Teach me to cook triple cooked chips
Discussion
I've never cooked a homemade chip in my life, so I feel like it's time given I'm determined to stick with my journey of making as many things from scratch as I can.
From what I've read, it seems a fair amount of time required with cooking, then cooling in the freezer, cooking again, repeating the cooling and so on.
I imagine this makes it rather hard to time getting the chips cooked along with everything else? I don't eat chips that often, but usually with steak night which is probably once a week.
Any tips to share here?
From what I've read, it seems a fair amount of time required with cooking, then cooling in the freezer, cooking again, repeating the cooling and so on.
I imagine this makes it rather hard to time getting the chips cooked along with everything else? I don't eat chips that often, but usually with steak night which is probably once a week.
Any tips to share here?
Triple cooked chips really need you to use a deep fat fryer. I've never done it and don't own a deep fat fryer. My experience of family using chip pans and fryers for a single fry, is the results are closer to chip shop than Heston.
My tips are:
There are some respectable oven chips. Some come with a layer of fat to give that extra crunch. I suspect a lot of pub/restaurant 'triple cooked chips' are these.
I like a bit of cruchy spud and there are other ways of getting the fix. I've got a few alternatives from scratch they don't quite get that pleasing shattering crunch that restaurant chips have but if you time the parboiling to the point where they are cooked but dont fall apart and allow to dry very thoroughly, you'll get close.
1) Potato wedges. Red desiree or King Edwards (good maincrop potato that would make good mash) Cut into wedges toss in olive oil salt and pepper; put them skin side down in a roasting tin and roast at about 200c. Need to check every ten minutes or so and move them around. These are nice but are really more like baked potatoes and don't have the same crunch as a chip. Easy option and very versatile
2) Par boiling and roasting.
Can leave skin on and cut into wedges, cut into chips or use whole new potatoes (charlottes are pretty good). Five minutes for the cut up potatoes and ten for the new potatoes. Leave to steam cool and dry. Cut the new potatoes into even sizes. I'm a bit OCD so to do this I start with the smallest potato and cut it in half and then cut the other spuds to match that size.
When they are cold and dry add salt and pepper. Other flavours can be nice paprika and thyme can be good.
I then apply the fat. Bog standard supermarket olive oil is good with mediterranean type food, barbecue lamb. For chips I'd use a neutral oil like rapeseed or sunflower.
The secret weapons are duck and beef fat. If you have these then they are great. I melt some in a pan and carefully toss the parboiled spuds in the fat. It's surprising how little you can get away with and if you want a really crisp result, less is more as long as they have an even coat.
At this point you can spread them on a baking sheet and cook them again 200c and checking after 10 minutes and more frequently after that if they are catching. They will need turning and you may need to turn the tray in the oven if not an even heat.If you don't want to cook them straight away then they can be refridgerated on the tray and you've effectively got home made oven chips
I tend to serve them in a very hot cast iron serivng dish rather than plating up as this keeps the heat better
My tips are:
There are some respectable oven chips. Some come with a layer of fat to give that extra crunch. I suspect a lot of pub/restaurant 'triple cooked chips' are these.
I like a bit of cruchy spud and there are other ways of getting the fix. I've got a few alternatives from scratch they don't quite get that pleasing shattering crunch that restaurant chips have but if you time the parboiling to the point where they are cooked but dont fall apart and allow to dry very thoroughly, you'll get close.
1) Potato wedges. Red desiree or King Edwards (good maincrop potato that would make good mash) Cut into wedges toss in olive oil salt and pepper; put them skin side down in a roasting tin and roast at about 200c. Need to check every ten minutes or so and move them around. These are nice but are really more like baked potatoes and don't have the same crunch as a chip. Easy option and very versatile
2) Par boiling and roasting.
Can leave skin on and cut into wedges, cut into chips or use whole new potatoes (charlottes are pretty good). Five minutes for the cut up potatoes and ten for the new potatoes. Leave to steam cool and dry. Cut the new potatoes into even sizes. I'm a bit OCD so to do this I start with the smallest potato and cut it in half and then cut the other spuds to match that size.
When they are cold and dry add salt and pepper. Other flavours can be nice paprika and thyme can be good.
I then apply the fat. Bog standard supermarket olive oil is good with mediterranean type food, barbecue lamb. For chips I'd use a neutral oil like rapeseed or sunflower.
