Incredible crust on the outside, fluffy on the inside, and although it may take some time to prepare, most of it can be done well in advance. Totally worth the effort, trust me!
Ingredients:
Rooster potatoes (no other variety!)
1 lt vegetable oil (it would be really good if you can find peanut oil)
Salt
Method:
Wash the potatoes quite well, then cut them in strips without peeling them (up to you how fine your chips will be, I personally like them skinny enough)
Leave the cut potatoes to soak in cold, salty water (1 tsp of fine salt per lt of water) for 1 hour
Rinse the potatoes well and bring to the boil plenty of water
Blanch the chips in the boiling water for 1.5 to 3 mins depending on how thick they are
Drain the chips then dry them well by layering them onto a clean teatowel and using some kitchen paper to pat dry the top layer
Put the chips in the fridge and leave them there for 20-30 mins
Heat up plenty of oil in a deep pan up to 140 degrees C (use a thermometer!)
Fry the chips in batches, but don't let them take too much colour at all
Drain the chips on kitchen paper and pat them well dry with additional kitchen paper
TIP: At this point you can interrupt the process for an hour or two, leaving the dry chips on the counter onto fresh kitchen paper
Heat up more FRESH oil (again, a lot of it) in a deep pan up to 180 degrees C (use a thermometer!)
Fry the chips in batches until they reach a nice golden colour
Drain the chips and serve