Hairy Bikers chips are triple-cooked, which means thick Maris Piper batons are simmered until they crack, fried at 130°C, then crisped at 180°C. From 1kg of potatoes you get 4 portions, about 300 calories each by my sums, and I’d allow 1½ hours for the British Classics method.
“Yes, it does sound like a long time, but it works,” they write in Meat Feasts about the 20 to 25 minute simmer. Where most home chips go straight into hot oil, these start in cold water and leave it once knife tender and cracked.
Lifting the simmered batons out a spoonful at a time matters most, because they are soft enough to fall apart in a colander. Then those rough, cracked edges are what crisp up in the fat, which as I see it is the whole point of the simmer.
Hairy Bikers Chips (Triple-Cooked)
Description
Peeled potato batons get rinsed of starch, cooked gently from cold until knife tender, then fried twice. After that, a cooler first fry builds a pale crust, while the hotter second one turns it deep golden and very crisp.
Ingredients
For the chips
Instructions
- Cut and rinse: Peel the potatoes and cut them into thick batons, about 1.5 x 1.5 x 6cm. Rinse them under cold water to wash off as much starch as possible, then put them in a large pan with plenty of room.
- Simmer from cold: Cover the batons with cold water and bring it slowly to the boil. Simmer gently for 20 to 25 minutes, until a knife slides in easily and lines and cracks start to show.
- Lift and dry: Lift the chips out very carefully with a slotted spoon, because tipping them into a colander breaks them up. Drain them on kitchen paper and pat them dry.
- First fry at 130°C: Half fill a deep-fat fryer or large, deep saucepan with oil and heat it to 130°C on a cooking thermometer, never leaving it unattended. Fry the chips in two batches for about 5 minutes, until crusted but not coloured, then set each batch aside on kitchen paper.
- Second fry at 180°C: Heat the oil to 180°C. Fry the chips in batches for 1 to 2 minutes until very crisp and deep golden, letting the oil reheat between batches.
- Salt and serve: Drain the chips on kitchen paper. Sprinkle with sea salt and serve them straight away.
FAQs
What are the best potatoes for chips?
Floury ones, because in their words that means “more potato and less water”. In Perfect Pies they name Yukon Gold, Nadine and Maris Piper as great choices, with Cyprus potatoes also good.
Their triple-cooked recipe asks for Maris Pipers in all three books, which is the variety I’d hunt for first. But I’d avoid waxy salad potatoes, since they stay dense and never go fluffy inside.
How are their twice-cooked chips different?
Their twice-cooked version in Perfect Pies skips the simmer, so rinsed chips cut from 1cm slices fry at 130°C for 10 minutes, then 190°C. And the same double cooked idea runs through their fish and chips with real ale batter, where the fish fries in between.
It also gives you a make-ahead window, because after the first fry the chips can be left for several hours. But the triple-cooked recipe gives no such window, so I’d fry those in one go rather than guess.
Is there a Hairy Bikers air fryer chips recipe?
Yes, there is a short one on hairybikers.com, their air fryer chips recipe for 2 people, using 2 potatoes and 1 tbsp olive oil. Once cut, the chips soak in cold salted water for 5 to 10 minutes before cooking at 200°C for 20 to 25 minutes.
They pat the chips dry and toss them in the oil first, then shake them after 10 minutes and again 5 minutes before the end. Then flaked salt and a splash of vinegar finish them, and apple cider vinegar is the one used in their video.
Can you make healthy chips in the oven?
Their lighter option is potato wedges from the original Hairy Dieters book, made with 475g of potatoes and just 1 tsp of sunflower oil. With paprika, salt and pepper tossed through, the wedges roast at 220°C/Fan 200°C/Gas 7 for 20 to 25 minutes.
For a potato-free swap, Eat to Beat Type 2 Diabetes has celeriac fries, cut into very fine matchsticks and spritzed with oil. Both bake at the same heat, though the fries need 20 minutes with a turn every 5 minutes, then crisp up further as they cool.
What should you serve them with?
Steak is the classic, and their braised steak with gravy ends with a note to serve it with these chips. Then a jug of proper onion gravy on the side turns a bowl of chips into supper.
In Meat Feasts they suggest triple-cooked chips with onglet and flavoured butters, and beer-battered scampi with tartare is another easy match. And eat them hot, since leftover chips go soft and, in my view, no microwave rescues them.
