Expert level triple cooked chips

Is this the perfect chip?! 

I get asked all the time what my favourite potato dish is, and honestly, it changes every day. On Sundays, it’s all about roasties. Mondays? Gimme some bangers and mash. By Friday, nothing hits like cheesy chips after a pub stop. And don’t even get me started on jacket potato Wednesdays. Every day is a potato day.

So, while I was deep in my latest potato obsession last Tuesday, I decided to test three ways to make them, and this is the expert chip recipe. Or expert level triple cooked chips to be precise. It’s a fancy one, I’ll tell you that for free. The one that takes a little extra effort and more precision, but delivers pure, crispy, golden bliss. 

First step – choose the right potato

Start with Maris Piper potatoes, the king of the chip world and my absolute go-to in most potato scenarios. I like to keep the skin on for that rustic look (totally optional). Cut them thick, about finger-width, no skinny fries here. The goal is that perfect contrast: glassy crisp on the outside, soft and fluffy in the middle.

Second step – prepping your chips like a professional

Drop your chips into cold water to wash off the excess starch. Soak for 30 minutes or longer if you can, then rinse them well. This helps them cook evenly and avoids that gummy starchy texture. I must admit, that I’m not fully sold on this step and typically miss this step out, so if you’ve tested both ways, let me know in the comments your preference and if you can tell the difference in taste and texture.

To really take your chips to that next level, try parboiling them in stock instead of plain water, chicken or beef stock both work beautifully, just chuck a stock cube into the pot. Add garlic, rosemary, thyme, and a very generous amount of salt. Always start with cold water and bring it up to a gentle boil. Everything grown above ground goes into boiling water, and below ground starts in cold, to give the tougher fibres a chance to break down.

Third step – the secret to crispy-ness

Once parboiled, handle them gently. I lift each chip out individually with tongs and lay them on a drying rack to avoid breakages, perfection takes patience! Cover with a clean tea towel and let them steam dry. If you pour them out into a colander like you would for roasties, you’ll just break them all up and ruin all of your hard work.

Then, for the ultimate crunch, freeze the chips on the rack before frying. This helps them dry out completely, giving you that restaurant-style crispiness. If feels a bit extra, but don’t miss this step out. 

Fourth step – fry and fry again 

For the first fry, I go all-in with goose fat at 150ºc/300ºf (because why not?). I must admit though that it doesn’t particularly smell great, but the taste is a different story. Drop the chips in one by one, cook in batches, and don’t overcrowd the pan as you want even cooking, not an oily hazard. If you put too many chips in the pan, you run the risk of the temperature of the fat dropping too low and they’ll never crisp. Once they’ve started to firm up and get a pale crust, lift them out.

Crank the heat up to 180ºc/350ºf and fry again until beautifully golden and crisp. Drain on kitchen paper to remove any excess fat and sprinkle with flaky sea salt. Heaven. Give them a good toss in a metal bowl for that delicious ASMR cronch.

Want to see even more chips?

If you want to see how this expert chip compares to my beginner and intermediate versions, head over to my YouTube channel where I show the full process (and a few mishaps) so you can perfect your chips at home.