How to make decent chips/french fries?

[landofsmiles]

Just can't make decent chips in my apartment. Is it because of the potatoes? In the markets and Carrefour there only seems to be one type which is fairly "new". Or is it the oil? There's Palm Oil; Soya bean Oil; vegetable Oil....I've tried them all...get it really hot before dumping the chips in but to get them to cook right through have to leave them in till they're virtually black and they taste lousy.

I know it can be done because I've had some pretty decent ones at a few restaurants.

[LivinLOS]

I think its the spuds.. They dont do some things well.. I am no expert when it comes to anything stove related but my guess is they are more starchy.. They make ok jackets and mash but not so hot for boiled or fries..

I find frozen pre cut ones seemed to make better fries..

[Hobbsy]

it has a lot to do with the potatoes I believe - you need to buy imported spuds.

think there was a thread (maybe Simons chip shop used to be nr christins) where it was mentioned.

[sishow]

I noticed that alot of the imported veg in carrfour was a pile of (over-priced) crap.

Hobbsey and LIL are right, you need to have a good spud for the chips or fries. If made at home, you also need to keep the chip pan unwashed for as long as possible as the fat coating from the re-used pan creates the 'mallard' flavour the chips need. This can also be acheieved by using Beef dripping (oil) that professinal chippy's here in the UK use.

As a start though, a good MAris Piper potatao is good for chipping as its solid and waxy. But as I say, the quailty was not that good in Carrefour.



For healthy reasons, a good big cut chunky chips/fires are a lot more healty than the thiner cut as the surface area on these is alot smaller. We call these "steak-cut chips" here.

[Nanook]

Just ask any Belgian guy... Belgians are famous for their French Fries or patatten...

[urtheman]

I think we have talked about this before.

Potatoes here don't seem to have the moisture content and are differant. Buy them in a big bag frozen and imported is the best.

Here's what I would suggest since your fries went black first thing was your oil was too hot.

Also buy some beef or pork fat and flash fry them for about 20 seconds and get them really all fatted up. Refrigerate or freeze then fry them in oil, you can do it in a wok but make sure the oil is not too hot.

Cheers!

[JayBee]

Here are two more ideas:

1) First boil the potatoes, then leave them overnight for one or more nights in the fridge. Then slice them into slices, a bit on the thin side. Then take a frying pan with a non-stick surface(as said, never wash it, just wipe the old grease out), put oil in it, preferably coconut oil(olive oil is my 2nd choice). Then when the oil is hot, but never burning, put the potatoes in. When they have cooked a little on each side, turn down the heat to the lowest flame, and saute for a long, long time, unitl they are brown and a little crisp on the outside. Yummy!!!

2) Go to Pattaya. Ask the street vendors there who sell french fries how they cook them. They are cut thin and long and I don't think those guys are using imported potatoes, either. They are really quite good. You may need an interpreter, of course!

You might also ask Crustasian. The fries at his Faulty Towers restaurant on Soi Sunset are quite good. Give them a try, and have a Faulty Burger, while you are at it. Best burger in LOS, IMHO!!

[ub2yoo]

Originally Posted by JayBee

Here are two more ideas:

1) First boil the potatoes, then leave them overnight for one or more nights in the fridge.

Mmhhh..that's the first time I ever hear that, boiling potatoes before frying ?

I always only have seen them done raw, un-skinned, washed and put in hot oil.

Must be a british/us thing than 55555

[Captain]

As a Belgian THE land of "French Fries" (by the way, the French don't eat them, it should be Belgian fries) I prepare them as follows.
In Belgium we use beef fat (called ossewit = oxwhite). But you also can use oil. I like olive oil, but arachide oil is also used. So I would suggest vegetable oil.
Fries are baked twice in a kettle, maybe you can use a wok if no frying kettle available.
Don't cook the potatoes as some propose.
Put the raw fries in the hot oil in the kettle and bake them a first time on 170° Celsius. Take them out after about 3 minutes (they get light yellow, feel if they are soft inside, not raw) and let them drip out. You can do this before, one or even a few hours before.
If you want to eat, put the (once fried) fries again in the hot oil, this time temp 190° and let them fry till golden (again a few minutes). Bon apetit.

[Nanook]

Well said Captain. I already mentioned a Belgian guy would give the right reply .

I didn't know this anymore, but after reading your post I re-call my mother doing it this way (as you described) all the time and they were just great.

[JayBee]

Originally Posted by Captain

As a Belgian THE land of "French Fries" (by the way, the French don't eat them, it should be Belgian fries) I prepare them as follows.
In Belgium we use beef fat (called ossewit = oxwhite). But you also can use oil. I like olive oil, but arachide oil is also used. So I would suggest vegetable oil.
Fries are baked twice in a kettle, maybe you can use a wok if no frying kettle available.
Don't cook the potatoes as some propose.
Put the raw fries in the hot oil in the kettle and bake them a first time on 170° Celsius. Take them out after about 3 minutes (they get light yellow, feel if they are soft inside, not raw) and let them drip out. You can do this before, one or even a few hours before.
If you want to eat, put the (once fried) fries again in the hot oil, this time temp 190° and let them fry till golden (again a few minutes). Bon apetit.

