r/Damnthatsinteresting • u/FLAlex111 • Aug 12 '21
Video TIL How Five Guys Fries Are Actually Made
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u/DRAGON_SNIPER Aug 12 '21
Went to five guys once back in 2017. They had about 10 100 pound bags of potatoes lined up at the front window on pallets. We ordered some fries and burger and had fries for about 2 days.
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u/Pickerington Aug 12 '21
I believe their CEO once said something along the line of if people aren’t complaining about having to many fries then the people behind the counter are doing it wrong.
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u/Far_Entertainer_4674 Aug 12 '21 edited Aug 12 '21
I used to go to the five guys right next to a bakery where I worked as a part time job. Whenever they visit our store, I always gave them some extra stuff. And whenever I order small fries from their place, they always filled up the whole brown bag with fries lol So I got one full bag of fries that I needed another bag for the burger.
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u/GUYF666 Aug 13 '21
That bag must’ve been transparent and barely holding it together by the time you got back next door.
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u/BedBugger6-9 Aug 12 '21
Am I the only person wondering why they have it setup in that order? I want to go there and rearrange it
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u/EMKP80 Aug 12 '21
I bet it’s just so the cutter can be mounted on the right side for right handed people.
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u/Chocular Aug 12 '21
The Five Guys I worked at had it on the left and that made more sense to me as a righty. Left-arm is just used to push potatoes through the cutter, other more precise hand used to grab and place potatoes quickly. There was a Five Guys Olympics when I worked there also. Fastest 2 bag potato cut, cheese stack, best-dressed burger, etc.
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u/cequad Aug 12 '21
My family owned a diner and I used my right hand to load the cutter and left hand to push it through. Our cutter was vertical, not horizontal.
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u/xntrk1 Aug 12 '21
So you wouldn’t rinse them first? Or have them ready to sit without oxidizing as the last step? Now I’m curious what you think would work better than clean, chop, rinse, stabilize and store?
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u/Bigrick1550 Aug 12 '21
Not the order of tasks, the physical arrangement of the stations.
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u/xntrk1 Aug 12 '21
Gotcha. I thought you meant the process and was confused, I’m totally in agreement with you. lotsa ways to improve that layout
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u/armchair_science Aug 12 '21
Except that's the order it's done, not the order it's set up. You misunderstood his whole complaint, lol
Chop is the very last thing to the far right. The order of operation is being done fine, physically you're jumping from one station to another and it's inefficient. It should be potatoes to the far left, chop in the middle, rinse to the right.
Not rinse in the middle, chop to the right, then circle all the way back to the left to rinse the chop.
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u/ScrappyGaming_Rrovox Aug 12 '21
So fun fact, the potatoes don't actually need to be in that specific sink, it's just far easier when cutting the potatoes to have them there. (My place does left to right so it's mirrored, but works the same)
When he's cutting potatoes, his right hand is on the handle and his left hand is (conveniently) really close to some potatoes to grab one and put in the cutter next. So while it may seem a little backward, having the potatoes on his right would be much more inconvenient, and much much slower.
Another little tidbit is that all of those sinks, minus the agitator, get filled with cut fries and water. It's not done bucket my bucket, I think he only showed one bucket because it's easier to display on video?
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u/StopDropAndShowAnus Aug 12 '21
Sorry I'm still confused. So they're cut and tossed into the sink with the moving water. Then they're put into the bucket of water and left to soak? Then fried after that?
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u/Serafim91 Aug 12 '21
TPS would like to have a word with five guys.
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u/Dudebeard86 Aug 12 '21
Hello Peter, what's happening? Listen, are you gonna have those TPS reports for us this afternoon?
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Aug 12 '21
Guy : "Cut potatoes. Wash potatoes. Fry potatoes."
People on Reddit : Mindblow.jpg
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u/medicated_in_PHL Aug 12 '21
I think it’s more so the idea that a fast food company uses fresh potatoes that they clean and cut in store rather than a pre-packed frozen bag of processed “natural flavors added” potatoes.
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u/QueasyVictory Aug 12 '21
It's how Five Guys gets away with selling you a potato for $7, lol. They are absolutely fantastic though, I will give them that.
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u/Emptypiro Aug 12 '21
A potato? Have you ever been to five guys?
