Will Murray said one ingredient would “give them the best flavour” (stock) (Image: Getty)
Adding one ingredient to chips as you cook them will “give them the best flavour you could possibly get”, a professional chef has revealed. Will Murray, who co-runs Fallow, Roe and FOWL restaurants in London alongside fellow chef Jack Croft, recently explained to viewers how to make the “perfect” triple-cooked chips — a dish he says originated in Britain.
He explained that he used to make them “a lot” while working at Dinner by Heston Blumenthal, the celebrity chef’s namesake restaurant, but a “few things have changed” since then. Will shared a tutorial on how to cook the beloved food in a video for the Fallow YouTube channel. In it, he explained how he used to make them on an “industrial scale” — and said one ingredient would “give them the best flavour”.
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Will said you “can’t make good chips” with a potato with too much starch or sugar (stock) (Image: Getty)
He said: “We had to do it on an industrial scale, and a few things have changed since then. We actually found out a better potato to use than the one we used to use.
“Crucially, I’m going to use beef fat or beef dripping to give them the best flavour you could possibly get. If you wanted to do these at home: patience, a bit of fridge space, you could.”
He explained you “can’t make good chips” with a potato with too much starch or sugar, explaining that the type he was using was an Agria potato. As he peeled them, he pointed out that this was vital to achieve “ruffled edges”.
Will said: “You need to allow for at least 15 per cent of the potato to come away, and you’ll pretty much lose 15 per cent of the spud. That’s going to allow for these beautiful little sort of fissures all over your potato.”
As he washed the slices, Will said the starch had started to come away. But Agrias have high levels of the enzyme amylase, which he said “contributes to crispiness”, helping them stay fluffy inside while turning crisp on the outside.
Will said most delis and butchers have beef fat you can render yourself (stock) (Image: Getty)
He said too much starch can be a “bad thing”, so it’s all about striking a balance between ensuring there’s enough to make the chips crispy, while avoiding excess starch, as it can make the chips “brown” too quickly.
Will drained the water, then rinsed the chips until it ran clear. He then added salt to a pot of simmering water before placing the chips in, advising viewers to leave enough room in the pan so they could be moved around.
After about six or seven minutes, you should be able to start seeing the ruffled edges, but the crucial task at this point is to keep stirring them gently “over and over again”.
Once 18 minutes had elapsed, Will turned off the pan and allowed them to sit and finish cooking through as he slowly turned them around with a wooden spoon.
He then lifted the chips out gently with a ladle and laid them on a tray. Will noted that some might start to break up, but said the smaller pieces would be the “nice, crispiest bits”.
Will placed the chips in the freezer while he prepared a pan for frying, opting for vegetable oil for the first fry. As for temperature, he explained that he would fry them at 120 to 140 degrees for roughly eight minutes.
At this point, Will showed the camera the beef fat to be used for the final fry only. He added that most delis and butchers have beef fat you can render yourself, or dripping or lard.
He then took the chips out of the freezer for the first fry, noting that he’d “chilled them down” until they were cold, but explained that people at home could simply use their fridge for this.
His oil was at about 140, stressing that you need a “gentle heat” and that you should avoid crowding the pan. Will said you should check the chips don’t stick to the bottom of the pan, but pointed out that they’re “delicate”.
Fry the chips for eight to 10 minutes before removing them from the pan (although he noted that his had 12 minutes due to the size of the pan), adding that they should not have “lots of colour” at this point.
Will put the chips back in the freezer to cool while he prepared for the next fry. He then added beef fat to the oil (a ratio of one to four – beef fat to oil) and brought it to 180 degrees.
He placed the cooled chips into the pan, noting that the final fry would be between four and five minutes. Finally, Will took the chips out and seasoned them with fine salt, saying it’s best to do this while they’re hot.
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