Triple-Cooked Chips: Chips — surely the ultimate form of the humble potato. What could be better? Fat or thin, crispy or soft, cooked in animal fat or vegetable oil — they’re a joy, and let’s face it, they’ll happily sit alongside just about anything. That kind of versatility belongs only to truly brilliant things.
This particular recipe is just one approach — there are many — but it’s a good one. Made popular by Heston Blumenthal, it’s rooted in the science of starch and structure. While more time-consuming than other chip methods, allowing the chips to cool completely between each stage delivers seriously satisfying results: crisp on the outside, fluffy on the inside, and packed with flavour.
And when it comes to what you dip them in, you’re in good hands. If garlic’s your thing, Henry Harris’ aïoli recipe is rich, full-flavoured and deeply Provençal. For something sharper and more herbaceous to cut through the richness, George Ryle’s béarnaise sauce is a fine choice. Or try our guide on how to make wild garlic mayonnaise – punchy, vibrant, and made for triple-cooked chips, grilled meats or roast vegetables.
Ingredients
Method
- Cut the potatoes into the desired shape and size. This is purely a matter of preference. I like a medium-sized chip, not too chunky. Put them into a suitably sized pan and run them under the hottest water that your tap can produce. This is to wash away some of the starch from the potato. As they wash under the running water, move them around the pan. You will notice that the water is cloudy. Keep washing them until the water runs clean, then turn the tap to as cold as it will go and let it run for a minute.
- Tip away some of the water, so the pan isn’t too full, then season well with salt and set over a high heat. Bring the water to a simmer and cook for 10-15 minutes, depending on the thickness of the chips. You want to find the sweet spot — cooked and offering up some fluffy edges, but not too far so that they are disintegrating.
- Carefully drain off the chips into a colander (too rough a touch here will smash up the chips too much) and then tip them, again with care, onto a flat tray and leave them to cool.
- Once cooled, place the tray in the fridge and leave for 2 hours.
- Heat your fryer to 125°C, and in batches, ‘blanch’ the chips for 8 minutes. Lift out of the fryer, draining away as much excess oil as possible, and return to a tray.
- Once all the chips have been ‘blanched’, return them to the fridge.
- Turn the fryer up to 185°C and fry the chips in batches for about 5 minutes, or until golden, crispy, and delicious. Tip into a bowl lined with kitchen towel and season well with salt.
