I had defrosted a pound of ground beef intending to make a Bolognese sauce one night but we never really had a craving for pasta so instead, I decided to make an easy dinner of burgers and fries. To make the meal even simpler, Josh picked up some brioche buns from Amy’s Bread on his way home from work, as well as a bag of Alexia frozen waffle fries.
Alexia Frozen Waffle Fries
The fries couldn’t be easier – just preheat the oven to the temperature specified on the package and bake. For the burgers, I liberally seasoned the ground beef with kosher salt, pepper, and a dash of garlic powder. I also added a handful of finely chopped onions for extra flavor. I like my burgers to be on the saltier side so for a pound of beef, I used four large pinches of salt but like with most of my cooking, I just eyeball it and don’t really measure things out. You can always season conservatively and cook off tiny “test” meatballs to adjust the seasoning accordingly.
Ground beef mixed with chopped onions and seasonings
The patties we made were pretty thick since they were about half a pound each, and we just cooked them in a skillet until about medium rare. Meanwhile, we split the buns and toasted them on a griddle. The buns are buttery enough so they don’t need any help getting nice and toasty brown.
Brioche buns from Amy's Bread, plus some soft fluffy focaccia for noshing
We topped the massive burgers with lettuce, tomato, and onion. I’m generally not a fan of brioche buns for burgers because they’re usually too sweet and eggy, but these buns from Amy’s Bread were light and buttery and held up well against the huge burger patties. They kind of reminded me of the buns from Fuddruckers, which I loved growing up. I would definitely get these again the next time we decide to make burgers.
Thick, juicy burgers on brioche with swiss cheese, lettuce, tomato, and onions
The fries, however, didn’t turn out that great. I usually love waffle fries but these didn’t really crisp up that well in the oven and ended up being soggy and mealy. The Alexia brand touts itself as all natural and gourmet, and the fries were seasoned with sea salt, pepper, onion, and garlic, but they were pretty bland and really not that enjoyable. They were kind of stuck in limbo between fake junk food fries and fresh homemade fries so they really didn’t satisfy my waffle fry craving. Sadly, I don’t think they were worth the calories I wasted on them.
Sadly limp and bland fries
Josh also picked up a bag of Alexia frozen onion rings at the same time so we’ll have to test those out later. I wouldn’t get the waffle fries again though. Serves me right I guess for not taking the time to make my own fries! But hey, we all need lazy shortcuts sometimes.
Amy’s Bread (multiple locations)
672 9th Ave. between 46th and 47th St.
New York, NY
This recipe from Cooks Illustrated for home made oven fries is my favorite. I couldn’t believe how great these were the first time I made them. Crispy on the outside and lovely and fluffy and bright on the inside so that you know that you’re actually eating potatoes. Highly Recommended:
Serves 3 to 4.
Take care to cut the potatoes into evenly sized wedges so that all of the pieces will cook at about the same rate. Although it isn’t required, a nonstick baking sheet works particularly well for this recipe. It not only keeps the fries from sticking to the pan but, because of its dark color, encourages deep and even browning.
The key to getting them fluffy on the inside is two fold. It’s important that the first soaking is in warm tap water as this removes a lot of the starch (the water is really cloudy by the time they are ready to drain). Also the first 5 minutes covered with tinfoil steams the potatoes a little helping to puff them up before crisping the skin.
Ingredients
3 russet potatoes (about 8 ounces each), peeled, each potato cut lengthwise into 10 to 12 evenly sized wedges
5 tablespoons vegetable oil or peanut oil
Instructions
1. Adjust oven rack to lowest position; heat oven to 475 degrees. Place potatoes in large bowl and cover with hot tap water; soak 10 minutes. Meanwhile, coat 18 by 12-inch heavy-duty rimmed baking sheet with 4 tablespoons oil and sprinkle evenly with 3/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper; set aside.
2. Drain potatoes. Spread potatoes out on triple layer of paper towels and thoroughly pat dry with additional paper towels. Rinse and wipe out now-empty bowl; return potatoes to bowl and toss with remaining 1 tablespoon oil. Arrange potatoes in single layer on prepared baking sheet; cover tightly with foil and bake 5 minutes. Remove foil and continue to bake until bottoms of potatoes are spotty golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes, rotating baking sheet after 10 minutes. Using metal spatula and tongs, scrape to loosen potatoes from pan, then flip each wedge, keeping potatoes in single layer. Continue baking until fries are golden and crisp, 5 to 15 minutes longer, rotating pan as needed if fries are browning unevenly.
3. Transfer fries to second baking sheet lined with paper towels to drain. Season with additional salt and pepper to taste and serve.