The secret weapons are duck and beef fat. If you have these then they are great. I melt some in a pan and carefully toss the parboiled spuds in the fat. It's surprising how little you can get away with and if you want a really crisp result, less is more as long as they have an even coat.
At this point you can spread them on a baking sheet and cook them again 200c and checking after 10 minutes and more frequently after that if they are catching. They will need turning and you may need to turn the tray in the oven if not an even heat.If you don't want to cook them straight away then they can be refridgerated on the tray and you've effectively got home made oven chips
I tend to serve them in a very hot cast iron serivng dish rather than plating up as this keeps the heat better
UTH said:
I've never cooked a homemade chip in my life, so I feel like it's time given I'm determined to stick with my journey of making as many things from scratch as I can.
From what I've read, it seems a fair amount of time required with cooking, then cooling in the freezer, cooking again, repeating the cooling and so on.
I imagine this makes it rather hard to time getting the chips cooked along with everything else? I don't eat chips that often, but usually with steak night which is probably once a week.
Any tips to share here?
They are easy, just time consuming - as has been said, look up Heston on YT.From what I've read, it seems a fair amount of time required with cooking, then cooling in the freezer, cooking again, repeating the cooling and so on.
I imagine this makes it rather hard to time getting the chips cooked along with everything else? I don't eat chips that often, but usually with steak night which is probably once a week.
Any tips to share here?
The key to all this though, even if you absolutely nail the whole technique, is the potato you use. Agria I've heard are the best if you can find them, but buy them as fresh as you can, preferably still in mud.
ETA - I found the recipe that uses Agria's, its from Fallow and handily, they also list the technique.
Total Time:
1 hour and 10 minutes
Ingredients
Agria potatoes
Oil for frying
Sea salt
Instructions
Cut the potatoes: peel and cut the potatoes into chips with about a 2 cm square cross-section.
Simmer the chips: place the cut potatoes into a pot of cold water. Put the pot on medium heat and bring it to a simmer. Cook until the chips are almost falling apart, which should take approximately 20 to 30 minutes, depending on the type of potato.
Remove Starch: while simmering, use a ladle to skim off any potato starch that floats to the top and discard it.
Dry the chips: carefully remove the chips with a spider or slotted spoon and place them on a cooling rack to dry out. Then, place them in the freezer for at least one hour to remove more moisture.
First fry: Heat a deep-fat fryer or a deep pan with oil to a depth of around 10 centimetres. Bring the oil to a temperature of 140ºC. Fry the chips in small batches until a light crust forms, which should take approximately five minutes. Remove the chips from the oil and drain them on kitchen paper.
Freeze again: Place the chips on a cooling rack and put them back in the freezer for at least one hour. (At this stage, the chips can be kept in the fridge for up to three days if you don’t plan to cook and serve them immediately.)
Second fry: Heat the oil in the deep-fat fryer or deep pan to 190ºC. Fry the chips until they are golden brown, which should take about seven minutes.
Season and serve: Drain the chips, sprinkle them with sea salt, and serve immediately.
Edited by TIGA84 on Monday 28th July 14:36
Ok thanks guys......I think a key point I didn't realise was being able to keep them after the second fridge stage for a while. This should make things much more realistic to do.
I assume I will get by with a pan and oil rather than a proper fryer......I do have a temp probe etc so should be able to get the right temps for the oil.....
I assume I will get by with a pan and oil rather than a proper fryer......I do have a temp probe etc so should be able to get the right temps for the oil.....
randlemarcus said:
Keep an eye on the middle aisles of the germanic supermarkets. They often have small deep fat friers there for not a lot of money, and they come in useful.
I do keep forgetting that I can use these appliances in the outdoor kitchen where I have so much space. I've had 5 years of living here with my normal kitchen with no more space for anything I've just become trained to think I can't fit any more of these appliances.....I feel another purchase coming. for things like this, fallow have you covered. POV cooking made simple. both of them worked under heston in their early careers
their triple cooked chips vid is here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ERqQIEXDwEE
they also do vids where 3 different levels of technique for the same dish are compared. for chips, this is here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vZInTf5_1I
their triple cooked chips vid is here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ERqQIEXDwEE
they also do vids where 3 different levels of technique for the same dish are compared. for chips, this is here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vZInTf5_1I
Or ditch the triple and just do double…
Fry at 120 degs until cooked but still pale, lift out and crank the temp up to 180 degs, when up to temp lower the chips back in, this stage will brown and crisp them.
