Here is a recipe i’ve been wanting to re-visit again for so long – thrice cooked chips / fries…. or as I call them, the best homemade chips in the World, I promise you, without a doubt these are incredibly delicious and well worth the effort! They are called thrice cooked chips as the chips do actually get cooked 3 times – once boiled to soften the middle, an initial fry to seal that softness in, then finally a second fry in groundnut oil to give a delicious crunchy golden brown finish!
Oh and I did actually do this recipe before, but for some reason I did not put it on the website – there was a time when this was common practice, I have no idea why I never put it on here for people to discover and enjoy. Here’s the original video if you are interested from the vault!
First up wash and dry your potatoes, optionally peel them if you wish too. I prefer not too, but for a classic chip look peel them and slice into even sized chip portions. Try to get them as even in size as possible, so that they cook evenly in a moment. Once all the chips are sliced, put them in a bowl and run under a cold tap for a few minutes until the water the chips are in is almost clear rather than the initial starchy water that is there initially.
Put a pan of water onto a low simmer and cook your potatoes for 25-30 mins, or until fully softened. Drain them off carefully and leave to cool to room temperature to one side. They can be delicate so transfer them gently. Place the chips on a chopping board and freeze for 30-45 minutes.
Meanwhile warm some groundnut oil to 130c in a fryer or wok using a thermometer, and when the chips have been in the freezer long enough, cook the chips in small batches until just starting to go light brown, literally just a spec of brown, it took me about 5 minutes. You will notice the frying has formed a layer around the softened potato, drain the potatoes off and put on kitchen towel, then return to the freezer for another 30-45 minutes. If you wish at this stage you could keep them frozen to save cooking time on the final fry ahead of a party.
Finally when ready to cook them, turn the heat to 180c and fry for a few minutes until the colour you desire has been achieved, remove, dab with kitchen towel and season with salt.
That’s it, dunk in ketchup, lace with vinegar, whatever you do, you’ll love these chips! Good luck and enjoy!