Soggy chips - how the hell do I make these at home?!

[PossumintheHouse]

I appreciate this might be a controversial opinion, but my favourite chips in the world are soft and soggy chip shop chips, seasoned with lots of salt and vinegar.

So why am I incapable of making these at home!? Crispy chips with a fluffy inside? No problem. Easy peasy. But I want them soft and soggy. Somebody out there must know the secret!? (Please)

I’m guessing it’s something to do with them being wrapped up, so they steam a little? Try wrapping them in greaseproof paper?

Have you tried wrapping them in newspaper straight out of the chip pan?

it's the steam that does it.

You can even buy chip shop paper to wrap them in!
I fancy some now

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sheets-THICK-PACKING-OFFCUT-CHIPSHOP/dp/B008DJEFS8/ref=ascdff_B008DJEFS8/?tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=297231070728&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=6472305878310394295&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9045820&hvtargid=pla-720002795698&psc=1&mcid=ce98824304f637d0942c0aead187c12f

Thanks @EveryKneeShallBow @FabFebHalfTerm @BunnyBunnyJabberJabber

I’ve never tried this, definitely giving it a go tonight. Any chippy I’ve been to in recent years always boxes the chips before wrapping, so they never come out all soggy. I definitely used to always buy them just wrapped in paper.

I’ve read some tips online about not par boiling them first or cooking in oil on a lower heat, but not sure. 🧐

Thinking about it further, I’d also guess that a batch of chippy chips exceeds the modern “elf an’ safety” guidance about not overfilling the fryer. If you wanted crispy chips the guidance would be to do them in small batches, so the reverse might help - but for heavens sake watch the pan like a hawk and don’t have it too full!

It's not science and I'm not saying it will work but dh always complains about the wrapped chips from the chippy being put into a plastic carrier bag which makes them soggy.

That was another tip! More is better than less. But you’re right about the risks 😂.

There is also chat online about soaking your potatoes in water beforehand.

i think cooked twice but also they need to sit in water overnight before you dry them cook them. Once fried just put them in a big casserole with a lid they’ll soon soggy up.

we used sunflower oil the other day to cook chips in the oven and they were much softer than usual. Par boiled them first.

I used to work in a chippy. The potatoes went into a peeler and sat in a vat of water, then go into the chipper when ready to fry. Fried until they were golden and put into the warming tray. I think leaving them there softened them up but once packaged in the small baking paper sheet and 2 sheets of paper they'd go all soggy.

I had a summer job in a really great chippy. We always chipped the potatoes well in advance and they rested in big buckets of water until they were needed. You tip a ton of chips in the fat at the same time, so that’s possibly partly the answer. I’d imagine having the vinegar applied before wrapping will help them go soggy before you get them home. You also need non brewed condiment if you want the real chip shop experience, rather than malt vinegar. They always used beef dripping as the oil. Made the best fish and chips. I imagine there aren’t many places using that now, as it would cut out a biggish potential market of veggies.

Thanks @Punxsatawnyphil @HowDoWeDoThisPlease Top tips, going to follow these.
Does any chippy ever par boil a potato, or do they go in straight from the bucket?

No par boiling where I worked. We would drain the bucket a little while before cooking, just so they dried off a bit and didn’t spit too much when they went into the fat.

Awww I shouldn't have come in here. Nothing to contribute to the discussion and now I just want a big portion of chippy chips drenched in salt and vinegar...

Thanks everybody, you’ve given me hope that tonight I may achieve my chippy dream.
Will report back and I’ll even post a photo if my attempt isn’t too embarrassing.

@PossumintheHouse Waiting for the photo update.

This has answered my longstanding query about why my local chippy offers "wrapped or in a box" - I love soggy chips so now I know how to answer!

I have only once in my life made chips from scratch and I used Delia Smith's recipe. They came out very well.

Evening fellow soggy chip fans.

Well, it didn’t go very well. I’ve attached dodgy chip photo, as promised.

My method: peeled the potatoes and soaked in salted water for a wee while, didn’t par boil. Cut them up into chunky chips, fries in a low ish temperature in duck fat (Tesco didn’t have beef dripping, as was recommended above). I overfilled the chip pan, again as recommended above.
Very quickly the chips became too mushy and I had to rescue them and finished by steaming in the oven.
They came out… OK. Definitely soggy and a bit chippy-esque, but they tasted a bit too ‘try hard’ and the soggy ratio just wasn’t correct. Will try again. Verdict: 5 1/2 out of 10. 🍟

Me too! This thread was brutal for my diet!

Do you have a deep fat fryer? Chippies can set the temperature of their fat so they get more consistent results. I would say you need to have a high heat to set and seal the outside first then reduce to cook through, the sogginess comes after they are cooked from being left to steam in vinegar and the wrapping. My parents had a chippy when I was a child and I'm sure they chipped potatoes, left them to soak in big barrels of water overnight and then fried once to par-cook and seal, then again when customers ordered.

Deep fat fryer. We got ours in lockdown, no idea why I put on stone 🤔.
Our fryer
We set it to 180°.

Soft chips have nothing to do with steaming or storage. Your fried/baked chips are crispy because the chips either aren't swimming in oil- ie they're being shallow fried/not fried or, simply because the chips are too thin. Deep fat frying + correct size chip+ the correct temperature and timing. It's not easy though, even chippies have to experiment and practise with these variables and more. An even better question would be how to get chipshop chips in an air fryer as I understand they're traditionally crispy rather than soft as we like. Chippies don't soak potatoes to aid cooking, it's simply to prevent spoilage after peeling. Even perfectly cooked chips -as we're all aware- will also lose that texture not long after being cooked.