how to make the perfect chipper chip?

trixyben · 12-09-2011 11:22pm #1

i want to be able to cook chips like the ones that a real good chipper does, what is the best spud? what is the best oil?, how long do you pre fry them? are they best fried in big open friers etc

anyone any chipper experience wanna share a few trade secrets?

jpb1974 · 13-09-2011 8:25am

I think many chippers use Maris Piper potatoes to make their chips.

Peel & soak in water overnight to remove starch.

To get really fluffy on the inside / crispy on the outside chips you can cook the chips in a deep fat ftyer at 150c until they are cooked inside, then take them out pat them dry with kitchen roll and then fry them a second time at 190c to crisp them up.

Sprinkle with salt as soon as you take them out of the deep fat fryer.

I think the key here is that chippers fry in lard and that makes a big difference in terms of flavour... whereas many people at home are using vegetable oil.

There was an episode of the Best Thing I Ever Ate where Bobby Flay discussed his favourite French Fries. The place that made them used Idaho Russet potatoes, soaked in water overnight, twice fried in Peanut Oil which the chef described as 'expensive but gave great flavour' and finally salted with some fancy French salt.

castlewhite · 13-09-2011 4:12pm

If you want the same potatoe as the Italian chipper, it is the English Maris Piper you want. If looking in the shops (go to a good Greengrocer) they are white fleshed, white skinned and dirty! Covered in fine black soil from the fens of Cambridgeshire. If they are washed they are not the proper Maris Piper for chipping!

cgarrad · 13-09-2011 5:10pm

jpb1974 has it bang on

rubadub · 13-09-2011 6:06pm

jpb1974 wrote: »

I think the key here is that chippers fry in lard and that makes a big difference in terms of flavour.

I'm not sure how many do, my mate worked in burdocks and said they didn't use lard. Many people see the hard blocks of fat going in and wrongly presume it is lard.

The Heston chef lad does a triple fried chip, and I saw gary rhodes cook them at about 100C in oil first.

Get chipper vinegar if you can, many will sell it now. Does anybody know where to get powdered salt?

Best chips I have had in a long time are macaris in deansgrange, much better than liberos.

cgarrad · 13-09-2011 6:34pm

You can make that very fine salt that is like dust simply by running table salt through a blender, clean coffee grinder or mortar and pestle.

super_furry · 13-09-2011 6:37pm

Don't most chippers use peanut oil rather than lard now?

Mellor · 14-09-2011 4:01am

No. Definitely not. First of all it's its ex[pensive, second of all it has a flacour to it that you would taste.

Someuse solid vegetable oil. Similar to lard it looks. Much easier that liquid vegetable oil to cook.
I don't know how many double fry, that's how to do a great chip, but I don't know how many bother.

thebullkf · 14-09-2011 4:06am

boil it.

Bake it

Deep fry it.

Thrice cooked chips are twice as good.

trust me.;)

rubadub · 14-09-2011 12:43pm

Mellor wrote: »

I don't know how many double fry, that's how to do a great chip, but I don't know how many bother.

That Irish Italian chipper association even mentioned the double fry technique in some ad or article I saw.

If the chipper is just opening that day they might not double fry, one near work opens at 12 and it takes ages to get the chips as you see them going in raw. So no double frying as people are waiting. From then on they seem to do it, and it makes sense, they taste better and people have a far shorter wait time.

Many people do not realise its a proper technique and complain about getting "reheats".

I read the peanut oil thing too but also agree it would be far too expensive.

Some of those hard oils make the chips soak up less fat, not sure if they use them for that reason.

Mrs Fox · 14-09-2011 3:38pm

rubadub wrote: »

That Irish Italian chipper association even mentioned the double fry technique in some ad or article I saw.
Many people do not realise its a proper technique and complain about getting "reheats".

Unfortunately quite a few chippers claim double frying, but what they're actually doing IS reheating.
If a batch of chips is first parboiled in 130C oil, it should not crisp on the outside, just cooked on the inside, with a slight pale gold colour.

Have a closer look the next time you see a batch of chips being thrown into the hot oil for the 2nd time -- do they look pale golden yet uncrisped, as they should, or do they look like they've been fully cooked a few hours before and simply reheated in high temp oil?

trixyben · 14-09-2011 7:49pm

ok so maris piper is the properspud...pre fry and refry at a higher temp is the cooking method...next bit is the oil what do the good chippers use? is it peanut oil, lard or sunflower oil etc? i think the oil choice is what really makes the difference to the taste of the chip...

i like a good floury spud on the inside and a good relatively dry crispbie chip on the outside is that how you all like them?

regards to refried chips i personally cant eat them the amount of grease they hold is unreal and they just dont taste good

Mellor · 15-09-2011 5:20am

rubadub wrote: »

That Irish Italian chipper association even mentioned the double fry technique in some ad or article I saw.

