthwise, then cut again into long strips. I recommend not cutting them into thick fries, make them thin enough so that they fry fast and resemble the ones from Potato Patch. Place a batch into the fryer; it takes about 4-5 minutes to fry them to a golden brown. Strain the fries, enough so that the oil is not dripping from the fries, but I don't think that there is any need to blot them with a paper towel. Potato Patch fries are greasy, yours can be too. As soon as they come out of the fryer, salt them.

You have many choices of toppings, you can use a cheese sauce to pour over the fries, or just sprinkle some shredded cheddar cheese over them. Potato Patch serves their fries with toppings like cheese sauce, bacon and gravy. These toppings are easy to duplicate at home. Beef gravy is best to use for fries. For the bacon, cook up a few slices, then crumble over the fries. My favorite Potato Patch fries are with cheese sauce and bacon, they are delicious, and probably not the most calorie-friendly either.

Although these fries may not taste exactly like the ones from Potato Patch, they do remind me of them, since they are fresh potatoes, not the frozen kind. I make my French fries this way all of the time, not only is it cheaper than buying the frozen kind, it tastes better too. Now I just have to learn how to make curly fries!