Perfect Homemade French Crullers Food

PERFECT HOMEMADE FRENCH CRULLERS RECIPE

Steps:

• In a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan, bring the milk, water, butter, sugar, and salt to a boil.
• Turn off the heat, dump the flour in all at once, and begin to stir vigorously.
• Turn the heat back on, stirring constantly for 2-3 minutes over medium heat. It will become a thick dough and you will be turning and pressing it onto the pan.
• After a few minutes, once the dough is smooth, remove from the heat and spread the dough out in the bowl of a stand mixer or large mixing bowl to cool quickly.
• After about 15 minutes, once the dough is just a touch warm, add 2 of the eggs and the lemon zest and beat until fully incorporated.
• Add the remaining two eggs and beat until blended. Place the dough in an airtight container and refrigerate for at least an hour, until fully chilled.
• While the dough is chilling, cut parchment paper into eighteen 3-inch (7 ½ cm) squares.
• Once the dough has chilled, place in a piping bag fitted with a large open star tip. Pipe a 3-inch (7 ½ cm) circle of dough on each square of paper, making sure the ends connect.
• In a large, heavy-bottomed pot, pour oil 2 inches deep, clip a thermometer to the side of the pot and heat to 350°F (180°C). (If you don't have a thermometer then heat the oil on medium heat). Place a wire rack on a baking sheet next to the pot and a bowl of vanilla doughnut glaze near the rack.
• Once the oil is at temperature, place a square of parchment with the cruller on it on a slotted spoon and slowly lower it into the oil. Add one or two more crullers to the pot in this way, leaving the paper on.
• After a minute, pull the paper away from the cruller with metal tongs. Fry about 2-3 minutes on one side, until golden brown, and then flip and fry the other side for another 2-3 minutes.
• Remove from the oil, dip in the glaze, and let drain and cool on the wire rack. Repeat with the remaining crullers, frying only 2 or 3 at a time to keep the oil at the correct temperature.
• Serve immediately. Crullers taste best and should be eaten the day they are made. You can store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.

PERFECT FRENCH FRIES

Steps:

• Peel and rinse the potatoes. Then cut them into sticks by cutting the potato in 4 or 5 vertical pieces, and then cutting each piece into sticks.
• Place them in a large bowl and cover with cold water. Allow them to soak, 2 to 3 hours. (You can also stick them in the fridge and let them soak overnight.)
• When you're ready to make the fries, drain off the water and lay the potatoes on 2 baking sheets lined with paper towels. Blot with paper towels to dry them.
• Heat a few inches of oil in a heavy pot to 300 degrees F. In 3 or 4 batches, cook the potatoes until soft, 4 to 5 minutes per batch. They should not be brown at this point! You just want to start the cooking process. Remove each batch and drain on new/dry paper towels.
• Once all the potatoes have been fried at 300 degrees F, turn up the heat until the oil reaches 400 degrees F. When the oil's hot, start frying the potatoes in batches again, cooking until the fries are golden and crisp. Remove the potatoes from the oil and drain on paper towels.
• Sprinkle with sea salt and dive in!

FRENCH CRULLERS

Steps:

• 1. Place the water, butter, sugar, and salt in a heavy-bottomed pot and bring to a brisk boil over medium high heat. Add the flour and stir with a wooden spoon until the flour is completely incorporated. Continue to cook and stir for 3 to 4 minutes to steam away as much water as possible. The more moisture you can remove, the more eggs you can add later and the lighter your pastry will be. The mixture is ready when a thin film coats the bottom of the pan.
• 2. Move the mixture to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Although you can mix the pâte à choux by hand, this can be rather arduous, so use a mixer if you have one. Stir the mixture for about 1 minute to allow it to cool. Then mix on medium speed and add the first egg. Let it mix in completely and then scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the remaining eggs, one at a time, and mix in completely. Add the egg whites, a little at a time, until the paste becomes smooth and glossy and will hold a slight peak when pinched with your fingers. Be careful not to add too much egg white or your crullers will become heavy. Transfer the batter to a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch star piping tip.
• 3. To fry the crullers, heat at least 2 inches of oil in a heavy-bottomed pot until a deep-fat thermometer registers 370°F. While the oil is heating, cut out twelve 3-by-3-inch squares of parchment paper and lightly grease them. Pipe a ring onto each square. When the oil is hot, place one cruller at a time in the oil, paper side up. Remove the paper with tongs. Fry on each side until golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on a paper towel for at least 1 minute. Once cool to the touch, the crullers can be glazed.
• Crullers also bake very well, although they will have slightly firmer crusts than the fried versions. Preheat the oven to 450°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and pipe the crullers onto it, at least 2 inches apart. Bake for 5 minutes, then reduce heat to 350°F and bake for another 15 minutes. Turn off the heat, open the oven door slightly and let the crullers sit in the cooling oven for 5 to 10 minutes. Remove, dip in glaze, and cool on a rack until the glaze has set.
• Beignets, the classic New Orleans fried dough treats, use this same batter and are even easier to prepare. Simply drop rounded teaspoonfuls of the batter into the oil. As the dough puffs, the beignets will turn themselves over-but keep an eye on them and flip any that need a little help.

CRULLERS

Steps:

• Make the Crullers: Combine the water, butter, sugar, and salt in a large saucepan and bring to a rolling boil over medium-high heat. Immediately remove from the heat, add all the flour at once, and stir hard with a wooden spoon until all the flour is incorporated, about 30 to 60 seconds. Return the pan to the heat and cook, stirring, to evaporate some of the moisture, about 2 minutes.
• Scrape the mixture into a standing mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (or use a hand mixer or mix by hand), and mix at medium speed. With the mixer running, and adding 1 egg at a time, add 3 of the eggs, stopping after each addition to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Mix until the dough is smooth and glossy and the eggs are completely incorporated. The dough should be thick, but should fall slowly and steadily from the beaters when you lift them out of the bowl. If the dough is still clinging to the beaters, add another egg and mix until completely incorporated.
• Line a sheet pan with parchment paper. Using a pastry bag fitted with a star tip (use a large size, like #12), pipe the dough onto the sheet pan in rows of 2 1/2-inch rings. Freeze them for 30 minutes to make them easier to pick up.
• Meanwhile, make the Glaze: Stir together the powdered sugar and milk in a small bowl.
• Pour the vegetable oil into a large pot to a depth of 2 inches and heat to 325 degrees F. Working in batches, lift the dough circles off the sheet pan and carefully slip them into the oil. Fry, turning once, until lightly browned. Drain the crullers on a brown paper bag; then dip them completely in the glaze. Let the crullers cool and set before serving.

FRENCH CRULLERS

Steps:

• Combine sugar, salt, shortening, and boiling water in a saucepan.
• Mix and bring to a rapid boil.
• Add flour all at once and mix and cook until thickened, stirring constantly.
• Remove from heat. Add eggs one at a time, beating thoroughly after each addition.
• Add vanilla extract.
• Force mixture through pastry tube onto greased paper, forming circles.
• Heat deep fat to 375 degrees F on frying thermometer.
• Carefully turn paper upside down so crullers will drop into fat.
• Fry and flip over until golden brown.

FRENCH CRULLER

Steps:

• Combine sugar, salt, shortening, and boiling water in a saucepan.
• Mix and bring to a rapid boil.
• Add flour all at once and mix and cook until thickened, stirring constantly.
• Remove from heat.
• Add eggs one at a time, beating thoroughly after each addition.
• Add vanilla.
• Force mixture through pastry tube onto greased paper, forming circles.
• Heat deep fat to 375 degrees F on frying thermometer.
• Carefully turn paper upside down so crullers will drop into fat. Fry and flip over until golden brown.
• Spread with thin Confectioners' Sugar frosting.