If the chipper is just opening that day they might not double fry, one near work opens at 12 and it takes ages to get the chips as you see them going in raw. So no double frying as people are waiting. From then on they seem to do it, and it makes sense, they taste better and people have a far shorter wait time.

That's what I was refering to tbh, either when its just open, or after a long quite spell they won't have them ready. Or even when its very busy like on a friday night, they might just be constantly cooking them fully in one go constantly to get them done.

trixyben wrote: »

ok so maris piper is the properspud...pre fry and refry at a higher temp is the cooking method...next bit is the oil what do the good chippers use? is it peanut oil, lard or sunflower oil etc? i think the oil choice is what really makes the difference to the taste of the chip...

Peanut oil is ridic expensive, it also has a peanut taste. It might be great for gourmet chips, but its not going to do chipper chips.
I'd go with solid vegetable oil, like crisp and dry blocks (I think that was a brand). They heat better, don't go sticky all over the fryer. And don't leave chips dripping in oil.

cgarrad · 15-09-2011 10:14am

All about oil

http://www.purifry.co.uk/cooking-oil/fresh-cooking-oil

I'd prefer the beef dripping myself.

Comes in cardboard boxes from various wholesalers around Dublin.

murphym7 · 15-09-2011 2:59pm

thebullkf wrote: »

boil it.

Bake it

Deep fry it.

Thrice cooked chips are twice as good.

trust me.;)

I do something similar - I soak for a few hours. Then Boil them up for a few minutes - in the fryer at 150 then finish off at 190.

Always tasty, although never exactly the same as the chipper.

Brian? · 15-09-2011 8:38pm

I've seen large drums of Canola oil being delivered to chippers. I am not sure you can buy that in small amounts in Ireland though.

I don't think the type of oil is as important as the spud itself.

rubadub · 15-09-2011 9:47pm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chipper_%28restaurant%29

Traditional frying uses beef dripping or lard; however, vegetable oils, such as peanut oil (used due to its relatively high smoke point) now predominate. A minority of vendors in the north of England and Scotland and the majority of vendors in Northern Ireland still use dripping or lard, as it imparts a different flavour to the dish, but it has the side effect of making the fried chips unsuitable for vegetarians and for adherents of certain faiths. Lard is used in some living industrial History museums, such as the Black Country Living Museum.

I asked earlier on the veggie forum if people had asked about oils. That quote is about UK but I still would agree peanut oil is too expensive. 500ml is 4.19 in tesco, while veg oil is 1.35 per litre

trackguy · 15-09-2011 10:31pm

jpb1974 wrote: »

There was an episode of the Best Thing I Ever Ate where Bobby Flay discussed his favourite French Fries. The place that made them used Idaho Russet potatoes, soaked in water overnight, twice fried in Peanut Oil which the chef described as 'expensive but gave great flavour' and finally salted with some fancy French salt.

I've eaten at this restaurant and had the fries - it's called Balthazar, its in Manhattan. They are great fries and it's a deceptively big portion. If you are ver in NYC go - its a great restaurant with a fantastic atmosphere. Here's meself about to tuck in!

picture.php?albumid=1851&pictureid=10629

picture.php?albumid=1851&pictureid=10629

Twice-fried is the easiest way to go to get great chips. Vegetable oil and rooster potatoes always produce good results.

murphym7 · 16-09-2011 7:45am

This might sound like a stupid question - would peanut oil be dangerous for people who are alergic to peanuts? Mock away!:)

Mellor · 16-09-2011 8:17am

briankeating wrote: »

I've seen large drums of Canola oil being delivered to chippers. I am not sure you can buy that in small amounts in Ireland though.

Does it ahve a different name in ireland? I know its also called rapeseed oil.
It's pretty common here in Oz. Almost the standard oil. I think standard vegetable oil could be canola a lot of the time.

murphym7 wrote: »

This might sound like a stupid question - would peanut oil be dangerous for people who are alergic to peanuts? Mock away!:)

Not a stupid question. But the answers is yes and no.
If its refined peanut oil then it most likely won't cause a reaction. this is processed and the alergic proteins are gone. A quick google suggests that the peanut smell and flavour are reduced and that this is the one that commercial places uses. Refined must not be as expensive.

If its cold pressed or raw peanut oil, then it might cause a reaction. This still has the peanut flavour and smell. You see this for 5 euro for a tiny bottle

The Pontiac · 22-05-2013 12:22am

Where can one buy lard?

the beer revolu · 22-05-2013 12:28am

The Pontiac wrote: »

Where can one buy lard?

Tesco have it, near butter.
Cheap as chips ;-)

Faith · 22-05-2013 9:12am

Any supermarket will have it near the butter.

This thread is 2 years old so I'm closing it. Please start a new thread if these answers aren't sufficient.

how to make the perfect chipper chip?

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