'proper' chips!! argh!

mrsmortenharket

McCain Home oven chips.

Pink.

Hi Emuchops,

I cook mine twice.....once at a lower temperature then drain and allow them to cool and then finish them off at a high temperature.

This thread should help:

'proper' chips!! argh!

I'll add your thread to it later to keep the advice in one place.

Pink

LittleMissMPB

I tend to do chips by treating them as roast potatoes.... boil the potatoes slightly (just enough so they are still a bit crunchy), and then 'roast' them, always come out crispy. I don't own a fryer so can't help you with that I'm afraid but have to agree, it does sound as though it's not hot enough.

Emuchops

Thanks All - as i said the oil is at max temp-when i put them in it really bubbles up-v v hot-also frozen chips come out v v crispy but in MS tradition I want to save money by making my own. I also double cook to no avail. Im wondering if its the natural water content of fresh pots thats scuppering it-frozen chips seem a lot dryer.

tanith

Do you soak the cut chips in fresh water to wash the starch off then dry them on a teatowel? I do this and mine come out great..

Emuchops

Yes Tanith-thats just what I do-theyre crisp for about a minute when they come out, (and sound crisp when i shake them in their basket)then they go soggy-not at all greasy, they just dont seem to retain their crispness like frozen ones do-ones you get for instance with pub meal seem crispy throughout the meal-perhaps its just me...

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

Pub chips are cooked in the fat, then the basket is lifted up and drained, then they are put on the plate last. They aren't left on plates in a heap or kept in a bowl whilst the rest of the meal is dished up, where the steam can condense and make everything soggy again. Like chip shop chips - crispy if you get them 'open' but soggy if 'wrapped'.

Toast is the same - crispy if stood in a rack, soggy if dumped on a plate while you get the butter out.

spike7451

I find this way works,prepare the chips the day or two before you want to cook them & put them in a bowl of water with a squeeze of lemon (stops them discolouring) & change the water a couple of times,when the water turns cloudy with the starch leeching out of them.
Just before you are cooking them,take them from the fridge,drain them,dry them & bung in the fryer until golden.

I discovered this by accident the other month.

song_of_calliope

We boil our chips for 5 minutes and then spray with Frylight and bake in the oven. The other day at The Original Factory Shop I bought this funny mesh tray thing that claims to help your chips get really crisp in the oven by improving air circulation. Instead of one side of the chip being flat against a solid baking tray, pretty much the whole chip is open to the air with this tray (I hope I'm making this clear, finding it a bit difficult to explain!). Anyway we've found the tray works extremely well. It cost £4.50 but this weekend there's a 25% off sale at the factory shop - or to be moneysaving I dare say you could make a tray like this out of chicken wire.

hudgebadger

Just going to add my 2p worth to this thread.

Are you putting to many chips in at once? If you are then the fat cannot do its work to cook the potatoes.

Also have you used a thermometer to check that the fat is reaching the correct temperature?

Hope that helps and I am sorry that I cannot think of anything more technical to elevate the problem