frugal or stupid? making chili oil and

[mopinko]

also have a few nice fresh potatoes from the garden. how stupid would it be to french fry these puppies in some good olive oil, then pour the hot oil over the chilis? (have tons of dried hot peppers. just pour hot oil over to make yummy chili oil.)
it seems like it would be fine, but i can't shake the feeling that it is a dumb idea.

[Auggie]

1. Won't know until you try it ...

I would just be sure to rinse the potatoes very well after you cut them to remove excess starch. And be sure to pat dry before frying.

[mopinko]

2. i'm thinking any water is where the trouble starts.

so, i will dry them best i can.

[Auggie]

3. When I make homemade french fries I parboil them after rinsing,

drain, dry, toss with olive oil and salt, and finish in the oven. The oven gets them crisp; the parboiling cooks them faster. I'm not certain how this would work with frying though. Maybe you try a small batch first?

[Laura PourMeADrink]

4. i have been doing the same thing only microwaving first. Crisping in the

oven seems hit or miss for me though. Sometimes it works sometimes not and I have to turn the broiler on.

I am sure there's a scientific explanation - too much water - maybe wrong kind of potatoes?

[Auggie]

5. I think you answered it -- high heat

I use convection at 500°, but guess broiling would work just as well.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

7. yes but sometimes they just seem too wet to brown

[Laura PourMeADrink]

6. Let me get this straight making the oil has nothing to do with frying the potatoes

other than using the left over oil to pour over chilis? The only thing I can think is that there won't be enough time for the chilis to actually impart flavor into the oil? to make oil, don't you have to let them marinate more in the oil ?

I really want to get into making flavored oils. Love in a restaurant when they drizzle green onion/scallion oil in a sauce or soup. I tried to make it and it didn't work. I put the scallions in my food processor and added olive oil. But, then when I tried to strain, the oil stuck to the scallions and all that drained out was just a little bit of watery green water (I assume from the scallions).

can't wait to hear about how your chili oil turns out

[mopinko]

10. right but

after cooking the fries, the hot oil gets poured on the chilies and they steep.
the chilies are already dried, so there shouldn't be any water. then they are fine kept in the oil.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

8. Here's a good tutorial on making chili oil. they grind up chilis first

put in jar, and then let oil cool to 220 degrees and pour in.

http://chinesefood.about.com/od/szechuansaucesseasonings/ss/chilioil_4.htm

[cbayer]

9. I think it would work fine if you strain the oil.