Sweet potato fries and barbecue sauce

I have tried for a long time to get them right. And they are hard! But I think I’ve cracked how to make beautiful, crispy sweet potato fried. I paired mine with a homemade barbecue sauce dip. Perfect as an accompaniment to southern fried chicken, ribs or a burger. Or great as a snack on their own. Let’s make them!

Ingredients

2 sweet potatoes

4-5 tbs cornstarch

Salt and pepper

Oil

For the barbecue sauce:

4-5 tbs ketchup

1 tbs black treacle

2 tbs dark brown muscovado sugar

1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

1/2 tsp paprika

1 tbs honey

Method

1. Peel the sweet potatoes and then cut into a fry shape. Soak in cold water for half an hour. Drain. Then rinse.
2. Place the potatoes into a large saucepan and cover with cold water. Add some salt and bring to a medium simmer. Simmer for 4-5 minutes then turn off the heat.
3. With a slotted spoon, lift the fries onto a baking tray lined with kitchen paper. Try not to pile the fries up; arrange them in one even layer. Pat the tops dry with kitchen paper. Allow to cool, remove the kitchen towel underneath and put the potatoes in the fridge for 45 minutes to an hour.
4. Remove the fries from the fridge. Heat a pan of oil (at least an inch deep) to 160 C degrees.
5. While the oil is heating up, scatter the cornstarch over the fries and use your hands to rub it in all sides of the potatoes.
6. When the oil is at the right temperature, carefully add some of the fries to the pan, being careful not to overcrowd it. Fry for 4 minutes until the fries are crispy. Remove and place on kitchen paper to drain. Keep frying the rest of the fries.
7. Turn up the heat to 175 C and batch-fry the fries until golden and crispy. This should be a quicker fry – about 2 minutes. Remove and drain on kitchen paper.
8. To make the barbecue sauce: combine the ketchup, black treacle, dark brown muscovado sugar, Worcestershire sauce, paprika and honey in a saucepan and gently heat until everything has melted together. Allow to cool. Optional: add in some whiskey while heating the sauce to add a hint of warmth. Serve with the fries.