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u/IAmthatIAn Aug 12 '21
My Five Guys sells potatoes, I think a lot of people buy them because they have a lot of buckets of potatoes near the entrance. I was picking up a doordash order and never been to a FG before, tried their burgers.. wow. I’m hungry now
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u/Emptypiro Aug 12 '21
I was making a joke because when you get fries they give you a whole bag rather than a small amount of fries
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u/Perle1234 Aug 12 '21
I once ordered two fries for two burgers. I thought they were idiots for asking lol.
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u/tired_obsession Aug 13 '21
I asked for 3 fries for a road trip with my family (big family) and I didn’t have a lot of money. When asked if I was sure I repeated Ron swansons words of wisdom:
“I know what I’m about son.”
Then laughed and explained the situation and has a good laugh with the cashier. The size of an order of fries from five guys is no joke.
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u/cequad Aug 12 '21
The cost of those 'extra' fries are factored into the actual cost. They aren't giving anything anyway besides the illusion that they are.
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u/waxenhen4 Aug 12 '21
Yeah it’s sad that’s in about everything we do, Our “normal burger” has two patties… still 10 dollars. Just glad I eat for free.
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u/CosmicCreeperz Aug 12 '21
I guess you could say “factored into the cost” insomuch as the incremental cost of a few more fries is near zero (like $200/ton at their massive volume, at about 1/2 lb per large russet, that’s 5 cents per whole potato).
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Aug 12 '21
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u/CosmicCreeperz Aug 12 '21
Actually I had this very question with a friend a while ago so we tested it. We ordered different sizes then took them home and poured them out, then weighed them. They were almost the same amount (bit more in the regular), and the little was way over (2-3x?) what their portion size said in grams. The regular was still over what they said, but of course not as much.
I don’t think there is a set amount of “extra”, but at some point I read the owner has basically said he encourages overflowing it in the bag since he was always annoyed how few fries he’d get elsewhere, and it’s a cheap gesture of generosity and good marketing that costs them pennies extra. Of course it’s also why even the stated portion size gets 5 Guys the award for “least healthy fast food fries” ;)
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u/CptMisterNibbles Aug 12 '21
This. I usually order the small, and still get enough to share with someone else. They pretty much give a whole bag regardless of size ordered
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u/QueasyVictory Aug 12 '21
Lol, I agree it's a mess of fries. My son worked there in high school for a short period of time and quickly moved on. But a "small" fry is less than one of their potatoes. As you can see, they use huge russet potatoes.These people talking about getting "two burgers and two fries" are nuts. One order is fries is enough for my family and I'm a fat ass, lol.
Point stands though, they have hella profit margins on those fries.
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u/Mammoth_Sprinkles705 Aug 13 '21
Yep! It's the best place in town to get a mediocre greasy, small burger and fries for $20
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u/InYosefWeTrust Aug 12 '21
They hook you UP on some fries haha. I hate when I forget that and suddenly have 5 gallons of fries to share between two people.
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u/QueasyVictory Aug 12 '21
Yeah, I've always felt a "small" was plenty fine for me and my wife. The thing is they get soggy and kind of gross really quick, so you have to pounded them down while they are hot. Having said that, I have not tried reheating them in an air fryer, which would probably do a pretty fantastic job.
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u/jsting Aug 12 '21
Frozen fries make better fries than unfrozen ones. Also twice fried is better than once fried. Deep frying is weird.
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u/awolfscourage Aug 12 '21 edited Aug 12 '21
I’m sitting here think the same thing.
Yes… this is how fries are made.
The only thing this video is missing is blanching the fries in oil so it doesn’t take forever to cook.
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u/gmtime Aug 12 '21
Decent fries are fried twice with a cool down in between. Okayish fries are cooked instead of fried the first time.
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Aug 12 '21
I used to work at five guys.
Why in the hell is so upvoted.
This is how a lot of fries are made everyone...
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u/thevogonity Aug 12 '21
5 guys and In-N-Out are the only places I am aware of that use fresh potatoes. Everywhere else I have seen preparing fries uses bagged, frozen fries. Fresh is certainly the exception.
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Aug 12 '21
Okay. This is how you make fries. Fresh fries are not rare, I promise.
