How to cook perfect chips
Discussion
I got the best chips by half cooking them and leaving them for a few hours or till next day and then do the final fry just before serving them up. This makes the outside nice and crunchy with a soft inside. So for tonight, cook them first and let them cool down then reheat before serving.
Copied and pasted from elsewhere:
Use Maris Piper potatoes, but don’t store them in the fridge, or the starch will turn to sugar, and the chips will be dark and won’t crisp properly.
Cut them in ½cm/¼inch chips.
Rinse them and dry them well in a tea towel.
Heat a deep pan no more than half full of sunflower oil to 140C/280F and cook the chips for five minutes.
Spread them out on kitchen paper to cool, then refrigerate for up to a day.
Cook them in sunflower oil heated to 180C/350F until golden and crisp.
Drain and tip into a bowl lined with kitchen paper.
I used to do this but then I bought an Actifry
(which hasn't burnt the house down).
Use Maris Piper potatoes, but don’t store them in the fridge, or the starch will turn to sugar, and the chips will be dark and won’t crisp properly.
Cut them in ½cm/¼inch chips.
Rinse them and dry them well in a tea towel.
Heat a deep pan no more than half full of sunflower oil to 140C/280F and cook the chips for five minutes.
Spread them out on kitchen paper to cool, then refrigerate for up to a day.
Cook them in sunflower oil heated to 180C/350F until golden and crisp.
Drain and tip into a bowl lined with kitchen paper.
I used to do this but then I bought an Actifry
(which hasn't burnt the house down). Edited by SwanJack on Tuesday 10th March 19:07
4 Large King Edward or Maris Piper potatoes, peeled and cut into 2cm-thick batons
2 tsp Sea salt
1 litre Groundnut oil
Method
Place the chipped potatoes in a large pan of cold water and soak for half an hour. This removes excess starch, giving the chips a lighter texture. Rinse and place the chips in a pan with cold water and the sea salt. Bring to the boil and cook for 10–12 minutes, or until you can insert a knife easily through the centre of the largest chip. Drain and run the chips under very cold water to prevent further cooking. Pat dry with kitchen towel and arrange on a baking tray lined with greaseproof paper.
Place the tray in the freezer for 30 minutes. This will make the chips nice and cold before you drop them into the hot oil to fry. Fill a saucepan a third full of oil (about 1 litre) and heat it to 130°C. Remove the chips from the freezer, pat dry with kitchen towel and carefully lower into the hot oil in batches of 8–10, cooking for 4–6 minutes, until they start to colour. Drain and continue cooking the remaining chips before cooling them in the freezer for another 30 minutes. Alternatively, prepare up to this stage a day in advance and leave them to cool overnight.
For the final cooking, heat the same oil to 180°C and again, lower small batches into it. Cook for 2–3 minutes or until crisp and golden. As they come out of the fryer, drain on kitchen paper and give each batch of chips a good sprinkling of sea salt (if you're fond of the dessicated semen of Satan). Serve with ketchup and eat while hot.
Its a faff but its all that great steak deserves.
If you're in the mood for a collosal faff but enormous sense of achievement, do all of the above and make your own ketchup.
Frying the steak then becomes a mere triviality.
2 tsp Sea salt
1 litre Groundnut oil
Method
Place the chipped potatoes in a large pan of cold water and soak for half an hour. This removes excess starch, giving the chips a lighter texture. Rinse and place the chips in a pan with cold water and the sea salt. Bring to the boil and cook for 10–12 minutes, or until you can insert a knife easily through the centre of the largest chip. Drain and run the chips under very cold water to prevent further cooking. Pat dry with kitchen towel and arrange on a baking tray lined with greaseproof paper.
Place the tray in the freezer for 30 minutes. This will make the chips nice and cold before you drop them into the hot oil to fry. Fill a saucepan a third full of oil (about 1 litre) and heat it to 130°C. Remove the chips from the freezer, pat dry with kitchen towel and carefully lower into the hot oil in batches of 8–10, cooking for 4–6 minutes, until they start to colour. Drain and continue cooking the remaining chips before cooling them in the freezer for another 30 minutes. Alternatively, prepare up to this stage a day in advance and leave them to cool overnight.
For the final cooking, heat the same oil to 180°C and again, lower small batches into it. Cook for 2–3 minutes or until crisp and golden. As they come out of the fryer, drain on kitchen paper and give each batch of chips a good sprinkling of sea salt (if you're fond of the dessicated semen of Satan). Serve with ketchup and eat while hot.
Its a faff but its all that great steak deserves.
If you're in the mood for a collosal faff but enormous sense of achievement, do all of the above and make your own ketchup.
Frying the steak then becomes a mere triviality.
You want to get your hands on a copy of Jeffrey Steingarten's "The Man who Ate Everything." It has a great chapter on making chips with a few different methods (Really interesting book too).
One of his methods is:
Easy Frites
-Makes plenty of french fries -
Ingredients
1 ½ pounds Idaho or boiling potatoes
2 cups peanut oil, at room temperature
Salt
Procedure
1. Wash and peel the potatoes, and with a French fry cutter or a kitchen knife, cut them into long strips with a square cross section about 3/8 inch on one side. Wash them briefly under cold water and dry with a cloth. Put them into a pan about ten inches in diameter with sides at least four inches high. Just cover with peanut oil.
