These are fork and twists’s ultimate cheese and bacon loaded fries. Think skinny fries topped with our signiature Nacho Cheese Sauce, crispy bacon bits, diced pickled jalapeños and freshly chopped chives. This is definitely something you shouldn’t be eating every day, but sometimes you just need to give in to those junk food cravings, and this could be the ultimate munchies dish!
Top Tips For Loaded Fries
In this recipe we are trying to emulate the loaded fries you’ll find in some of the UK’s top burger restaurants and fast food joints. To take this to the next level we have adapted our nacho cheese sauce recipe just for this dish, but to also keep it simple we are using skinny oven baked fries – not everyone has access to a deep fat fryer! But feel free to fry your own chips (fries) if you’re up for the challenge. The key is to layer the fries with flavours, plenty of cheese sauce, lots of back and fragrancy and acidity in the garnish. Below are some top tips to follow to make the best loaded fries possible.
There are four components to these loaded fries:
- The Fries
- The Cheese Sauce
- The Crispy Bacon
- Garnish
Here are some top tips to help you along the way:
- Get the fries on first and make the rest of the components whilst they cook. Set a time on your phone to let you know when they’re done and don’t over cook. These are best cooked with an oven mesh, they allow the hot air to circulate round the fries and cook them more evenly.
- Start cooking the bacon next. Render down the fat completely in a frying pan to 1. Crisp up the bacon and 2. Release the fat to use in the cheese sauce.
- The cheese sauce is based on a béchamel but instead of butter we are using the rendered bacon fat. Full details are in the recipe card below, but just remember – add the milk slowly and whisk hard in between to ensure it’s perfectly smooth. Once full incorporated and smooth, let simmer for a couple minutes to cook out the flour taste.
- Finish off the loaded fries with some fragrant herbs and acidity. The chives add a lovely subtle onion note, whereas the pickled Jalapeños add a little heat and much needed acidity to cut through the rich sauce and salty bacon.
The main thing to remember when cooking this, is too just have fun. This is far from being a serious dish, it’s one of those dishes where all that will do is some good old fashioned American Junk food, and loaded fries are up there with the best of the best! Just remember, sharing is caring and don’t be eating this too often – it’s a treat!
The Video
The Recipe
Ultimate Loaded Cheese and Bacon Fries
Equipment
- Medium Saucepan
- Whisk
- Baking Tray
- Frying Pan
- Oven mesh (optional for fries)
Ingredients
Crispy Bacon
- 150 g Bacon Lardons / Cubed Pancetta
Nacho Cheese Sauce
- 30 g Plain Flour
- 30 g Reserved Bacon Fat top up with butter to make 30g is not enough bacon fat.
- 300 ml Milk full fat is best
- 5 Slices American Cheese Singles aka plastic cheese
- 100 g Red Leicester Cheese
- 10 g Parmesan
- 4 tbsp Jalepeño pickle juice
- 1/2 tsp Salt
Fries
- 400 g Skinny French Fries oven baked is perfectly ok!
Toppings
- 6-8 Slices Jalapeños pickled, not fresh
- 1 tbsp Freshly chopped chives
Instructions
The Fries
- Cook according to packet instructions.Roughly - pre heat oven to 200c (Fan) and cook for about 20 minutes. Best cooked on an oven mesh.
The Bacon
- Put a frying pan on a medium heat and add the bacon/pancetta.
- Cook for about 10 minutes to Render out the fat
- Separate the fat from the bacon by tilting the pan at an angle for a minute or so. Pour the fat into a heat proof dish to reserve, and the bacon into a separate container.
Nacho Cheese Sauce
- Start by making a roux. In a saucepan, add the bacon fat (should be 30g, if not, add a little butter to make it up to 30) and ensure it is heated so it's full liquid.
- Add the flour to the pan and cook out for a minute or two.i.e. let it bubble away and stir regularly.
- Add the milk about 50ml at a time and whisk between.Top Tip - For a really smooth bechamel, keep the heat low to start, and whick well in between adding the milk. Add the milk in batches too. At each batch, ensure it's smooth and lump free before adding the next batch.
- Once all the milk is added and the sauce is smooth, turn the heat up a little to get the sauce to a simmer. Simmer gentle for a couple minutes to cook out the flour. Stir regularly to avoid it catching on the bottom of the pan.
- Take off the heat once simmered. Add all three cheeses and stir into the piping hot sauce to melt through.
- Add the Jalapeño juice and stir well.
- Taste to check for seasoning and balance. Add the salt if deemed necessary. Add more Jalapeño juice if more acidity is desired.
Finishing
- By now the fires shoudl be cooked. Place directly into a large warm bowl.
- Generously pour over a ladle or two of cheese sauce.
- Top with the crispy bacon bits.
- Dice up the Jalapeños and scatter over the top.
- Finish with some finely sliced fresh chives.
- Best served immediately and with a friend / loved one to dig in!
Notes
- Get the fries on first and prepare everything whilst they cook. It should all come together at the same time if you work fast. If you're not confident - prepare all the sauce first as this can be heated up once the fires are cooked.
- Learn how to make a proper béchamel - it takes a little patience. The key is to slowly add the milk and whisk hard in between to ensure there are no lumps. The milk should be added around 4-5 times. It will first become thick and then loosen. Once combined fully, it will need to simmer for a couple minutes to cook the taste of the flour out. Make sure you stir well at this point to avoid it catching on the bottom of the pan.
- The bacon is important. We need to render all that fat out so we can use it in the béchamel instead of butter. At the end of the bacon cooking, you should be left with a good amount of liquid fat and some lovely crisp bacon bits.
- Topping with fresh chives and Jalapeños is not necessary, top with whatever you like. But we like the acidity and heat from the chilli, and the fragrant onion note from the Chives.
