Most people fall into either the french fry category (thin and crispy) or the chip category (thick and potatoey). I happen to love both. I’m an equal opportunist when it comes to golden, delicious deep-fried potatoes. Thin, thick, crunchy, crispy, I love it all. What I don’t like is deep-frying my own potatoes. I don’t have anything against the deep-frying part, I’m just impatient when it comes to getting deep-fried goodness into my belly. Most french fry or chip recipes take a solid chunk of time and I’m sorry to say that this recipe does too. But trust me — taking the time to triple fry your chips is worth it.
I’ve triple cooked chips before and while delicious, they didn’t taste remotely like the chips I’ve had in London. They really know how to deep-fry thick cut chips in the UK and I’m convinced that it’s due to both the potato variety and the fat they fry in. Most fries in North America are made from russet potatoes and are deep fried in canola oil whereas the chips in the UK are generally made from Maris Piper potatoes and are fried in beef drippings.
I’ve never ever seen Maris Piper potatoes in Vancouver before so I jumped at the chance of buying a bag while I was in London. A quick trip down the butter aisle yielded beef drippings and I decided to take some time out of my London eating adventures to try my hand at making real English chips.
It’s probably not nearly as healthy as frying in canola oil, but I totally loved frying in beef dripping. The chips turned out flavourful and super crisp – probably due to the fact that they were triple-fried. Of course, there can be such a thing as too many dips into hot oil, but I think one more than the standard of double frying isn’t too over the top. The chips ended up being quadruple-cooked, but isn’t more always better?
i am british, i am proper: i am triple fried chips!
Proper British Chips Recipe inspired by Heston Blumenthal
serves 2
- 3-4 Maris Piper potatoes
- 6 cups of beef drippings
- salt to taste
Peel the Maris piper potatoes and cut into evenly sized wedges. Place in a large bowl under cold running water to rinse off the starch.
Drain and place the wedges in a pot of cold water. Bring to a boil over high heat and then lower and simmer gently for 6-7 minutes. The wedges should be almost cooked, but not yet soft.
Drain the potatoes and place in a large roasting tin. Air dry for five minutes and then shake the tin to rough up the edges, which allows for extra surface for extra crispiness. Cool and chill in the refrigerator until your beef fat has heated up.
Heat up the beef fat in a large pot over medium heat until the fat is 265°F. Fry the chips in batches for 4-5 minutes. They will be pale golden. Remove the chips from the fat, drain and place on paper towels. Cool and place in the fridge if you aren’t planning on eating your chips right away.
When you’re ready to eat your chips, heat the beef fat up to 375°F and fry for another 4-5 minutes. Remove the chips from the fat and drain. They should be a deeper brown and quite crispy. At this point, you can enjoy your chips sprinkled with salt to taste, or if you’re a crunch fiend like me, fry them again for another 2 minutes until they’re deeply golden brown and incredibly crunchy. Enjoy hot.
11 Comments
Sarah | The Sugar Hit says:
August 15, 2013 at 8:50 pm
These are where it’s at. When it comes to chips, the more fry time the better.
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Or says:
August 17, 2013 at 2:12 am
I’ve made twice-fried (and once-cooked) fried only one time before, and they were the best I’ve ever eaten. It’s hard to get beef drippings where I’m from, but they actually do turn out pretty well with canola oil, I think. From what I garthered, the important bit is to cool off the fries after every stage. At least two hours in the fridge. This makes their insides soft while the outside gets really really crunchy.
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Daniel says:
August 19, 2013 at 9:04 am
Great recipe! Thanks for sharing. I stopped frying with Canola a couple years ago as I realy dont like the “fishy” flavor that it gets when super heated so I use peanut oil for most frying. Now to find some beef lard. Cant wait!
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Sophie says:
September 3, 2013 at 11:12 am
A friend who is planning to open a sandwich food cart soon tested out some recipes on us the other night, including french fries cooked twice in beef tallow. BEST fries I have ever tasted, and according his organic/free-range/humane-meat eating self, they are healthier than canola-fried fries. But who cares! THE TASTE! So amazing. Thanks for sharing this excellent method. Can’t wait to try!
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EvaBBlogt says:
April 16, 2014 at 11:57 am
I’ve had the triple cooked chips at Heston’s pubs in Bray… They are amazing!
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jack R tattis says:
November 7, 2014 at 11:31 pm
Hello my father used to cook his fish and chips in beef dripping,and used Bismark and Tamanian Snowflake potatoes.He used to double fry his chips and the chips were always crispy.
There was no oil in those days 1940/1960Ihave since been told by a new man in the Business that the dripping sears the potato and does not soak it before cookingReply
Guy Alton says:
May 19, 2016 at 2:55 pm
I lived, went to school and worked in the uk. I’m wondering if you were a usual tourist who tried chips at one place a Nd think you know what you’re on about? British chips are thick and there’s no mistaking it potato. However they are not crisp or crunchy. Most people have them alone or on a roll of exceptional quality with salt and vinegar and they are not crunchy!
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Deek says:
July 16, 2016 at 8:44 am
I’m in agreement with Guy, nice or not, these are not “Proper British Chips”. If a British chippy served me crunchy chips I’d ask for my money back. Ideally they should be slightly floppy.
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Sheila J Hutchinson says:
August 19, 2019 at 10:44 pm
I’d love to make those type of “chips”. I type in English chips n it always comes up with fries. I want the kind we’re used to get at Pichadilly when I was at USU. I miss those. If I wanted fries crispy or not that’s what I’d order.
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