Bacon Ranch Cheese Fries

This is a dish that reminds me of college. My friends and I started to frequent this sports bar, not because we liked sports, but because they had cheap beer and delicious (and greasy) food. They made these cheese fries that I still think about to this day, so I decided to replicate them.

This cheese sauce is inspired by the Shake Shack cheese fry sauce (which I recommend you order on the side, for some reason it just works better!) I still remember the first time I had their cheese fries and how I immediately became obsessed with the sauce. It is creamy like american cheese but also has a distinct sharpness that comes from cheddar. It is everything I look for in a cheese sauce. You need the consistency of American cheese but the added flavor of the Cheddar completes this sauce.

So I have been trying different ways of making this sauce, and while you can make a roux and melt cheddar it takes a longer time and doesn’t quite deliver the right fake cheese consistency. After tinkering a bit I found that melting cheddar in evaporated milk helped it to melt and reach the right consistency!

Highly recommend serving this with a nice cold beer or even a crisp glass of white wine! Perfect for a night in watching the big game or a movie.

Bacon Ranch Cheese Fries

 

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Prep time

5 mins

Cook time

20 mins

Total time

25 mins

 

Author: Chick and Her Cheese

Serves: 8

Ingredients

• 1 package of frozen crinkle cut french fries
• 4 Slices of bacon
• 2 Tablespoons of evaporated milk
• 4 oz of cheddar cheese, shredded
• 2 Tablespoons of ranch dressing

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven and cook the fries according to the package directions*.
2. While the french fries cook, fry up the bacon over medium heat, until crisp. Roughly chop and set aside
3. In a small saucepan over low heat add the milk and warm before adding a handful of the cheese, once that melts add the next handful until melted. It should reach the consistency of melted velveeta.
4. Plate the fries, I like to start with a layer of fries, pour some cheese sauce, then another layer of fries, cheese sauce and then on the top layer add the bacon.
5. The ranch can be kept on the side for dipping or poured on top! It’s personal preference.

Notes

*If you want to fry them, feel free to! I was just trying to make a decadent dish *slightly* more healthy.

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