Ingredient

Chips

A proper chip is fried twice for two different reasons: the first fry cooks the inside, the second builds the crust. One fry can do one or the other, never both, which is why single-fried chips are either raw in the middle or leathery outside.

Why two fries

Cooking the interior of a thick chip takes several minutes at a moderate temperature. Browning the outside takes a minute or two at a high one. Try to do both at once and the outside is dark before the middle is cooked.

So the first fry, at around 130–140°C, cooks the potato through and drives moisture out of the surface layer without colouring it. The chips come out pale, floppy and cooked.

The second fry, at 180–190°C, hits an already-dry surface, so it crisps almost immediately. Because the interior is already cooked, this stage is short — which is exactly what keeps the inside fluffy rather than dried out.

Cooling between the fries matters. The surface dries further and the starch sets, which is why the "triple-cooked" method adds a boiling stage and a chilling stage before either fry.

The method

1. Cut floury potatoes into even chips. Even matters — mixed sizes cook at different rates and some will burn.
2. Rinse them in cold water until it runs clear, to wash off surface starch that would otherwise brown too fast and stick them together.
3. Dry them thoroughly. Water in hot oil is dangerous as well as bad for the chips.
4. First fry at 130–140°C for six to eight minutes, until soft when pressed but not coloured. Do them in batches.
5. Lift out, drain on a rack, and leave to cool completely. An hour is good; overnight in the fridge is better.
6. Second fry at 180–190°C for two to four minutes, until deep golden and audibly crisp.
7. Drain on a rack, never on paper on a plate, and salt immediately while the surface is still hot enough to hold it.

What goes wrong

• Limp — oil not hot enough on the second fry, or too many in at once dropping the temperature.
• Greasy — same cause. Cool oil is absorbed; hot oil is repelled by escaping steam.
• Dark outside, raw inside — single fry at too high a temperature.
• Stuck together — surface starch not rinsed off, or the basket overloaded.
• Going soft within minutes — piled up, so steam condensed between them. A rack in a single layer, always.
• Uneven colour — chips of different thicknesses, or oil that has been used too many times.

Details

Potato

Floury — Maris Piper, King Edward, Russet. Waxy ones make waxy chips.

Oil

Anything with a high smoke point: sunflower, rapeseed, groundnut, or beef dripping for flavour.

Thickness

Thicker chips need a longer first fry and give a fluffier interior. Skinny fries can be done in one hotter fry, being mostly crust.

Oven chips

A different food. Getting close needs a very hot tin, a coating of oil and plenty of space.

Air fryer

Genuinely good for chips. Parboil first, toss in a little oil, and shake the basket regularly.

Common questions