Heston Blumenthal’s freezer trick to get the perfect crispy chips

This one trick could revolutionise the way you make chips at home
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Celebrity chef Heston Blumenthal's crispy chips are achievable at home and are perfected with just one simple step using your freezer.

Don't be put off by their name, the 'triple-cooked' chips are easy as anything and do not require as much faffing about as you may think.

One of the handy aspects of this recipe is that it allows you to do the prep and first two stages of cooking in advance, so that you are left only with a quick hot fry to finish just before serving.

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The first step is to slice up your potatoes and leave them in a bowl under running water for five minutes or so to wash all the starch off.

Next, place a large pot of cold tap water on the hob and pop your potatoes in on a medium heat and simmer until the chips are are almost falling apart. This will take approximately 20 to 30 minutes, depending on the potato.

Then remove the cooked chips and place them on a cooling rack to dry out. Then place in the freezer for at least one hour to remove more moisture. Heston said the secret to these chips is actually three-fold.

He revealed: "The first secret is cooking the chips until they are almost falling apart as the cracks are what makes them so crispy. The second secret is allowing the chips to steam dry then sit in the freezer for an hour to get rid of as much moisture as possible. The final secret is to cook the chips in very hot oil for a crispy, glass-like crust."

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Next, heat a deep-fat fryer or a deep pan no more than half filled with oil , to a depth of around 10 centimetre, to 130ºC. Then fry the chips in small batches until a light crust forms. This will take approximately five minutes, then remove from the oil and drain on kitchen paper. Put the potatoes on a cooling rack and place in the freezer for at least one hour.

At this stage, if you don't want to cook and serve immediately, the chips can be kept in the fridge for three days. Then heat the oil in the deep-fat fryer or deep pan to 180ºC and fry the chips until golden - this should take around seven minutes.

Drain and sprinkle with sea salt and enjoy.