Perfect Homemade Chips

Ingredients:

• Maris Piper Potatoes
• Salt
• Water
• Rapeseed/Canola Oil (for frying and baking)

Instructions:

1. Prepare the Potatoes:
   • Wash and peel the Maris Piper potatoes.
   • Cut the potatoes into fine, evenly-sized chips to ensure uniform cooking.
2. Blanch the Chips:
   • Bring a large pot of salted water to a rolling boil.
   • Add the cut potatoes to the boiling water and blanch them for 4-5 minutes, until they are just starting to soften but still hold their shape. This step helps to remove excess starch and gives the chips a soft interior.
   • Drain the chips thoroughly and pat them dry with a paper towel to remove any excess moisture.
3. Pre-Bake the Chips:
   • Preheat your oven to 220°C (428°F).
   • Spread the blanched and dried chips evenly on a baking tray.
   • Lightly coat the chips with a small amount of heated oil, either from a fryer or warmed in a pan. This helps to begin the crisping process in the oven.
   • Bake the chips in the preheated oven for 4-5 minutes, allowing the exterior to dry out and start to crisp.

The reason for the Pre-Bake:
You can of course just blanch (drop into the oil for a minute or so) your chips in the fryer to cook and then leave them to the side to crisp up later, but over the years I found that cooking in different fats gives different chips. Chips that have a bit of ooomph.
To do this why not heat up some chilli oil in the pan and use that to coat the chips for the pre-bake – giving them a lovely spicy infusion or,
pre-bake and then instead of into hot oil, try a vat of beef dripping.
You’ll still have chips, but by the gods your flavour tasters will thank you ever more so for this.

Also duck fat is yum

1. Final Frying:
   • Heat your fryer to 180°C (356°F).
   • Remove the chips from the oven and let them rest for a few minutes.
   • Fry the chips in the hot oil until they reach your preferred level of crispiness, typically 2-4 minutes. The final frying will create that perfect golden-brown exterior.
2. Serve:
   • Drain the chips on paper towels to remove any excess oil.
   • Season immediately with salt while they’re still hot, and serve.