BELGIAN FRIES WITH BACON DUST AND CHIPOTLE MAYO DIPPING SAUCE

Belgian Fries with Bacon Dust and Chipotle Mayo Dipping Sauce image

There is a restaurant in Portland, ME called Nosh. They're fairly new but got notoriety on the Mav Vs Food show on the Travel Channel, most notably for their bacon dusted fries. I went there about a month ago just to sample these. I couldn't find a recipe anywhere for the dust, which is very similar in texture to powdered sugar....

Provided by Mary Beam

Time 2h

Number Of Ingredients 7

Ingredients

3-4 c vegetable oil, for frying
2 lb potatoes (idaho, russet, or yukon gold), peeled, rinsed, and dried
1 lb bacon
1/2 c mayonaise
1 chipotle pepper, chopped
2 drops tabasco sauce
1/2 tsp cumin

Steps:

1. For the french fries: Pour enough oil into a deep fryer or deep sauce pan to reach at least halfway up the sides of the pan,but not more than three-quarters of the way up. Heat the oil to 325 degrees.
2. Cut the potatoes into sticks 1/2 inch wide and 2 1/2 to 3 inches long. Dry all the pieces thoroughly in a clean dish towel. This will keep th oil from splattering. Divide the potato sticks into batches of no more than 1 cup each. Do not fry more than one batch at a time.
3. When the oil has reached the desired temperature, fry the potatoes for 4 to 5 minutes per batch. They should be lightly colored, but not browned. If your fryer has a basket, simply lift it out the remove the fried potatoes. Otherwise, use a long-handled skimmer to lift out the potatoes. Be sure to bring the temperature of the oil back to 325°F in between batches. At this point the fries can rest for several hours at room temperature until you are almost ready to serve them.
4. For the second frying: Heat the oil to 325°F. Fry the potatoes in 1-cup batches until they are nicely browned and crisp, 1 to 2 minutes. Drain on fresh paper towels or brown paper bags and place in a warmed serving bowl lined with more paper towels. Sprinkle with bacon dust and serve with the chipotle mayo dipping sauce and/or ketchup.
5. For the Bacon Dust: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a tray with parchment paper, then line each slice of bacon on tray and bake for 15-20 minutes until crisp and dry.
6. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate and allow to cool. Crumble and put in the food processor and pulvarize into a fine consistancy.
7. Put fries, in batches, in paper bag with portions of the bacon dust and shake to coat.
8. For the Chipotle Mayo: Combine mayo, chipotle pepper, tabasco, cumin & adobe sauce, or if you can the chipotle peppers already in a can in the Mexican food section of your grocery store, you can use that.