Cant cook the perfect chip

Question

For the past couple months, I've tried cooking my own crispy chips, yet I've had little no to success with them.

Whenever I put them into hot oil, after a minute in hot oil, they develop brown spots on them and never crisp up. I've tried boiling them, and then frying at a high temp, tried double-frying, low temp at first to pre-cook, then at a high temp to crisp them. Nothing seems to work.

I'm using Maris piper potato's, with sunflower / vegetable oil. I always wash the potato's and dry them before cooking them. I Always waiting 30minutes after pre-cooking them to allow them to cool down before cooking them.

Nothing seems to give me the perfect golden yellow crispy chip that I've always wanted. Any advice on what might be going wrong?

Answer 1

The kind of potato also plays a big role. There are special kinds out there specifically bred for the purpose of manufacturing perfect chips or fries, that usually have a low starch content and an even consistency throughout the tuber. If you can already see slight inconsistencies in color or translucency in your cut potato slices, these variation will intensify during the frying process.

Another possible source for darker spots is that liquid starch accumulated there after cutting. To prevent that, soak your cut potato sliced in cold water for 20 minutes, then rinse them in a colander and pad them dry with kitchen towels before frying. One reference for this method can be found in this WikiHow.

A rather unusual method for perfect golden chips without dark spots is cooking and frying them on medium low heat for a long time. You can read the full recipe here. In summary:

• Spread the potato slices evenly in a cold pan, cover with oil.
• Cook for 25 minutes over low heat to avoid browning. Stir and lift the slices regularily to avoid sticking and to cook them evenly.
• Increase heat to medium low and cook for another 30 minutes, stirring often.
• Drain on paper towels and sprinkle with salt.

Answer 2

This is going to sound really, really strange….

But you probably need to burn a few chips first.

There’s a weird issue with frying— things don’t brown well in fresh oil.

I’ve heard some restaurants will save a little bit old the old oil to mix in with the fresh oil if they change it out, because of the problem.

So the solution is to intentionally overcook the first batch, causing the oil to start breaking down so it’ll brown stuff correctly. And then strain and save some of your old oil, so you can mix it in when you’re next frying.