Heston Blumenthals Chips French Fries Recipes

Steps:

• Fill a saucepan with plenty of water and bring up the water temperature to 62C (145F).
• I found on my electric stove top that medium was a good temperature to start with and as it approached dropping back to low held it there.
• Peel potato and cut into chips (French Fries). I think around 12mm (1/2") across is a good size, the recipe wouldn't be well suited to thin ones.
• Pre-cook in water at 62°C (145°F) for 30 minutes, drain well and allow to cool to room temperature (takes around 15 minutes).
• Deep-fry in warm oil at 130°C (265°F) for 5 minutes, drain and allow to cool to room temperature (takes around 15 minutes).
• Deep-fry in hot oil at 190°C (375°F) until golden and done to your liking, around 5 minutes. If doing a lot of chips either cook in small batches or crank up the burner if using a wok when adding so the temperature of the oil doesn't drop too much.

Steps:

• Cut the potatoes into chips/french fries about 1/2 inch thick, and when finished, put them in a bowl of cold water for 10 minutes.
• Even before you've finished the cutting, put a large pot of water on to boil.
• Add the potato chips (no salt) and bring to the boil again, simmering until just, just cooked through. You'll have to test - you don't want them falling apart.
• With a slotted spoon, lift them out (tap spoon to shake off water) and put the chips on a rack or grid on a baking tray or flat-bottomed oven dish which will fit into your fridge. They're supposed to dry off, not lie in some leftover water.
• Cool in the fridge.
• Heat the oil to 250 deg.F (130 deg C), and plunge in the COLD chips. Fry, but don't let them colour. Drain and cool again in the fridge.
• When completely cooled, fry them for the final time, until golden brown, in oil measuring 375 deg F (190 deg C).
• Drain and season when serving.
• *** Heston, being very scientific, first tested various types of potatoes. The one he prefers is not easily available, so he suggested Maris Piper in Britain. It seems it should be the kind of potato which tends to "flake" when cooked, as they make the crispiest french fries and roast potatoes.

Steps:

• Place the cut chips into a bowl under running water for 5 minutes to wash the starch off.
• Place 2kg cold tap water in a large saucepan and add the potatoes. Place the pan over a medium heat and simmer until the chips are almost falling apart (approximately 20-30 minutes, depending on the potato).
• Carefully remove the cooked chips and place them on a cooling rack to dry out. Then place in the freezer for at least 1 hour to remove more moisture.
• Heat a deep-fat fryer or a deep pan no more than half filled with oil (to a depth of around 10cm) to 130°C. Fry the chips in small batches until a light crust forms (approximately 5 minutes), remove from the oil and drain on kitchen paper.
• Put the potatoes on a cooling rack and place in the freezer for at least 1 hour. (At this stage, if you don't want to cook and serve immediately, the chips can be kept in the fridge for 3 days.)
• Heat the oil in the deep-fat fryer or deep pan to 180°C and fry the chips until golden (approximately 7 minutes). Drain and sprinkle with sea salt.