Triple cooking sounds like a lot of effort, but it’s certainly worth it, says chef Tom Mumford from Treasury’s Black Hide by Gambaro. Once you’ve mastered this method, you’ll never cook chips any other way.
The weather has officially turned cool in many parts of Australia, so if there’s any excuse to learn how to make homemade chips, it’s winter. Follow Tom Mumford’s never-fail recipe for perfectly cooked homemade chips every time.
What you’ll need:
- Large pot
- Slotted metal spoon
- Thermometer
Ingredients
- Sebago potatos (allow 1 medium per person)
- Oil, for frying
Method:
- Wash potatoes and give them a good clean. If you like, leave the potato skins on.
- Cut potatoes into batons, roughly 1.5cm x 1.5cm x 5cm. Keeping the size consistent will help you achieve the holy grail of correct crunch and perfect colour.
- Soak the chips in cold, salted water and give them a good mix by hand – this helps wash off any excess starch and sugars that make chips stick together and colour too fast. Rinse the chips and repeat this process until the water is clear and no longer cloudy, then drain.
- Place a large pot of liberally salted water onto a medium heat until just below simmering. Add chips and cook for 8-10 minutes until you can pierce them easily with a knife. Keep an eye on the water and avoid letting it boil, this will damage the cells of the potato, risking them breaking up too much or becoming waterlogged.
- Once just cooked, drain chips carefully and place onto a wire rack to cool completely. You can do this in the fridge or freezer. Tip: using the freezer is great as the edges end up really fluffy and will crisp up beautifully.
- When the chips have cooled completely, you can begin the first stage of frying. You’ll need a large deep pot, slotted metal spoon and a thermometer and a neutral-tasting oil or fat with a high smoke point for this, (purists recommend a combination of beef fat (30%) and vegetable oil (70%) for the best flavour.)
- Bring the oil to 130°C and begin to fry in small batches – this will help to keep the oil at a constant temperature and prevent any boil overs with the oil. The chips will need 5-6 minutes at this temperature – enough to cook slightly more but not colour too much. Drain on the wire rack and cool slightly at room temperature.
- For the final fry, increase the temperature of the oil to 180°C and work in small batches. The chips will only need 3-4 minutes this time to achieve the golden colour and perfect crunch. Once one batch is complete, season liberally and serve as soon as possible.
More inspiration: Set yourself up for crispy chip perfection by reading Tom’s 7 secrets to cooking perfect homemade chips.
