When it comes to ranking fast food fries from worst to best, there’s really no competition: Arby’s curly fries will win every time. Sure, McDonald’s fries have a certain salty nostalgic charm, and Wendy’s hand-cut versions are the perfect pairing for a chocolate frosty, but neither compare to the crisp, well-seasoned bite of Arby’s perfect potato spirals. The secret, of course, lies in the coating.
Unlike most other fast food mainstays, Arby’s batters its fries to achieve their signature balance of crisp coating and fluffy center. That batter is also saturated with a secret seasoning mix that you can easily replicate at home, especially since anyone with a well-stocked pantry should have most of the ingredients on hand. The ingredient list on the packaging of Arby’s frozen fries reveals that their seasoning mix includes good ol’ salt and pepper, garlic and onion powder, and oleoresin paprika to give them a golden hue. There are also the mysterious ingredients listed as “spices,” which some copycat cooks interpret as something with a little kick, like cayenne powder.
Aside from the seasoning, the package also lists ingredients needed to make the batter, which includes the expected flour, along with cornmeal, leavening agents, and dried yeast. Some of these ingredients sound a little mysterious, but “leavening agents” are likely a combination of baking powder and baking soda to help both aerate the batter and make your homemade fries super crispy, and dried yeast — used to improve texture and deepen flavor — is easily subbed for flakey, cheesy-tasting nutritional yeast.
Achieving Arby’s signature spiral for maximum flavor
Honestly, the most complex part of making these copycat fries is achieving their signature spiral shape. You could “cheat” and opt to duplicate Arby’s lesser-known (but still delicious) crinkle-cut fries, but the original fries’ classic curl holds on to batter much better. If you have a spiralizer tool (or plan to make these fries often enough to get one), you can simply nestle the end of your peeled potatoes against the blades and twist or crank to turn them into long coiled ribbons of starchy goodness.
Of course, not everyone has a spiralizer at the ready, in which case you may have to get somewhat creative. You can also cut your potatoes into curls by piercing them through the center with a skewer, and then slicing them in a spiral pattern around the outside, being careful not to slice through the center. The results will be wider than those made with a spiralizer, but they should still be able to hold plenty of batter for a beautifully crispy texture.
When battering and frying your copycat Arby’s curly fries, dunk them gently in the batter, and let the excess drip off before lowering them into the hot oil. This step helps the batter adhere to the potatoes and create the crispness you’re looking for. Additionally, avoid overcrowding your fryer, as cooking too much at once could cool the oil, which could cause your fries to be undercooked or retain excess grease.
