Right, this old chestnut again.

I want to recreate the soggy chip shop style of chip and on Yahoo Answers someone suggested taking the chips (fried in a beef lard, obviously) wrapping them in "butchers paper", then several layers of newspaper so they can steam for several minutes.

I'm unclear on what "butchers paper" is. Is it like grease proof paper? I assume it's made so that it won't stick to the chips or get fluff on them while still being absorbent, but can't think of an obvious substitute.

If you have a deep fat fryer then I find that cooking the chips twice then leaving the basket to drain above the fat does the job.


Greaseproof or baking paper should do the job though.

I find par boiling the potatoes works best for this

I'm thinking parboil (also helps to take the starch out or they get too dark) then fry once at around 170c. I'll try leaving them over the pan. Never thought of doing that.

You should add a bit of polenta to the chips before cooking, the chips come out so crispy and delicious.

Not quite what the OP is looking for

I guess not, it still tastes good though!

Never mind that, what sort of a state does the polenta leave your oil in?

Butchers paper is just plain white paper.

Can you see the quite obvious problem?

OP, I think dousing in vinegar helps with the soggy effect

buy some from your chippy.

make sure they are cut fairly thick. Soak in water for an hour or so, shake dry and cook at around 170C. Also a waxy potato will help. You don't need them to steam or anything in paper afterwards, they should be 'soggy' straight out the fryer and given a good shake.

I'd say too much of a faff.

By the time you cut them right, fry them right, in the rght oil, wrap them etc.

Isn't it easier to treat them as they are i.e. chipshop chips.... and buy them in a chipshop?

Depends.
If you have a deep fat fryer and a pre-washed potato then you can have chips in under 15 minutes.
10 if you put the chips in to the cold fat but that is rather unhealthy.

Turn on fryer to medium high heat.
Cut potato into chips. No need to peel it if it is washed and clean.
When oil is upto temp put chips in oil. Cook for 8-10 minutes.


Some may find they like chips prepared this way better than other methods which involve peeling, soaking, drying, blanching/par boiling, cooling, frying.

Just create a little chippy in your kitchen and role play being the chip man. When you go to the chippy watch what they do. Copy it. Simple. Or just buy them. Much cheaper for the sake of frying costs, oil, potatoes (expensive) and the time it takes when they might not be as good.

how do you consider potatoes expensive ?

They are for the quality you get.. They taste of nothing nowadays. Plus this year they are set to rise.

Your comment says a lot about you. You should think about that before you post.

It's not about the cost. Unfortunately I can and do buy far more takeaway food than I should. I just enjoy replicating recipes. It may not be as exciting as your hobbies but it keeps me amused. Anyway, I won't keep you. Eastenders won't watch itself.

Soak freshly cut chips in water for a little while to remove starch.
Deep fry for a couple of mins then remove from oil, let oil get back upto temperature then cook again until cooked.
For soggy chips, once cooked put in a large saucepan or pot and cover with a lid for a little while.

Yes. I know how to make chips.

but I treat homemade chips as they are.... i.e. homemade chips.

Going to the faff of par-boiling or wrapping them up in paper to make them sweat, and buying special chipshop paper.... no thanks.

Easier just to use the chipshop for chipshop-style chips.

Who wants soggy chips, they should be crisp on outside, home made are best for this, cooked three times i believe is fashionable these days. and yes its worth the effort its called cooking.

£8 for 25KG and that is for washed king edwards, you can get unwashed generic whites for £6 for 25kg. Spoke to the shop and they said prices might hit £10 a bag in a couple of months, the harvest has been really poor this year.

What on earth... What's that supposed to mean? Lighten up man. Sorry I'm not so serious about making chippy style chips.

I, too, prefer a soggy-style chip.

The way i usually make them is to peel and thick-chip the potato (Maris Piper obviously). Soak in cold water for a while, swirling around occasionally to get the starch out.

Throw some water in a pan with salt and bring to the boil.

I bought one of chip pan baskets to put the uncooked chips in. Put this into the boiling water and wait until the water boils again, then reduce the heat to a simmer.

Leave the chips simmering for about 10 minutes, until they're about to disintegrate, then take chip basket out, poor hot water out of the pan and refill with cold water.

Shake the chip basket to rough-up the edges of the chips and plunge them into the cold water.

Once cooled down take chips out and chill in the fridge over-night.

To cook them i then use a deep-fat fryer set at 150C and cook for about 10-11 minutes (i use Sunflower oil, but have used Groundnut oil in the past with only a slight improvement. Would never use any kind of animal parts, ugh!).

This gives a delicious soggy chip.

On the rare occasions i want a crisp chip i let them cool after the initial fry, chill them again in the fridge and fry for about 3 minutes at 190C.

It's a very involved process but, perfection always is.

I agree or just stick some mccain homefries in the oven ... theyre the closest ive tasted to chippy chips