How to make decent chips?

[tvrforever]

Ok so for New Years Eve I've promised my wife a very simple but good steak & chips (she's an excellent cook and asked for that for a change).

However my problem is we don;t have a deep fat fryer (or big heavy pan) so I don't know how to do the chips well?

Should I simply nip to Coment and get a fryer? If so which one etc?

Any tips for cooking the chips?

[JMGS4]

Use real large potatoes. Fry first at 150°C, take them out and drip, then put back at 180°C for the last 2-3 mins and the real crunch... that way one gets the potato centre and the "crunch" on the outside, and not these watery tasteless euro-oven-shit chips.....

[Don]

JMGS4 said:

Use real large potatoes. Fry first at 150°C, take them out and drip, then put back at 180°C for the last 2-3 mins and the real crunch... that way one gets the potato centre and the "crunch" on the outside, and not these watery tasteless euro-oven-shit chips.....

Exactly! Its the two-temperature cooking that produces proper chips. I cook mine at about 100 - 120 for nine to 12 minutes (check they're soft with a knife) and then out they come, whack up the dial to 180, when its hot in they go for one to two minutes.

Yum. Proper chips.

And yes - go out and buy a fryer. Chip pans are lethal things, especially if you have a gas hob - chip pan plus gas hob = absolute no no.

Almost any fryer will do - you'll be able to tell what's good quality and what isn't just by looking at it.

So - once you have a good fryer and proper potatoes chipped by hand and you have the recipe (as approved by two of us already) now you need to know what oil to use.

On no account buy cheap corn oil - . Makes the chips taste shit. Nope go out and buy Groundnut oil...the expense is worth it! Your chips will taste of chips and not the cheap and nasty oil.

I have tried filling the fryer with good quality frying olive oil too - even more expensive aaaannnnndd - it wasn't worth it. The chips taste of olive oil instead of chips.

[hughesie2]

Don said:

I have tried filling the fryer with good quality frying olive oil too - even more expensive aaaannnnndd - it wasn't worth it. The chips taste of olive oil instead of chips.

Lard, tis the best way !!

[nonegreen]

Beef dripping

Then nip the chemist and buy some statins

[JonRB]

You really are a fount of knowledge, Don.

[Don]

nonegreen said:

Beef dripping

There is no doubt in my mind that beef dripping is the best stuff for chips - as used at the famous Christmas' Steps Fish'n'Chip emporium in Brisle - they are (or at least were) the finest chips known to man.

Very amusing to watch vegetarians tucking into the chips remarking on just how good they are...

But beef dripping is a tad inconvenient in a modern fryer in the home - so I'd still say go with the groundnut oil (provided you're not allergic to nuts) - in which case to hell with it and get the full monty!

[Don]

JonRB said:

You really are a fount of knowledge, Don.

Why thank you.

I am a "closet" "foodie" I think.

Ohhh. I really want Steak and Chips for supper now.

But its going to be Goose fricassee I suspect...

[Corin Denton]

I've never had a deep fryer but I do like the sound of those chips, how often do you change the oil in these things?



anyone tried Mobil 1?

[Don]

Corin Denton said:

I've never had a deep fryer but I do like the sound of those chips, how often do you change the oil in these things?

Provided you only fry chips then very little debris gets into the oil - you might use the same oil many, many times over. Months of use if you're not someone who has chips too often.

If you get debris in the oil this will "burn" and darken the oil. You can then filter the oil and use it again...but its probably easier to change it.

Over time the oil will absorb moisture from the air and from what you've cooked. It will then "foam" during cooking. If it starts doing this change the oil - its no good any longer.

If you deep fry something with a very string flavour (Elephant garlic for example! ) then you'll need to change the oil after that!

Corin Denton said:

anyone tried Mobil 1?

[JonRB]

Don said:

I am a "closet" "foodie" I think.

Oh, I think you are definitely out of the closet now, Don, having so far expounded on wine, whisky, port, steak (I seem to recall), chips, cooking in general, and many more topics that I can't recall at present but may come to me later.
I would hazard a guess that curry might be one of them, but that's just a guess.

So, when are we meeting up for food and drinks? Basingstoke is only just down the road.

[sparkythecat]

A friend of mine lost his wife a few years ago.

A couple of weeks after the funeral a well meaning relative popped round to see how he was doing.
" I was worried that you might not be looking after yourself properly, so I bought you this at a car boot sale"


It was a deep fat fryer, still full of used cooking fat.

[tvrforever]

thanks guys - big help!

Now which fryer model / make? there are loads!

Oh and how do you change the oil and dispose of it afterwards?

[raceboy]

tvrforever said:

Oh and how do you change the oil and dispose of it afterwards?

Never quite sure about that, one load went down the drain in the street, the last load I put in the empty 'new oil' bottle and chucked it in the bin

[wedgepilot]

Another vote for good ol' lard here - fantastic taste, and you can feel your arteries clogging up as you eat.

I've also heard par-boiling the chips first before frying gives a nice texture, but never tried it myself. Too much of a faff.

[simpo two]

Go upmarket and do saute
Cut the potatoes into random bite-size pieces and par-boil until cooked round the edges. Then transfer to a frying pan with about 1/8" of hot oil in it and fry for about 15 minutes turning often. If you get the right sort of potato, they're much nicer than chips.

[mechsympathy]

Don said:

Provided you only fry chips then very little debris gets into the oil - you might use the same oil many, many times over. Months of use if you're not someone who has chips too often. If you get debris in the oil this will "burn" and darken the oil. You can then filter the oil and use it again...but its probably easier to change it. Over time the oil will absorb moisture from the air and from what you've cooked. It will then "foam" during cooking. If it starts doing this change the oil - its no good any longer. If you deep fry something with a very string flavour (Elephant garlic for example! ) then you'll need to change the oil after that!

We had a chip pan when I was student. It cooked chips and sausages for a year without a change of oil and a solid layer of fat would form when it cooled. Not healthy, but very tasty (Or possibly)

[oddman]

'2 temperature' method with deep fat fryer definitely the best. I don't have the space for a fryer and wouldn't use it much. Buying one piece of kit for one meal is definitely a PH solution to a problem.

I have 2 methods for 'chips'

1)I cut up good quality spuds (King Edward, Desiree and if you can find them Walker's)into chunky chips and parboil them then drain and let them dry for a bit. Meanwhile have a large roasting tin with oil at 220 degrees plus. Don the nomex and dump the chips in to the hot fat and roast them in the oven for about 15 mins or until they're brown. Toss them about a few times to get them evenly done.

2)Potato wedges are nice but not really chips. Chop spuds into eighths toss in olive oil, herbs, garlic, salt and pepper and roast for abour 30-45 mins (depends on size and moisture content of spuds) This treatment to me suits lamb more than beef

For the kids we do McCain home fries and I have to confess they're pretty irresistable but may not pass muster for a romantic meal.

T

[wtd]

I'd have to suggest leaving the skin on the potatoes to give the chips a nice little bit at the end!

[JonRB]

oddman said:

For the kids we do McCain home fries and I have to confess they're pretty irresistable but may not pass muster for a romantic meal.

Indeed. As oven chips go, they're not at all bad.