Perfect hot chips at home are but a few tips and tricks away. Photo / Alex Burton
Some of New Zealand’s favourite dishes are also the causes of our most frequent kitchen calamities. In this series, Herald food contributor Nikki Birrell tackles our most common culinary mistakes. We’re all guilty of one...
Hot chips are one of life’s simplest pleasures – and one of the hardest to get right at home. We picture that perfect chip: golden, crisp on the outside, fluffy within, still steaming when it hits the plate. Yet more often than not, the tray emerges from the oven with its contents pale and soggy, or the pan yields limp, oil-soaked batons that never quite crunch. It’s a national frustration. Maybe it’s the well-seasoned vats of old oil, maybe it’s decades of fry-shop know-how, but there’s something about chippie chips that’s hard to match. Still, with the right tweaks, you can get remarkably close.
A proper hot chip is a thing of balance: crisp shell, pillowy centre, just enough salt clinging to the surface to make your fingers glisten. The best ones stand tall in their paper packet, refusing to bend. At home, though, most of us go wrong before the chips even hit the heat. Wrong potato, wrong cut, too much oil, too little space, or the temptation to pile them up instead of letting them breathe. The science is simple: moisture and steam are the enemies of crispness, and starchy spuds behave very differently depending on how they’re treated.
If you’ve ever bitten into a chip that’s golden on the outside but still firm or floury in the middle, it hasn’t cooked through. If it’s pale and flabby, the heat wasn’t high enough. If it’s greasy, the oil temperature dropped because the pan was overcrowded. Each mistake is common, but fixable — and worth it, because few kitchen moments rival pulling a tray or basket of perfectly golden chips from the heat. For true chippie-style crunch, though, deep-frying is the only way to get close. Oven chips can come surprisingly near, but they’ll never quite match the texture you get from a proper dunk in hot oil.
Not all spuds are created equal. Floury varieties such as Agria or Ilam Hardy have the low moisture and high starch needed for that fluffy interior and crisp crust. Waxy potatoes – great for salads – will never crisp properly no matter how long you cook them.
Uniform thickness is essential for even cooking, around 1cm thick for a classic chip. Once cut, soak them in cold water for 20–30 minutes (longer if you have time). This removes surface starch, which is what makes chips gluey instead of crisp. Drain, then pat completely dry – water and hot oil are not friends.
The secret to takeaway-quality chips is double cooking: first low, then high. Fill a deep, heavy-based pan or benchtop fryer no more than halfway with oil. Choose a high-oleic oil such as canola, sunflower or rice bran – they have a high smoke point and stay stable at heat, unlike cheaper blended vegetable oils that can oxidise and develop off-flavours.
Heat gently to around 140–150C for the first cook. Add a small handful of chips at a time and fry for 4–5 minutes until they’re soft, pale and bend easily but don’t break. Remove with tongs or a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels while the rest cook.
Once all the chips are blanched, raise the temperature to 180–190C for the second cook. Fry the cooled chips in batches for 2–3 minutes, just until golden and crisp. If you don’t have a thermometer, dip the end of a wooden spoon in the oil — steady bubbles mean it’s ready, vigorous bubbling means too hot.
This is the step most people skip, and it’s why home chips turn limp. After soaking or parboiling, drain and dry the potatoes completely – moisture turns to steam in the oven and ruins crispness. Spread the chips on a clean tea towel, pat thoroughly and let them air-dry for a few minutes before adding oil.
For oven chips, the principle is the same: a gentle cook first, then high heat to finish. Parboil cut potatoes for 4–5 minutes until just tender, drain well, dry completely, then toss lightly in oil – about a tablespoon per tray. Choose a high-heat oil such as rice bran, canola or light olive; extra virgin burns too easily. Bake at 190C for 20–25 minutes, turning once, then increase to 220C (or fan grill) for the final 10 minutes to brown and crisp.
Whether you’re using an oven or oil, chips need breathing space. Too many on a tray or in a pan traps steam, turning the batch soggy. Cook in two lots if you must – it’s worth it. And if baking, preheat your tray before adding the chips so the underside starts crisping immediately.
Salt sticks best to heat and oil, so season as soon as they come out. Fine salt gives an even coat; flaky sea salt adds crunch. Add any herbs or spices right at the end – smoked paprika, garlic powder or rosemary work well – otherwise they’ll burn.
If you’ve joined the air fryer crowd, good news: it’s almost foolproof for chips. The circulating heat mimics the second “high” cook perfectly, giving that even, golden crunch with minimal oil. Toss the chips halfway and avoid stacking them too high.
And if you secretly prefer the softer-middle chips – the ones that soak up vinegar and sit squashed in the middle of a fish and chip bundle – you’re not alone. Many Kiwis argue over whether the perfect chip should shatter or sigh.
For that soft, nostalgic texture, simply cook them as usual, then cover loosely with baking paper or foil for a few minutes before serving. The trapped steam softens the crust slightly — just like the ones hiding in the middle of the packet.
To re-crisp leftover chips, heat them in a single layer in a hot oven or air fryer for a few minutes – never microwave them unless you enjoy soggy defeat.
Dip it
You can still fake it. Cut a few corners with frozen oven chips, but treat them properly: cook straight from frozen on a preheated tray, give them space, and finish under a hot grill. They’ll never quite match the real thing, but they’ll get close enough to keep everyone quiet at the dinner table.
Herald contributor Nikki Birrell has worked in food and travel publishing for nearly 20 years. From managing your kitchen to cutting costs, she’s shared some helpful advice recently, including how to prep your barbecue for summer grilling, gourmet hacks for elevating budget ingredients and what toppings to choose for different crackers.