Frites question

[Plateaumaman]

I wanted to compile a list of the oils used to fry french fries around town as many people I know have allergies and things. Does anyone know already what the fries at Frite Alors or La Banquise are fried in? Patati Patata? Is anyone really using beef and horse fat?

[The Chowhound Team]

Folks, we've moved a number of general posts about food allergies to their own thread over on General Chowhounding Topics. They're off-topic here, but we didn't want to lose the conversation. If you want to continue that discussion, please reply here: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/694501

[afoodyear]

l'Express uses peanut oil unadvertised, which is a pleasant surprise if you like the tasty oil flavor, but not if you happen to be allergic :o

[Plateaumaman]

Yikes, that is quite an oversight on their part. So the list so far is something like this:

Frite Alors - beef tallow or some beef tallow
L' Express - peanut oil
Au Pied Du Cochon - duck fat (maybe)

I'll need to go around ordering fries and asking questions to get this list a bit fuller!

[PadmeSkywalker]

Baton Rouge also uses peanut oil, at least at their location besides the Bell Center.

[carswell]

Au Pied de Cochon's fries are cooked in duck fat. Says so on the menu.

You can order duck fat fries at Boris Bistro, too, though their default fries may be cooked in another fat.

[lagatta]

Perhaps obviously, Le Canard libéré's frites are cooked in duck fat, but alas they don't serve beer, wine or cider. A pity.

I've done frites in duck fat myself after making a confit de canard, and they were utterly delicious.

Blond_america, if only out of lawsuit chill, they really should mention the peanut oil. I fry nems in peanut oil, but do make sure nobody has a peanut allergy, just to err on the side of caution.

[Plateaumaman]

Adding to the list - frites at Zero8 restaurant are cooked in canola oil, in their own separate fryer. Which makes sense as this is an allergy/food intolerance aware restaurant. I had their delicious dairy-free poutine which substitutes smoked duck for cheese curds. Delicious, something many people on this board would enjoy, frankly. My brother enjoyed his roast beef sandwich, made with bread that was entirely free of wheat and gluten (both things he avoids), and a nice leek and broccoli soup.

[Plateaumaman]

French fries at L'Anecdote on Rachel are also cooked in peanut oil, indicated clearly on their menu.

[porker]

A little off-topic, but a few years back, in a land called Oz, I had the oppurtunity to eat fries cooked in sheep fat.
1. I don't generally like sheep.
2. I specifically don't like fries cooked in sheep fat.

On another (also slightly off-topic) note, McDonalds used to fry potatoes in 93% beef tallow up until 1990.
3. Beef tallow is tasty

[Plateaumaman]

I agree that the cook has a lot to do with it. I have to avoid cow products due to an intolerance so it does help to know when I'm wolfing down beef tallow. Frites Alor had a poutine with chevre for awhile, for example, but replacing cow cheese with chevre is a bit useless if they are cooked in beef fat. Good to know sheep fat isn't desirable.

I've made nice fries in starting in cold olive oil, an odd cooking method that works.

Anyway, I'll start asking at various places when we order fries, also because I'm interested to know which oils people are using. Romados, for example, anyone know?

[carswell]

Frite Alors uses beef tallow or, if some decade-old news reports are to be believed, a mix of beef and horse tallow. It's one of the reasons their fries are, IMHO, potentially superior (potentially because it really depends on the line cook; a side I ordered at the Park Avenue shop a couple of weeks ago approached perfection, while one a couple of months before that was meh).

[Plateaumaman]

Beef tallow .. thought so.

[teflontom]

I think APDC uses duck fat.

[estilker]

I am inclined to say that Frites Alors still uses some tallow in its fat, but I don't think it's pure tallow. I make my fries with pure tallow at home and there is a small difference in taste profile. However Frites Alors is the closest you can get to real Belgian fries in Montreal. And I've eaten at Belgian friteries for more than 25years.
But carswell is right, it really depends on the line cook. They tend to put too much fries in at once, you're not always sure you're getting a fresh batch and I always feel I get too much small gritty crispy bits instead.