2. Place the pan over the highest heat. When the oil has exceeded 200 degrees F, it will begin to bubble, first softly and then furiously, and by the time it reaches 350 degrees F, the potatoes will be a deep golden brown and ready to eat. (Make sure that the oil temperature never exceeds 370 degrees F.)
3. Taste one or two. Drain and blot with paper towels. Salt the frites just before serving. Eat with strong Dijon mustard.
One of his methods is:
Easy Frites
-Makes plenty of french fries -
Ingredients
1 ½ pounds Idaho or boiling potatoes
2 cups peanut oil, at room temperature
Salt
Procedure
1. Wash and peel the potatoes, and with a French fry cutter or a kitchen knife, cut them into long strips with a square cross section about 3/8 inch on one side. Wash them briefly under cold water and dry with a cloth. Put them into a pan about ten inches in diameter with sides at least four inches high. Just cover with peanut oil.
2. Place the pan over the highest heat. When the oil has exceeded 200 degrees F, it will begin to bubble, first softly and then furiously, and by the time it reaches 350 degrees F, the potatoes will be a deep golden brown and ready to eat. (Make sure that the oil temperature never exceeds 370 degrees F.)
3. Taste one or two. Drain and blot with paper towels. Salt the frites just before serving. Eat with strong Dijon mustard.
Plotloss said:
Cook three times
Sounds like Heston's Triple Cooked Chips... They are very nice at the Hind's Head...I will be cooking them this weekend.......
If you really want to follow that one to a tee, buy ones of these - http://www.nisbets.co.uk/products/ProductDetail.as...
Only a fiver...
Simple but good chips or "home fries".
Do not peel potatoes. Cut into wedges about 1cm thick. Wash and dry.
Heat oil to 100C in deep fat fryer. Cook chips in the oil for about ten minutes depending on thickness. You should test with a skewer which should go in to the center of the largest chip easily.
Lift chips OUT of fryer. Or use its facility to raise the chips out of the oil and leave them in there - either one.
Heat oil to 190C. When the oil is hot AND NOT BEFORE drop the chips back in. Five minutes later they will be done.
Basically this method does the parboiling in the same oil you do the deep frying in. No it isn't the very best chip method. But it IS easy, quick and they're pretty damn good.
Do not peel potatoes. Cut into wedges about 1cm thick. Wash and dry.
Heat oil to 100C in deep fat fryer. Cook chips in the oil for about ten minutes depending on thickness. You should test with a skewer which should go in to the center of the largest chip easily.
Lift chips OUT of fryer. Or use its facility to raise the chips out of the oil and leave them in there - either one.
Heat oil to 190C. When the oil is hot AND NOT BEFORE drop the chips back in. Five minutes later they will be done.
Basically this method does the parboiling in the same oil you do the deep frying in. No it isn't the very best chip method. But it IS easy, quick and they're pretty damn good.
bazking69 said:
My personal touch is to salt and shake them the second they come out of the oven/fryer so that the salt sticks to them before they dry off.
I do that to my potato skins on a Sunday when I'm cooking a roast. Straight out of the pan and immediately put sea salt and pepper onto them 
I bought a deep fat fryer and tried all thbe above methods and more and the best results were obtained using the following way
1) Boil gently until they are almost falling apart ( this is important, the edges must be very flaky).
2) In the freezer for 30 minutes
3) Flash fry at 190C for a couple of minutes until brown.
You don't have to bother having them in cold water or gently frying them at lower temp first, trust me.
Let us know how you get on.
Also, I deep fat fry McCain oven chips as well, they are better done that way than in the oven. Same for chicken kiev and other battered or coated products.
Regards
Andy
1) Boil gently until they are almost falling apart ( this is important, the edges must be very flaky).
2) In the freezer for 30 minutes
3) Flash fry at 190C for a couple of minutes until brown.
You don't have to bother having them in cold water or gently frying them at lower temp first, trust me.
Let us know how you get on.
Also, I deep fat fry McCain oven chips as well, they are better done that way than in the oven. Same for chicken kiev and other battered or coated products.
Regards
Andy
I can't be faffed with chips, but home made wedges are great!
Cut spuds (I like purple ones) into wedges and boil for 10 - 15 mins until the edges are just starting to break up. Drain and allow to steam off. In a bowl mix plain flower, salt, pepper and a little curry powder.
Drizzle (yeah I did just say that) a little oil on the wedges and toss. Then sive the flower mix over the wedges and toss to evenly cover.
Then dump them into a hot roasting tray (with heated oil) an roast until crispy.
Beats chips hands down.
Cut spuds (I like purple ones) into wedges and boil for 10 - 15 mins until the edges are just starting to break up. Drain and allow to steam off. In a bowl mix plain flower, salt, pepper and a little curry powder.
Drizzle (yeah I did just say that) a little oil on the wedges and toss. Then sive the flower mix over the wedges and toss to evenly cover.
Then dump them into a hot roasting tray (with heated oil) an roast until crispy.
Beats chips hands down.
Also to go with those perfect chips, http://www.fishbatter.co.uk/fishbatter/fish-batter...
LOL, I cant stop laughing.
eddo said:
Also to go with those perfect chips, http://www.fishbatter.co.uk/fishbatter/fish-batter...
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