How to make sweet potato fries

I learned how to make tasty sweet potato fries a few months ago when I listened to the July 8, 2014 episode of Adam Savage’s podcast, Still Untitled.

I’ve made sweet potato fries a few times using Adam’s recipe, and I’ve probably veered a bit from the way he does it, but the results are great. I made some last night and Carla and I gorged on them. I ate the leftovers for lunch today.

Here’s how I made them:

1. Peel the skin from the sweet potatoes. Cut each potato into chunks that will fit into a French fry cutter. I bought the Progressive International Vegetable/French Fry Cutter (above) for $(removed) and am happy with it.
2. Put the raw fries into a big bowl of water and soak them for an hour. (According to Adam, this removes the starch.)
3. Drain the water and pat the water off the fries with a clean cloth.
4. Put about ½ cup of cornstarch and some salt (and garlic powder, pepper, etc) in a big paper bag. Dump the fries in and shake the bag so the fries get coated.
5. (I can’t remember how Adam fries them, but here’s how I do it:) Put a tablespoon of coconut oil in a hot skillet. Toss in some fries. Don’t put too many in — the trick is to make sure each fry is in contact with the skillet.
6. After five minutes or so, flip the fries and cook them for a few more minutes.
7. Remove the cooked fries, add more oil to the skillet and cook more fries.

The frying part is a little tedious. I’m very close to pulling the trigger on this $(removed) deep fryer. I would appreciate hearing about your experience with deep fryers and your recommendations for a great, inexpensive model.