Why it's (almost) impossible to make Crispy Sweet Potato Fries in the oven.

There's many a recipe out there touting crispy baked sweet potato fries, but chances are if you've actually tried one or many versions like I did you've ended up with a thick orange stick that is browned and it may even have some crispy edges, but it still unquestionably has the sweet potato sog.

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MISC. DETAILS
Music: Provided by Epidemic Sound
Filmed on: Sony a6600 & Sony A6400 w/ Sigma 16mm F1.4
Voice recorded on Zoom H4n with Behringer Mic
Edited in: Premiere Pro #SweetPotatoFries

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Are crispy baked sweet potato fries possible?: (0:00)
Intro: (0:37)
My ideal baked sweet potato fry: (0:57)
Why don't sweet potatoes crisp like regular potatoes?: (1:31)
How do we get crispy sweet potato fries?: (3:46)
What oven setup works best?: (5:31)
Step by step recipe: (6:26)
My testing process: (8:59)
Why I love recipes like this: (9:48)

[rayna]

That smug CRUNCH at the beginning of the video. I love the confidence

[TanyaG]

Just made these and I can confirm its by far the best way to make sweet potato chips in the oven, soooo crunchy.
Some things I'd recommend tho if you are trying this out:
1. DEFINITELY grease the wire rack before putting them in the oven because they get stuck
2. Using oil spray helped get a more even coverage across all the fries
3. Tried this without the wire rack and it turned out just as crunchy :)

Awesome recipe thanks a bunch for sharing it with us

[pekstl]

Man, thanks for this! I've been trying to make these crispy for years all the methods failed and I've given up. This actually works. And for anyone interested, it works with arrowroot powder just as well. I didn't use the wire rack either. It worked on a finely greased parchment paper, I used coconut oil for the parchment paper (very thinly coated) and then drizzled the potatoes with olive oil, also slightly. Didn't turn them over in the middle of baking either (my convection oven did the trick). And they turned out beautifully crispy. The most important steps are boiling with added vinegar and starch slurry.

[pezboy]

That cornstarch slurry seems like an excellent opportunity to add a seasoned coating to the fries (or baked fries of any kind, really)

[BoBoCooking]

I’m so happy for Ethan that he is doing so well and making great contents. I saw from his other video that he was really brave and quitted his job to go full in for YouTube. His hard work is recognized and I hope he continues to find lots of support from us and hit the 1M subscribers that he deserves!

[erx]

I love how you pay so much attention to detail. Please continue on this path because there just aren't enough people in the world who do this - especially in the cooking industry

[Acoto]

FYI to any who try this, he's not kidding when he says the cornstarch mix must be very thickly coated onto those potatoes. I took mine out while the mixture was still liquidy and I ended up with normal baked sweet potato, so be very intentional in getting that part right.

[ruthyan]

Oh my goodness I just made these fries and they are really crispy!! One thing I’d modify is pouring the oil on the fries before spreading them out evenly on the baking tray so you don’t lose precious oil through the gaps!
Thanks for the recipe Ethan!

[dylan-nguyen]

I tried making this recipe 4 times and finally got it right.
1. get the "dry" sweet potatoes not the "soft" or sometimes labeled yams at the store. the soft ones have too much sugar and burn. I like the light yellow ones.

2. if air frying set it to 400F and try 50%-75% of the cooking time. (I do 400F for 10m then flip for 4m)

3. *definitely* oil both sides. idk how Ethan's didn't stick but mine stuck and ripped apart

I hope this helps anyone else having troubles. I was about to give up but my farmers market had some free sweet potatoes so 4th time and it was all good.

[pezboy]

The little tangent at the end about leveraging the science of food to make the food that you want…. I felt that in my soul. That’s exactly why I cook and have been cooking since I was a wee lad. ❤

[GrugTheJust]

As an avid home cook, thank you for addressing the difference in introducing different Ph's to the boiling medium. It boggles my mind how often I am presented with a food that increasing or decreasing the Ph affects a huge result in the finished product. I now brine my chicken wings in baking soda laced marinade to garner crispier wings, but I totally understand the acid push to get tighter pectin.

[MakeSushi]

this was a very interesting video, I always did a starch slurry but never cooked the sweet potatoes before because they would break so the vinegar idea to make them flexible is quite nice :)
I will say I always fried my sweet potato fries though, will have to try this oven-baked method see how it pans out

[xTechnoWOW]

Love how structured and scientific your videos are vs. other cooking channels, always learn a lot!

[ShellLiza]

The combined trial/error and make up of an ingredient and how it affects the dish is pretty informative. No surprise your channel blew up so quick. Keep up the great content ✌

[valf]

I made this twice! Great recipe thanks so much, first time I’ve had success with sweet potato fries. The first time I used the rack method like you recommended but I found turning them was super tedious and even with the oil they still managed to get stuck. The second time I made it in my rectangular cast-iron pan and they came out great. For me the cook time is about 20 minutes total to get super crunchy not overly dark results

[AU-ymwv]

OMG I didn't have cornstarch so I used gluten free flour and they are PERFECT! Thank you!

[claudiaweise]

Ethan, thank you for the recipe. My variation: 1) My sweet potatoes were oddly shaped so I ended up with steak sized fries 2) I also decided to drag the fork over the sweet potatoes before they went in the oven as I thought they would be easier to handle 3) I added a little paprika for a kick to the slurry before I coated the fries. Be careful with that if you don't like spicy. I put them in the oven and turned at the 15 min mark . 15 min later they were still not done because my fries were bigger than yours. I was worried but I kept them in the oven longer and flipped them every 5 min until they developed a golden brown crust. I served them with garlic shrimp and antipasto salad. The sweet potato fries came out crispy outside with a soft inside. They were the hit of the night and went fast, I wish I had made more. THEY WERE I don't event like sweet potatoes. Thank you for the technique you shared. Bravo!!! My family now thinks that I'm at gourmet status with my cooking but frankly I don't know how to cook. It's all YouTube.

[GadBoDag]

Warning! If you do use a convection oven, make the cooking time and temperature a bit lower than his recipe says! I didn't adjust it and my fries got burned after the initial 15 minutes. :(

[TwoSnailTom]

Dude, the quality of your videos is amazing. Keep up the great work, your content has come so far in such a short amount of time! You’re an amazing mix between Babish and Kenji and I hugely appreciate your work.

[uthmanhamid]

Ethan: "amylase, where have we heard that before"

Me: flashbacks to biology lessons

Ethan: h o a g i e r o l l