How much oil do you use?

[Captain]

A few litres. They swim freely in the oil and don't touch the bottom of the kettle. Compare it to those big woks where Thais deep fry. Don't fry to many at the same time. Let's say 2 handfull.
Best is to use the same oil only about 10 times, as otherwise oil is burned, turning black (as you must have seen probably in Thailand), loses its quality and becomes cancerogeneous, just like black burned meat on the BBQ.

[JayBee]

Originally Posted by Captain

A few litres. They swim freely in the oil and don't touch the bottom of the kettle. Compare it to those big woks where Thais deep fry. Don't fry to many at the same time. Let's say 2 handfull.
Best is to use the same oil only about 10 times, as otherwise oil is burned, turning black (as you must have seen probably in Thailand), loses its quality and becomes cancerogeneous, just like black burned meat on the BBQ.

That is the way my mother made them, as well, except she used Crisco shortening instead of oil. They tasted great, nevertheless. Unfortunately, one year she went out and got a job. After that, she took to buying frozen potatoes and life was never quite the same in our house!

Without a doubt, your authentic way makes the best "Belgian" fries. But it would cost about $20 for the olive oil, it takes too long for me(guess I'm a wwe bit like me mother ), and I don't like keeping a pot of old oil around the kitchen. So, for me, the boiled/fried chips work out the best, as it takes only a little more time than just regularly frying potatoes, and hardly any oil at all!! They may not be good as yours, but when done properly, they are still very good!

[Captain]

I like olive oil, but what we call arachide works as good, and is a lot cheaper.

[steve w]

you don't fry chips in olive oil! veg or lard or beef dripping.
boiling the potatoes first makes sauteed potatoes not chips,innit

[Captain]

Originally Posted by steve w

you don't fry chips in olive oil! veg or lard or beef dripping.
boiling the potatoes first makes sauteed potatoes not chips,innit

I am talking about french fries, not English chips. You can fry fries in olive oil, don't take the tasty expensive extra virgin, take the last press they use for cooking, not in salad.

[capdagde]

Chips are close to my heart too - create a lot of passion!!
If I were you Land I'd get an electric chip pan (deep fat fryer) whose components break down and go in the dishwasher, peel and chip your potatoes and put them in cold water to get rid of some of the starch (which can effect crispness) for 15 mins. At our age vegetable (sunflower) oil is the healthiest option although hard to resist the beef dripping, vegetaline, Crisco option which give better flavour but kill in the long term. Then Captain is spot on COOK the potatoes on 170 (you can make up a big batch as he says). That gets the chips to the stage they are in when you buy them frozen. Then you just BROWN them at 190 as you would frozen fries.

Strange you didn't just search the net but it allows all the chip anoraks to have their say.

[Hobbsy]

searching on the net on how cook chips is fair enough but i doubt it would have pointed out the fact that the potatoes here do not make good chips - something to do with the water content.

[Captain]

Originally Posted by capdagde

If I were you Land I'd get an electric chip pan (deep fat fryer) whose components break down and go in the dishwasher, peel and chip your potatoes and put them in cold water to get rid of some of the starch (which can effect crispness) for 15 mins.

Sorry forgot to tell the part about putting the raw fries in the water before frying (as said to get rid of starch).
I have 2 electric chip pans/kettles at home, one for fries, and one I use for springrolls, also what we call croquettes, and other dishes.

[Oasis]

Chips make you fat!

Forget about them and eat salad instead............................

[cybernator_uk]

Originally Posted by Oasis

Chips make you fat!

Forget about them and eat salad instead............................

Why is it that everything that tastes wso good is so bad for you?

[LivinLOS]

Originally Posted by cybernator_uk

Why is it that everything that tastes wso good is so bad for you?

Except fruit.. I am a major fruit junkie..

The first lychees of the year just arrived here.. I can sit and scoff kilos of them chilled from the fridge..

Havent had cherries in years.. Miss those from the west.

[capdagde]

Ah now Cyb, that is another question entirely! Start a thread and we can all get philosophical...

It might not be the potatoes Hobbsy (I'm in LOS 10 to 24/5 so could come to Karon and experiment though....?), seems that Land wasn't getting the starch out and he was cooking them on "high" in one go.

Anyway I'm off to have some frozen ones now with a bit of fish, so there. Rainy season here in the south of France -bloody gorgeous everywhere else!

Depressing - think I'll have a beer to go with my chips.... salad tomorrow Oasis.

Andy Cap

[capdagde]

Ah LOS - lychees dipped in cointreau served by a naked Thai handmaiden.... better than chips..