After leaving your favorite fast food joint with a piping hot bag of greasy eats, it’s natural to roll the top of the bag closed in order to keep the heat inside. But how many times have you gotten home only to discover your fries are now soft and soggy? Along with the precious heat you’ve worked so hard to retain, the steam coming off the fries gets trapped inside of the bag as well, much to the demise of said fries.
Without having to scarf down an entire serving within the first 5 minutes of being in your possession, there are a few handy tricks to prevent takeout French fries from steaming themselves into a soggy mess. Here's how to keep your takeout taters fresh and crispy and never ever soggy.
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How to Save Soggy Takeout Fries
The #1 sure-fire way to ensure takeout fries stay crispy from the restaurant to home is by leaving the takeout bag open while traveling . At the very least, you should remove the fry container from the bag and begin snacking immediately. Keeping the bag open prevents the steam from circulating inside, therefore ensuring the fries stay crispy - albeit not as hot as they once were!
The problem with keeping the bag open is that this solution really only works for those who are within a 15 minute or less travel time from home. Otherwise, with the bag open or not, those fries are going to be far from their original hot and crispy form and in need of further assistance. This is where an air fryer or convection oven comes in as the next most effective way to save soggy fries.
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How to Reheat Soggy Takeout Fries
Start by preheating an air fryer to 400°F, then spread your takeout fries into an even layer inside of the basket. Cook the fries for about 5 minutes, giving the basket a good shake after 2-3 minutes, and continue cooking until the fries have reached a desired level of doneness.
Don’t have an air fryer? A toaster or a regular oven will also do the trick. Simply preheat the oven to 400-450°F and spread the fries out evenly onto an oven safe tray. Heat for 5-10 minutes, checking for doneness part way through.
If you’re really in a pinch, you can grab a cast iron skillet and heat your fries over medium-high heat. No need to use oil for this method, because the leftover fries will already have enough soaked into them. Toss the fries in the skillet and heat for 1-2 minutes per side until done.
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