Hand-cut fries showered with Old Bay seasoning, the celery-salt-paprika-mustard spice mix that defines Baltimore palates. Served at every crab house and bar in the city.

Old Bay seasoning was invented in 1939 in Baltimore by Gustav Brunn, a German Jewish refugee, who developed the blend for the Chesapeake crab boil trade. The mix of celery salt, paprika, mustard, bay leaf, cloves and red pepper became inseparable from Baltimore cooking. Old Bay fries are a Baltimore bar-snack staple, the cheap-and-essential side at every crab house and corner pub in the city.

Where to eat Old Bay fries in Baltimore

4 editor picks for Old Bay fries in Baltimore, ranked by editorial score. All Baltimore signature dishes · Old Bay fries across every city.

  • Faidley's Seafood

    Order The jumbo lump crab cake, broiled, almost all crab and no filler.

    Faidley's Seafood at Lexington Market has sold its jumbo lump crab cake since 1886, a stand-up counter where you eat the city's benchmark cake off paper.

    DetailsDirections

  • Chaps Pit Beef

    Order The pit beef on a kaiser, rare, with tiger sauce and raw onion.

    Chaps Pit Beef on Pulaski Highway is the benchmark for Baltimore pit beef, charcoal-grilling top round rare and piling it on a kaiser with tiger sauce.

    DetailsDirections

  • LP Steamers

    Order A dozen heavy steamed crabs and a pitcher, eaten with mallets on the deck.

    LP Steamers in Locust Point is a classic two-storey crab house, steaming blue crabs heavy with Old Bay and serving a rooftop deck above Fort Avenue.

    DetailsDirections

  • Mama's on the Half Shell

    Order A dozen steamed crabs in season, or the crab cake the rest of the year.

    Mama's on the Half Shell on Canton Square is a neighbourhood crab-and-oyster house, working steamed crabs, oysters and a crab cake across two busy floors.

    DetailsDirections

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Make it at home

Serves 41 hrEasy

Ingredients

  • 1.5kg russet potatoes (Idaho or large-baking potatoes), peeled or skin-on
  • 1.5L peanut oil or sunflower oil for frying
  • 3 tablespoons Old Bay seasoning (or substitute: 2 tbsp celery salt, 1 tsp sweet paprika, 1 tsp mustard powder, 1/2 tsp ground bay, pinch each of ground cloves and cayenne)
  • 1 teaspoon flaky sea salt
  • Malt vinegar or apple cider vinegar on the side
  • Honey mustard or Old Bay aioli to dip (4 tbsp mayo, 1 tsp Old Bay, 1 tsp lemon juice, 1 garlic clove minced)

Method

  1. Cut the potatoes into 1cm thick batons. Soak in cold water for 30 minutes to remove excess starch.
  2. Drain thoroughly and pat the fries completely dry with a clean cloth.
  3. Heat the oil in a deep heavy pot to 150C.
  4. Fry the potatoes in batches at 150C for 5 to 7 minutes until they are soft but still pale; this is the par-cook stage. Lift onto paper towels and cool 10 minutes.
  5. Raise the oil temperature to 190C.
  6. Fry the par-cooked potatoes in batches at 190C for 2 to 3 minutes until deep golden and shatteringly crisp.
  7. Lift to a heatproof bowl. Immediately shower with the Old Bay seasoning and a pinch of flaky salt. Toss to coat.
  8. Plate piled high with the aioli and a small jar of malt vinegar on the side.

Editor tip. The two-fry method is the only way to get the canonical Baltimore fry. Skip the soak and the fries are pale and mealy. Old Bay should coat aggressively.