SUPER CHIPS
Right so, this one I’m writing because I will be referring to it in the future as an accompaniment, and I want people to know what I’m talking about when I say Super Chips*.
I’m not really sure when it happened. I reckon it must have been the late 80s, perhaps the early 90s. For home frying, Crisp and Dry and other “healthier options” emerged. For the local take away, I assume vegetable oil was a cheaper and easier to dispose of alternative. Either way, LARD lost it’s place as the preferred frying medium for chips, and it was overall tastiness that took the hit.
Spurred on by treasured memories of my Grandad’s delicious crinkly chips, and encouraged by those few chippers that continued the tradition (big shout out to Johnny Walkers of Waterford), one day I decided to return to the LARD method of cooking chips.
While I’d generally only have these once a week, if you have a dedicated chip pan (preferably with a lid), the lard will harden when it cools, making it a lot easier to store than oil. You’ll get a good few fries out of a single batch, and the taste really improves after the first fry, so do not dump your LARD after your first batch!
Ingredients
- Potatoes
- LARD
Method
- Peel and chop your potatoes to the desired chip size. Normal rules of physics apply, i.e. thinly cut chips will cook much faster than big chunky ones.
- Put your LARD in the pan and warm at a high heat.
- Either allow the chips to dry in the air or pat dry with some kitchen paper (this helps them get crispy faster).
- Add them to the hot LARD, being careful not to burn yourself, being sure to stir occasionally with a slotted spoon to avoid any sticking to the bottom of the pan and burning.
- You’ll know they’re done when they start floating to the top. Cooking time will vary with the amount of LARD in the pan and the amount of chips you are trying to cook.
- Remove from the chip pan, and dab with some kitchen paper to remove any excess LARD.
* FYI, they’re called Super Chips because, in my opinion, they taste infinitely better to chips done in vegetable oil. I would call them Superior Chips, but that doesn’t roll off the tongue in the same way.