Homemade chips recipe

For chips you want a potato with a naturally low moisture content and high start content. King Edwards, Russets or Maris Piper are all good varieties to use.

For a quick dip for your chips, mix mayonnaise with a couple of squirts of sriracha or hot sauce, a squeeze of lemon juice and a tiny sprinkling of paprika. For some more dip ideas, try our homemade recipes for Piri-Piri sauce, aioli, or roasted red pepper ketchup.

Soaking your chips in cold water before cooking helps remove some of the starch from the chips and in turn, creates a crispier finish. This is particularly important when frying chips. As these chips are par-boiled and then baked, you can skip this step but it does help to start the sliced potatoes off in cold water before bringing to the boil.

Yes, don't skip the parboiling step. If you do, you'll end up with chips that look amazing on the outside but are still hard and chunky in the middle. It also helps to reduce the amount of cooking time needed in the oven. 

Fill a large deep saucepan with vegetable oil. Make sure you do not fill the pan more than a third full. Heat the oil until bubbling and it reaches 160C. To test if the oil is hot enough, drop a small cube of bread into it - if it crisps up in around a minute, it's ready.

Pat the sliced potato dry to remove as much moisture as possible. This will help reduce the spluttering of the oil. Use a slotted spoon to carefully lift the potato into the hot oil. Cook for a few minutes until golden then remove using the slotted spoon and drain the chips on some kitchen paper to absorb any excess oil. You will need to fry the chips in batches. 

If you want them to be extra crispy, after the initial frying, you can increase the temperature of the oil to around 180C and fry again in batches so the outsides are very crispy and the inside is fluffy. Season to your liking and serve hot. 

Never leave a pan of oil unattended when frying and keep the lid for your pan nearby in case you need to extinguish a fire. 

Dispose of the oil safely and appropriately after cooking and cooled completely.  

Toss the cut potatoes in a couple tablespoons of oil then spread in an even layer and cook at 200C for 20 - 25 minutes, shaking halfway. The timings may vary depending on the size and model of air fryer you have.