Triple-Cooked Chips

Name: Triple-Cooked Chips
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 55 min
Total time: 1 h 15 min
Cuisine: England
Ingredients: 2 lb (900 g) starchy potatoes, such as Maris Piper or Russet; 4 quarts (4 L) cold water, divided; 1 tbsp (18 g) fine sea salt, for the cooking water; 2 quarts (2 L) neutral oil, such as sunflower or rapeseed, for deep-frying; 1 tsp (5 g) flaky sea salt, to finish

Triple-cooked chips Say it: TRIP-uhl-cookt chips

By the Passport Plate editors. Published November 6, 2026.

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Triple-cooked chips are thick potato batons cooked three times over: simmered until tender, fried gently at a low temperature, then fried hard until deeply golden. The result is a chip with a glassy, shatteringly crisp shell and a fluffy, steaming centre. They belong to the British pub and chip-shop tradition but have become a home-kitchen project, served simply with salt and malt vinegar. Good starchy potatoes and clean oil are all the flavour they need.

Triple-Cooked Chips

Triple-cooked chips

Pronounced TRIP-uhl-cookt chips

Serves: 4
Prep: 20 min
Cook: 55 min
Total: 1 hr 15 min
Level: Medium

Also nut-free and egg-free.

Allergens: none of the major allergens in the listed ingredients. Check labels on packaged ingredients.

Ingredients

4 servings

Chips

2 lb (900 g)900 g (2 lb) starchy potatoes, such as Maris Piper or Russet
4 quarts (4 L)4 L (4 quarts) cold water, divided
1 tbsp (18 g)18 g (1 tbsp) fine sea salt, for the cooking water
2 quarts (2 L)2 L (2 quarts) neutral oil, such as sunflower or rapeseed, for deep-frying
1 tsp (5 g)5 g (1 tsp) flaky sea salt, to finish

Method

Peel the potatoes and cut them into batons about 1/2 inch (1.5 cm) thick and 3 inches (7.5 cm) long, keeping them as even as you can. Put them in a large bowl, cover with 2 quarts (2 L) of the cold water and soak for 10 minutes to rinse off surface starch, then drain well.
Bring the remaining 2 quarts (2 L) water to a boil with the fine salt in a large pot. Add the chips, return to a gentle simmer and cook for 8-10 minutes, until the edges look softened and slightly ragged and a knife slides into the centre with only a little resistance.
Drain the chips very gently, without stirring them about, and spread them in a single layer on a wire rack. Leave to steam dry for 10 minutes, then refrigerate uncovered for at least 30 minutes so the surface dries and firms.
Heat the oil in a deep, heavy pot to 265°F (130°C). Fry the chips in batches for 6-8 minutes, until pale, dry-looking and no longer foaming vigorously; they should soften but stay almost white. Lift out with a slotted spoon and drain on the rack.
Heat the oil to 355°F (180°C). Fry the chips in batches for 3-4 minutes, until deep golden and the edges feel hard and crisp when you lift one out. Let the oil come back to temperature between batches and drain each batch on the rack.
Tip the chips into a warm bowl, scatter with flaky sea salt while they are still hot and toss once. Serve straight away, while the shells are still crackling.

Regional variant: Dripping-cooked chips (beef-dripping chips)

In the north of England, chips are often fried in beef dripping rather than neutral oil, which gives a richer, meatier flavour and a slightly darker colour. Use 2 quarts (2 L) of melted beef dripping in place of the oil, frying at 265°F (130°C) then 355°F (180°C) exactly as above, and keep the dripping clean by straining it through a fine sieve between batches. The chips are then not vegetarian.

Cook's notes

Starchy potatoes give the fluffy interior; waxy salad potatoes stay dense and turn greasy.
A thermometer keeps the first fry pale and the second hot enough to crisp in minutes.
Never crowd the pot: chips that steam together go limp instead of crunchy.
Dry the chips thoroughly between stages; water on the surface makes the oil spit and the shells soft.

Serve with

Salt and malt vinegar, alongside battered fish, a steak, or a pint of bitter.

Make ahead and storage

Simmer, dry and give the chips their first low-temperature fry up to 1 day ahead; refrigerate on a rack, then fry at 355°F (180°C) just before serving. They do not reheat well once fully cooked.

Triple-Cooked Chips