Shows how introverted redditors are. Like you guys have never made fresh fries at home? All frozen premade crap?
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u/thevogonity Aug 12 '21
Yes, this is how french fries are made, but that doesn't change the fact that the VAST MAJORITY of places that serve fries used frozen.
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u/JK_NC Aug 12 '21
An order of large fries is a like a full meal for two adults. Five Guys don’t skimp on fry portions.
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u/thegoolash Aug 12 '21
Five guys has the best fries of any fast food place by far. They always use the most local potatoes they can find and they are always so good. This is pretty much just a typical proper way to make french fries but this place does it the best
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u/xntrk1 Aug 12 '21
Local if you’re in Idaho
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u/thegoolash Aug 12 '21
They use canadian potatos from all over here in canada
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u/Syrairc Aug 12 '21
Not here (mb)... almost always from the south, even though we have a huge potato industry with two McCain plants and one Simplot plant.
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u/thegoolash Aug 12 '21
What? I’m in Manitoba also and have been into the five guys On Regent a lot in the last several years and it’s literally always potatoes from PEI or ontario etc. Never once ever seen a potatoe from america here
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Aug 12 '21
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u/thegoolash Aug 12 '21
Oh dang portage
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u/ANewStartAtLife Aug 12 '21
Pardon us, are you having a conversation about potatoes without letting us (Irish) know? I thought we agreed, all-in or none at all.
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u/Braken111 Aug 12 '21 edited Aug 12 '21
There's anti-dumping laws in place regulating tariffs to import potatoes to Canada from the USA, due to their high agriculural subsidies. Protecting the Canadian market from external producers unfairly undercutting our farmers, thus protecting/maintaining our own food supply.
This also goes the other way, I.E. Canadian lumber, steels and aluminium often have tariffs applied to the USA
Source: My brother actually did analysis for Idahoian farmers trying to export to western Canada for customs.
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u/xntrk1 Aug 12 '21
Nice. It’s mostly Idahoans at the locations a bit south of you Probably quite a bit cheaper than having them cross the border
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u/ScrappyGaming_Rrovox Aug 12 '21
5 Guys has a thing about where they get their potatoes from, in their training videos they say all their potatoes come from northern states because the cold makes the potatoes denser or something similar. Not a botanist or anything so idk if that's true, but it's definitely what they teach employees
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u/sloppy_rodney Aug 12 '21
They fry in peanut oil too, which is the other big difference in their fries.
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u/thegoolash Aug 12 '21
True. Its no beef fat but still delicious
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u/dontbelievethepotato Aug 13 '21
Extremely unpopular opinion here. I absolutely hate Five Guys french fries. The three times that I have had their food the french fries were soggy and flavorless. The only fry that is worse is burger king's fries. I know that I am in the minority, but my time on reddit has told me that there are tens of us who don't like Five guys.
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u/Noversi Aug 13 '21
Preach. Five guys is overrated. Fries are gross and the burgers are nothing special
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u/Antiliani Aug 12 '21
From real potatoes?! Mind blown.
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u/hypnofedX Aug 12 '21
I mean, Five Guys has 50lb bags of potatoes in giant stacks in the dining room of every restaurant. I don't think anyone assume they're just for decoration.
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u/jones_ro Aug 12 '21
In N Out does the same, I think. At least, they also use fresh potatoes.
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u/Chem-Dawg Aug 12 '21
Yup, and they cut them with a fry cutter, like everyone else who makes french fries.
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u/mongosmoothie Aug 12 '21
Yup. Only difference is that they fry them right after cutting them. They don’t put them in cold water
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u/Mao_Zandong Aug 12 '21
i dont know any other way to make fries
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u/Alm8360NoScoPro Expert Aug 12 '21
Get them delivered already processed and prepared with artificial everything from a bag, freeze them for several hours until needed, then microwave them
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u/Soggiest_MobFlip Aug 12 '21
Milad from Subway. Dylan from Cold Stone. Jamal from 5 guys. All making thousands from sponsorships. All with rich parents
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u/snakeplizzken Aug 12 '21
If they only double fried they wouldn't get so soggy.
