Chip shop-style chips (or chippy chips) are a British classic. Very lightly golden thick chips with a slightly crispy exterior and a soft, fluffy interior.
I don’t think you can ever beat proper chip-shop chips, but this is the closest version for when you want to make chippy chips at home.
Living in a seaside town, the irresistible smell of chips is ALWAYS in the air. But sometimes I like to enjoy the salty, crispy, and mouthwatering snack without having to leave the house. 😆 (My favourite way to eat these, is absolutely smothered in meaty gravy!)
This recipe took a little bit of experimenting to find the perfect balance of ease and similarity to the real thing.
📋 Ingredients
Potatoes – Use floury potatoes, such as Maris Piper or Rooster. These will ensure a fluffier chip interior and a crispier exterior.
Oil – You can use any neutral oil that is suited for frying.
Pro Tip
Once you’ve peeled, chopped and rinsed the potatoes, be sure to get them fully submerged in water quite quickly. Peeled potatoes can turn grey/brown quickly if left out in the air – due to oxidation (this is where the starches in the potato turn brown or grey from being exposed to oxygen).
Many traditional British chip shops use a product called DryWhite when making chips. The potatoes are peeled and cut and then soaked in a solution of Drywhite and water. It keeps the chips looking white and fresh during storage and stops them from darkening too much during frying. This is what helps to keep ‘chippy chips’ looking evenly golden.
However, it’s quite a pain to buy and use for household use, so we had to figure out a way to recreate that golden crispy goodness without it.
The first method we tested was double frying, this is where you fry the chips once at a lower temperature to make sure the chips are mostly cooked through, and then drain the excess oil off the chips and let them cool a little. Then you fry them again at a higher temperature to achieve that crunchy outside and a fluffy inside.
This method did work well for keeping the inside of the chips nice and fluffy, however the outside of the chips got too dark.
(We did also test the chips after the first fry – where the colour looks nice and light. Unfortunately they weren’t quite soft enough to eat after this initial fry.)
Double Fry Method
The second method we used was par-boiling, which, like the first method, is aimed at keeping the inside nice and fluffy, white, and the outside perfectly crispy and golden. You start by soaking the potatoes in cold water and vinegar for 30 minutes, then draining, and boiling for 8 – 10 minutes. Then you just fry once.
We found this method worked best in getting closest to those chippy chips we know and love.
Par-Boil Method
Soaking the potatoes helps to remove some of the starch. It’s the starch in the potatoes that causes chips to brown. So having excess starch = more browning. Chippy chips should be light in colour, so we want to remove as much starch as possible.
Just splash on some tangy vinegar and a pinch of salt and there you have it. Fantastic chip shop-style chips!
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🍽️ What to serve it with
🍲 More fantastic British Classics
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Peel the potatoes and slice them into thick (1.5cm) chips.
1 kg (2.2 lbs) of floury potatoes
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Place in a colander and rinse, twice, in cold water.
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Place in a bowl and cover the potatoes in cold water (make sure they’re completely submerged). Add in the vinegar too.
1 tsp vinegar
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Soak for 30 minutes.
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Drain the potatoes and place in a large pan. Cover with water and bring to the boil, then simmer for 8-10 minutes, until tender.
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Drain in a colander and allow to steam dry for 5 minutes.
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Heat the oil in your deep fryer to 170C/340F.
Oil for deep frying
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Add the potatoes to the fryer basket and slowly lower down into the oil, ensuring they’re not going to bubble over.
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Fry for 5-6 minutes, until lightly golden brown.
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Turn off the fryer, drain the chips and serve with plenty of salt and vinegar.
Potatoes:
Use floury potatoes – such as Maris Piper or Rooster – these will ensure a fluffier chip interior and a crispier exterior.
Why soak the potatoes?
Soaking the potatoes helps to remove some of the starch. It’s the starch in the potatoes that causes chips to brown.
Having excess starch = more browning.
Chippy chips should be light in colour, so we want to remove as much starch as possible.
Why par-boil first?
We par-boil to ensure they’re cooked through. Then fry to crisp up and lightly brown.
If you just fried the chips (without par-boiling) the chips would be a lot darker brown.
Can I make them ahead?
These are best eaten freshly cooked, but if you wanted to prep ahead a little, you could cut the peel and slice the potatoes into chips, then place them in a bowl of cold water (so they’re totally covered). They’ll be fine on the side for an hour, but any more than that put them in the fridge. I wouldn’t recommend leaving them in water for more than 8 hours.
Nutritional information is approximate, per serving, This recipe serves 3-4. I’ve calculated this approximately, based on the recipe serving 4 people and the chips absorbing 100ml of oil altogether.
*Oil absorption can vary – usually between 8%-25% of the weight of the food being fried.*
Calories: 402kcal | Carbohydrates: 44g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 24g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 7g | Monounsaturated Fat: 15g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Sodium: 15mg | Potassium: 1053mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 5IU | Vitamin C: 49mg | Calcium: 30mg | Iron: 2mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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