Do you have to cook chips three times for them to be good?

It does seem excessive doesn’t it, to cook chips three times?

So is it worth it?

It’s all Heston’s fault really, so much more a chemist than a cook, he was the one who started all this triple cooking stuff and frankly, until I went to his pub “The Hind’s Head” in Bray, I thought it was all a load of nonsense. I have to admit, that having tasted them, they were wonderful, so of course that sent me on my quest to reproduce that crispy exterior, and fluffy inside.  My friends know that I very rarely eat carbs, so when I do they have to be super-special and trust me these are, I actually went out and bought a deep-fat fryer just to make these delicious little chaps.

You will need:

 1kg Potatoes – preferably Maris Piper, washed and peeled
Vegetable Oil (Heston uses peanut oil, us mere mortals can’t afford that…don’t be tempted to use olive oil – waste of money and too low a burning threshold)

1. Cut the spuds in to fat  chips about 1cm thick. Place them straight into a bowl under cold running water and keep them there for about 10 minutes to rinse off some of the starch.
2. Bring a large pan of unsalted water to the boil and plunge in the drained potatoes. Bring it back up to the boil and simmer very gently for about 10 minutes, or until the point of a knife easily penetrates the chips. Make sure the water is only just simmering or your potatoes will break up
3. Using a slotted spoon, lift the potatoes carefully out of the water and place them on a tray. Allow them to cool, then place in the fridge until cold. You will notice that the chips harden when chilled.
4. Second cooking – heat the oil in a deep-fat fryer to 130C/250F and plunge in the chips. After 5 minutes take them out – do not let them brown! Drain, cool them and place them in the fridge. You can keep them now, for a few days if you like, you don’t have to cook them straight away.
5. Final cooking –  heat  the oil in the deep-fat fryer to  180C/350F. Plunge in the chips and cook until golden brown. This may take 8-10 minutes — you need to be patient in order to obtain a really crisp chip.
6. Drain and season

These are brilliant served with moules mariniere, or just on their own with home-made mayonnaise although Waitrose wholegrain mustard mayonnaise is very good.

So do you have to cook chips three times for them to be any good?

Probably not for, but for super-fabulous chips, yes, Heston, you do.