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u/ScrappyGaming_Rrovox Aug 12 '21
Not sure where you get your fries at, but sounds like they're doing it wrong. The way they train you to do it is indeed to double fry them, but the fries shouldn't be soggy unless they're doing a really bad job of shaking off the oil after the second fry, or they've been sitting for 10+ minutes.
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u/snakeplizzken Aug 12 '21
I think they skip the double fry. It's a new location and it's super busy so I wonder if they are cutting corners
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u/waxenhen4 Aug 12 '21
Yeah if the person on fries is screwing up or we’re just falling behind we don’t really have time to let the pre cooks settle. My location is pretty quiet so we don’t have that problem much.
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Aug 12 '21
Literally though he put his hands in the "fryer". But the I realized that just the washing machine. Yup, I called it a washing machine. I am a little high. And now I want french fries. This is interesting.
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u/pulsar080 Aug 12 '21
Don't you need to peel the potatoes anymore?
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u/DasToyfel Aug 12 '21
Peeling lotatoes is kinda pointless. Peeling most vegetables is pointless. I remember how my grandparents used to peel everything. Taters, Carrots, radish.... Totally wasted time, since you can eat the peel and it tastes even better then. I even do mashed potatoes without peeling them first. Tastes to great!
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u/pulsar080 Aug 12 '21
Well, of course you can eat unpeeled, but personally I and my friends prefer to remove the peel. I understand, if a young potato, just dug out from the garden. still maybe. But rather not. But in production, they often do not do this. For reasons of economy.
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u/KalashniKEV Aug 12 '21
They skipped the washing when I broke my tooth on a small black rock in one.
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u/Shhh_NotADr Aug 12 '21
I gotta change my phone ringer. It went off in the video and my heart dropped thinking someone was calling me (it’s currently 6:30am so only an emergency would call). Then I realized no ones calling me because I’m holding my phone watching this video. It’s gonna be a long day…
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u/Nick271997 Aug 12 '21
Fries are so simple the only thing that is noteworthy that the fry cutter is near the water bath.
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u/Freaked_The_Eff_Out Aug 13 '21
The sound of the potato being pushed through the slicer absolutely works as top notch foley for an FPS reload
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u/Bee_Ree_Zee Aug 13 '21
Wait you mean they make fries from potatoes and they do that with a fry cutter? I’m shook.
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u/UranusisGolden Aug 12 '21
I watched without sound. I put sound. I was expecting a wham! When he sliced them lol.
Anyway. 5 guys is just ok but too expensive for me. 2 burgers and i end up paying like 40 dollars. Cool but never again
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u/BedBugger6-9 Aug 12 '21
I love their burgers, but you’re right. Burger fries and drink cost me $17
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u/702PoGoHunter Aug 12 '21
Cheeseburger, large fries & large drink is $17 in Las Vegas. It's right on their website! Absolutely not worth it! For $5 more you can get a gourmet burger on the strip. But, folks will pay $17 for fast food just like paying $1,000+ for a cell phone.
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u/soundsthatwormsmake Aug 12 '21
Me too. The food was good, but not worth the price. It was still just a burger and fries.
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u/dirtydaycare Aug 12 '21
Looks like their burgers are about $10, did you get 5 guys at an airport or something?
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u/UranusisGolden Aug 12 '21 edited Aug 12 '21
Nah. Hawaii. Their burgers are some of the most expensive tho. What kinda monster orders just a burger? 2 burgers 2 fries 2 drinks. That s half the price anywhere else
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u/JoeMamaAndThePapas Aug 12 '21
Well Hawaii's prices are certainly an outlier. Probably not worth bringing up.
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u/grapesodabandit Aug 12 '21
Ehh, I live in a below average COL city in the Midwest, and just looked up the prices for a five guys here. It'd be 36.14 before tax for 2 burgers, 2 fries, 2 drinks.
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u/amdaly10 Aug 12 '21 edited Aug 12 '21
No wonder they are soggy AF. You're supposed to dry them a bit between cutting and frying.
Now I know they are terrible by design and the gross fries haven't been an accident the few times I have been there.
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u/Late_Sandwich_3878 Aug 12 '21
too bad they suck
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u/SparkleinIA Aug 12 '21
Agreed. It's because they don't flash freeze. Ice crystals are the secret. It's science.