Give them a shake at each cook so they don’t stick together and when done spread thinly onto kitchen paper, don’t pile or cover them or they’ll go soft
Fry at 120 degs until cooked but still pale, lift out and crank the temp up to 180 degs, when up to temp lower the chips back in, this stage will brown and crisp them.
Give them a shake at each cook so they don’t stick together and when done spread thinly onto kitchen paper, don’t pile or cover them or they’ll go soft
UTH said:
randlemarcus said:
Keep an eye on the middle aisles of the germanic supermarkets. They often have small deep fat friers there for not a lot of money, and they come in useful.
I do keep forgetting that I can use these appliances in the outdoor kitchen where I have so much space. I've had 5 years of living here with my normal kitchen with no more space for anything I've just become trained to think I can't fit any more of these appliances.....I feel another purchase coming. UTH said:
Ok thanks guys......I think a key point I didn't realise was being able to keep them after the second fridge stage for a while. This should make things much more realistic to do.
I assume I will get by with a pan and oil rather than a proper fryer......I do have a temp probe etc so should be able to get the right temps for the oil.....
Yes this is what I do when I can't be bothered to dig out the DFF from the back of the cupboard. Large deep saucepan with the temperature probe clipped in to it just make sure the probe isn't touching the pan.I assume I will get by with a pan and oil rather than a proper fryer......I do have a temp probe etc so should be able to get the right temps for the oil.....
48k said:
UTH said:
Ok thanks guys......I think a key point I didn't realise was being able to keep them after the second fridge stage for a while. This should make things much more realistic to do.
I assume I will get by with a pan and oil rather than a proper fryer......I do have a temp probe etc so should be able to get the right temps for the oil.....
Yes this is what I do when I can't be bothered to dig out the DFF from the back of the cupboard. Large deep saucepan with the temperature probe clipped in to it just make sure the probe isn't touching the pan.I assume I will get by with a pan and oil rather than a proper fryer......I do have a temp probe etc so should be able to get the right temps for the oil.....
UTH said:
Ok, I'll probably do that first time, then I'll get sucked in to buying more gadgets!
I just buy one of these every few years. Once it gets beyond cleaning, replace it.https://www.currys.co.uk/search?q=deep%20fat%20fry...
Edited by 21TonyK on Tuesday 29th July 19:11
UTH, I’ve enjoyed watching your food/cooking journey, keep it up.
I’ve got one of these
The oil draining filter feature is brilliant and means with a few of these, labelled accordingly
You can keep the oils that you’ve used for onion bhajis etc separate to that used for fish and chips without excessive wastage or flavour transfer. Everything bar the element goes in the dishwasher as well but once drained a wipe with a kitchen towel will do. The oils will still need binning eventually it’s lasts much longer and fries cleaner as the bits are removed every time you drain it.
I’ve got one of these
The oil draining filter feature is brilliant and means with a few of these, labelled accordingly
You can keep the oils that you’ve used for onion bhajis etc separate to that used for fish and chips without excessive wastage or flavour transfer. Everything bar the element goes in the dishwasher as well but once drained a wipe with a kitchen towel will do. The oils will still need binning eventually it’s lasts much longer and fries cleaner as the bits are removed every time you drain it.
Gone a bit AMG said:
UTH, I ve enjoyed watching your food/cooking journey, keep it up.
I ve got one of these
The oil draining filter feature is brilliant and means with a few of these, labelled accordingly
You can keep the oils that you ve used for onion bhajis etc separate to that used for fish and chips without excessive wastage or flavour transfer. Everything bar the element goes in the dishwasher as well but once drained a wipe with a kitchen towel will do. The oils will still need binning eventually it s lasts much longer and fries cleaner as the bits are removed every time you drain it.
I bought myself one of those last Xmas, it does a great job of keeping the smell of used oil out of the kitchen. Well worth the money. Seem to recall they do too versions, I think t'other is a smaller model?I ve got one of these
The oil draining filter feature is brilliant and means with a few of these, labelled accordingly
You can keep the oils that you ve used for onion bhajis etc separate to that used for fish and chips without excessive wastage or flavour transfer. Everything bar the element goes in the dishwasher as well but once drained a wipe with a kitchen towel will do. The oils will still need binning eventually it s lasts much longer and fries cleaner as the bits are removed every time you drain it.
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