Top Tips for the Perfect Chips
For many of us, there is nothing better than a good portion of chips, cooked to perfection with our favourite dip or as a side to a meal.
Ashley Palmer-Watts, executive chef of ‘Dinner by Heston’, is helping us to create the perfect chips and has given us some top tips to get them right every time.
Top tips from Ashley to make the best chips at home:
• Use a potato, such as Maris Piper, with good dry matter content to give your chip a light fluffy centre.
• When cutting the rustic chips, be sure to create as many edges as possible, during cooking these will ruffle up allowing the oil to really penetrate the surface of the potato, creating a great crunchy crust.
• In the first stage of the cooking, simmer the chips in lightly salted water, until fully soft. Some will break but this is essential to creating the crust and ensuring the centre of the chip will be light and fluffy.
• Once cooked, remove the chips onto a cooling rack set on a tray, place these in the fridge or freezer to cool quickly and encourage as much moisture to evaporate from the potato.
• When I cook them in the oven, I add smashed garlic cloves (skin on), thyme and rosemary to the roasting tray coating the chips with olive oil, and seasoning with sea salt and freshly ground pepper
• When roasting, refrain from turning the chips until the side in contact with the pan has a light golden colour and appears to becoming nice and crisp. But baste with the olive oil regularly.
• As with most things– practice makes perfect. You can also try different seasonings to create chips for specific dishes.
Will you be making your own chips for National Chip Week? What’s your favourite chip dish? Let us know by commenting below or tweeting us @FemaleFirst_UK
Tagged in Heston Blumenthal Recipes