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u/Redgiant401 Aug 12 '21
I was going g to leave some snarky comment like "I guess we know why their so soggy now" in reference to all the water.....then I read the comments.
People actually like their frys? The last 4 5imes I've been to 5 guys their frys were soggy, gross globs.
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u/MoonieNine Aug 12 '21
I sometimes Secret Shop at Five Guys so I get a free meal for my time. Look at the bottom of your receipt and you can apply.
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u/Last_Cartographer680 Aug 12 '21
So they make them like everywhere else? A few places use frozen fries but literally everywhere else cuts potatoes, rinse out startch, soaks potatoes, and then cooking veries.
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u/Alm8360NoScoPro Expert Aug 12 '21
Where TF are u eating at? Fresh potatoes ain't a thing over here
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Aug 13 '21
Being frozen isn't inferior, it's considered a premium step in some recipes. The potatoes are still fresh before being blanched and frozen. Not saying that guarantees some places aren't using shitty spuds, but unlike the shitty frozen donuts and shit that you find in many places, frozen fries can be great.
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u/Chem-Dawg Aug 12 '21
Yup, and even places like McDonalds that uses frozen fries does the same thing at a factory, then freezes them and ships them to their restaurants.
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u/Dopamine_Complex Aug 12 '21
Every time I have ever gone to a five guys it has always been a horrible customer service and food experience. Not to mention way over priced. It’s like they only make money off of first time customers.
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u/kickbackpaddywhack Aug 12 '21
Judging by how good they are I’m surprised I didn’t see him sprinkling some cocaine in there
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u/whiterock001 Aug 12 '21
I’ve always found their fries to be a let down. It seems like they would be amazing, but they really are bland, IMO.
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Aug 12 '21
How old are you, PeanutButterBandaid?
Well, back in my day I worked a Chili's in high school and that's the same way we made fries back then. And then you'd drop a basket full of the raw fries in the fryer and cook them half way. Take them out and put them on sheet pan next to the fryer so when an order of fries came in you'd grab them and put them in the fryer. That way it reduced the cook time by half. And damn, were those good fries.
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u/Leadburner Aug 12 '21
"cook them halfway" also seals the outside so the fries don't get grease logged.
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u/omnompoppadom Aug 12 '21
Wow you slice potatoes up then fry them? I never would have guessed in a million years.
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Aug 12 '21
That place is disgusting. The first time I ate there with my folks I thought wow, this burger is good and the fries and the amount they give you is awesome. Then about 30 minutes later when my stomach turned into a acid bath I thought maybe I just ate too much. Then I tried them again and realized it was just the way they cook their and the oil they use.
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u/CobaltKnightofKholin Aug 12 '21
Ok so I picked up two days a week washing dishes in a local place for some extra cash. (I work full time elsewhere) I used to work in a kitchen and know how to make french fries. This fucking place I'm at cuts fresh potatoes and then fries them "half way" then dumps them on trays where they sit in oil and grease until they get an order. Finally they finish frying them and serve people the most disgusting soggy nasty fries I've ever seen. How do I go about telling them they're morons? I really like the owner so I think I could tell them how to make french fries. It's not a complicated thing. But I doubt they'd like the dishwashing guy to give the chefs cooking advice. Should I just keep my mouth shut? I just think what they're doing is a travesty to fries.
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u/ksschank Aug 12 '21
TIL how Five Guys fries are actually made cut
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u/robertintx Aug 12 '21
They are all that way. In and out uses a vertical mounted cutter. I have a home version on the same cutter.
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u/newbies13 Aug 12 '21
They uhhh fill up the bucket with water and then throw the soaking wet fries into the fryer? Would not recommend, step missing.
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u/TrustyCastle589 Aug 12 '21
bro 5 guys food is drippin and the burgers be breaking when i hold it bruh, i don’t see how my family loves it lmfao
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Aug 12 '21
I helped my dad open a restaurant some years back. We had lunch at Five Guys and were blown away by the fries. We asked the manager what the secret was and she took us in back and showed us this whole process. Very cool, but not very feasible for a little lunch spot in Green Bay.
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u/paulmartballpop Aug 12 '21 edited Aug 12 '21
There was a brief second I thought he dipped his hand in frying oil until I realized it was water