Triple Cooked Chips

Triple Cooked Chips

I have, time and again, seen Heston cooking his signature dish ‘Triple Cooked Chips’ on his television shows. Every time I saw him cook it, I would tell myself, ‘Gosh! He sure goes through a lot of trouble for a dish as simple as chips.’ Little did I know what I was missing! You are going to need tons of patience to make these crisp, golden batons, but trust lazy ol’ me when I say, it was so worth the time and effort. I have amended the recipe a wee bit because not everyone has a food thermometer or a deep fryer at home, but if you follow the recipe I guarantee perfect chips. Also, as Heston says, and I quote, “Don’t be tempted to fry the chips only once, the key to a deliciously crispy and golden chip is in cooking them in three stages.” Go for it, guys!

Ingredients:

1 kilo Maris Piper potatoes, peeled and cut into thick chips

Oil for deep frying

Salt, to season

Pepper, to season

Method: 

1. Place the chips in a colander and wash them under running water for 5 minutes to wash off all the starch.
2. Place 2 liters of water to boil in a large vessel. Add the cut chips and allow the water to simmer over medium heat till the chips are almost falling apart. (Please note, ‘almost falling apart’ is NOT to be construed as ‘allow them to break'.)
   
   
3. Carefully remove the chips and place them on a rack to dry out.
4. Place them in the freezer for a minimum of one hour to further remove moisture from the chips.
5. Heat oil, for deep frying, in a large wok/kadhai (or a deep pan). Ensure that the wok/deep pan is half filled with oil.
6. When the oil is hot (but, not smoking hot), remove the chips from the freezer and add them to the hot oil. Do NOT crowd the wok/deep pan because the chips may break. If need be fry the chips in batches.
7. Fry the chips till a light crust forms on them. When the crust forms, remove the chips from the oil and drain on a thick kitchen paper.
   
   
   
   
8. Put the potatoes on a rack and again place them in the freezer for a minimum of one hour.
9. After an hour, reheat the oil in the wok/deep pan. (This time the oil should be a tad hotter than what it was the first time.)
10. Add the chips to the hot oil and fry till they are crisp and golden. (Again, please remember NOT to crowd the wok/deep pan and fry the chips in batches if need be.)
11. Remove the golden chips on a kitchen paper. Season with salt and pepper. (I'm not going to bother to write ‘Serve immediately’ because rest assured with the aroma emitting from the kitchen, the entire family will be going around you in circles, waiting for you to bring these golden babies to the table.) Enjoy!
    
    

Chef Notes: 

1. Maris Piper potatoes aren't available in India so I went with regular large sized potatoes and they worked just fine. I promise, unless you have Heston Blumenthal or Matt Preston coming for dinner, you need not fret.
2. In case you own a food thermometer, the first time the oil is heated to 130 degrees Centigrade. When you reheat oil the second time, bring it to 180 degrees Centigrade. I simply went by sight and instinct and that worked just fine.
3. Point number 2 of the recipe mentions the words, ‘almost falling apart’. Please note, ‘almost falling apart’ is NOT to be construed as ‘allow them to break’. That will be extremely disrespectful to these gorgeous babies. 
4. After frying the chips the first time, if you aren't planning to serve the chips immediately, you can leave them in the freezer for more than an hour and bring them out for the final frying process just before serving.
5. The base recipe belongs to Heston (the hottie) Blumenthal but the photographs at this blog-site and the tweaks mentioned are mine.
6. The approximate size of each chip was 1½ x 1½ x 6 centimeter. (Stop shaking your head as if to say, this is one crazy Bawi. :D )
7. You may share the direct blog-link of the recipe/s but do NOT publish my recipes and my photographs on any blog-site or website without my explicit consent or attempt to pass off my recipe/s as your own. You will be held accountable for plagiarism.