Thrice Cooked Recipes

TRIPLE-COOKED CHIPS

Steps:

• Cut the potatoes into thick chips about 6cm/2½in long and 1.5cm/⅝in thick. Rinse them in cold water to remove as much starch as possible, then put them in a large saucepan - make sure the chips have plenty of room so you can take them out easily.
• Cover the chips with lots of cold water (as much as you can get in the pan without it boiling over) and slowly bring to the boil. Simmer gently for 20-25 minutes, until the potatoes are knife tender and lines and cracks start to develop. Using a slotted spoon, carefully remove the chips from the saucepan - don't tip them into a colander, or they will fall apart. Drain on kitchen paper and gently pat dry.
• Half-fill a deep-fat fryer or a large saucepan with oil and heat it to 130C. (CAUTION: hot oil can be dangerous. Do not leave unattended.) Fry the chips in a couple of batches, until they have developed a crust but not taken on any colour - this will take about 5 minutes. Remove each batch when it's ready and set aside.
• Now heat the oil to 180C. Return the chips to the pan, again in a couple of batches, and fry for 1-2 minutes until they are very crisp and deep golden brown. Drain on kitchen paper, sprinkle with salt and serve immediately.

TRIPLE-COOKED FRIES

Steps:

• Cut the potatoes into strips approximately 1/2 to 3/4 inch wide and 1/2 inch thick. As you cut them, submerge them in a bowl filled with cold water to prevent oxidizing (turning color).
• Fill a stockpot with cold water, add a little salt, and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Lift the potatoes from the cold water with a slotted spoon and cook in the boiling water until fork-tender, 10 to 12 minutes. Lift the potatoes from the water and spread out on a paper towel-lined baking sheet. Pat the potatoes dry, replace the original layer of paper towels with dry paper towels, and refrigerate for at least 15 minutes.
• Meanwhile, in a deep, heavy pot or deep-fat fryer, bring the fat to a temperature of 275°F over medium-high heat.
• Working in batches, fry the chilled potatoes for 3 to 5 minutes before lifting them from the hot oil with a slotted metal spoon and spreading on the baking sheet (no paper towels this time!). Let the oil regain its heat between batches. Chill the potatoes again for about 15 minutes.
• While the potatoes chill, raise the heat under the fat or adjust the thermostat on the fryer and heat the fat to 375°F.
• Fry the chilled potatoes again until golden brown and crispy, 4 to 5 minutes, working in batches and letting the fat regain its heat between each one. Use tongs or extra-long chopsticks to break the potatoes apart, if necessary, and turn them in the fat so that they brown evenly.
• With a slotted spoon, transfer the fries to a shallow bowl. Add the parsley and toss to mix. Season with salt and serve warm.

TRIPLE-COOKED CHIPS

Steps:

• Place the cut chips into a bowl under running water for 5 minutes to wash the starch off.
• Place 2kg cold tap water in a large saucepan and add the potatoes. Place the pan over a medium heat and simmer until the chips are almost falling apart (approximately 20-30 minutes, depending on the potato).
• Carefully remove the cooked chips and place them on a cooling rack to dry out. Then place in the freezer for at least 1 hour to remove more moisture.
• Heat a deep-fat fryer or a deep pan no more than half filled with oil (to a depth of around 10cm) to 130°C. Fry the chips in small batches until a light crust forms (approximately 5 minutes), remove from the oil and drain on kitchen paper.
• Put the potatoes on a cooling rack and place in the freezer for at least 1 hour. (At this stage, if you don't want to cook and serve immediately, the chips can be kept in the fridge for 3 days.)
• Heat the oil in the deep-fat fryer or deep pan to 180°C and fry the chips until golden (approximately 7 minutes). Drain and sprinkle with sea salt.

THRICE-COOKED FRIES RECIPE - (4.4/5)

Steps:

• Cut the potatoes into 1/3-inch-thick steak fries and transfer to a bowl of cold water. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Drain the potatoes, add them to the pot and boil just until tender, about 5 minutes. Carefully drain the potatoes and transfer them to a paper towel-lined rack to cool. Refrigerate until chilled, about 1 hour. In a large, deep skillet, heat 2 inches of oil to 250°F. Set a rack over a baking sheet. Working in batches, fry the potatoes just until they begin to brown around the edges, about 8 minutes. Transfer the potatoes to the rack and let cool. When all of the potatoes have been fried once, heat the oil to 350°F. Fry the potatoes again, in batches, until golden and crisp, about 7 minutes per batch. Drain the fries on a paper towel-lined baking sheet, sprinkle with salt and serve.