Planning the menu for my French dinner wasn't a difficult task. Being able to outsource dessert to a friend means an entire third of the meal is taken off my shoulders and hopefully that energy can be put to relaxing and actually being a semi-decent host. This was not done without careful consideration though. Last time I let a friend take care of dessert, we ate caramel sauce from a can, a primary school crumble (can't remember of what) and some mini-chttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifhocolate cake concoction. Admittedly this was well before any of us could cook particularly well, especially the poor girl in charge of dessert (since then she has blossomed into a cake maker and decorator of distinction). This time the lucky person has already made some decent desserts and I have absolute faith in her.
On the downside, it means it's one less dish I get to try making. However I still get to do two I've been itching to try for varying amounts of time. The entree is a Witlof Gratin, Gabriel Gate's recipe I saw a year or so ago, and main is Steak Frites. Although I'm cooking a traditional Steak Frites, the idea came from watching Masterchef and David Chang's Steak Frites with rice fries. Rather than creating a rice fries recipe (because Chang hasn't released his recipe), I've gone for Heston's Trip(pp)le Cooked Chips.
First stage is simple enough, peel potatoes and cut them into chip sized chips. The pressure point here is (as Masterchef so loves to call them) is to not cut them too thick. The main aim is to remove moisture from the surface and within the chip to achieve a crisp outside and fluffy inside respectively. The recipe also calls to try and extract as much starch as possible from the spuds, hence sitting them in water.
Next stage is relatively simple. Plunge them into (rolling) boiling salted water, turn the heat down to a simmer and cook for about 7-8 minutes till the chips are cooked through. Here the further the chips are cooked, the more they'll rough up around the edges and thus the more crispy bits you'll get on your chips. But at the same time the greater risk you run of them just falling apart. After pulling them out and draining them, they go straight into the fridge to cool down and dry off. I kept them in there for an hour and they firm up considerably and are easier to handle.
Then the second stage, the first fry. In 130 degree Celsius oil (I used rice bran but any neutral, high smoke point oil is good), the chips were fried for about 5 minutes until the outside "dried out" and began to have that slightly fried texture. Still not looking for any colour, but just to get the frying process started. After this, same process of draining then putting them in the fridge for another hour. At this point they can be kept for several hours before the final fry, to be done when you want to serve them.
And now the final fry. This time heat the oil up to 190 degrees and the chips go in until they become a light golden colour. This does not take long and requires you to keep a keen eye on them. I could have taken mine a bit further but since this was my first time chipping, I decided to play it safe. Pull them out, a quick drain, a healthy seasoning and they are good to go. Beware, they are piping hot though.
Verdict? By the end of the second stage, you can't help but wonder if it's worth the effort. Start to end takes 3 hours minimum, and all for what? Some chips? Well it is worth the effort. Even though I work in a fish and chip shop, I don't have a great eye for chips but these had a thin crisp layer on the outside and were fluffy inside. It was all you wanted from a chip. The two biggest pros of these chips are unrelated to taste. The first is that you can have them prepared up to the final fry and then it's just a minute in the hot oil and you've got your chips. It's fast and a great result. The second is because they are boiled and cooked through first, the deep frying is purely to crisp up the edges. Doing it in two stages greatly reduces the amount of time spent in oil meaning it absorbs a lot less and is (theoretically) healthier for you.
So is it worth the effort? You better believe it.
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