A first post, with a suitably straightforward meal to start with. I've cooked steaks far too many times in the past, and normally they've been very good. The persistent problem is just what to have with them. Often I've sautéed some potatoes, occasionally I've had some nice Jersey Royals, and once I even tried a baked potato. The baked potato was a shit idea.
The obvious answer is to have chips, fries, frites; call them what you will. In a restaurant, there is no better idea. At home, this normally means grabbing a bag of the nicest looking oven chips i can find and hoping that they turn out OK. However, my house mate recently bought a deep fat fryer; it sits on the kitchen work top, tempting us most evenings to be ridiculously unhealthy. So far all it has been used for is some prawn crackers and a hand full of tempura prawns. A couple of beers after work this evening left me wanting a steak. I thought it was time to try out the deep fat fryer properly, and see how chips would turn out.
I returned home with two rump steaks, a bag of fairly standard white potatoes, some green beens, and a big bunch of tarragon. I was a little upset that i didn't get hold of some nice Maris Pipers, as they apparently make great chips, but I thought I'd soldier on regardless. My house mate got down to making the bernaise sauce, and i read the frites section of the Les Halles Cookbook by Anthony Bourdain. I dutifully followed his every word, not trusting myself to do otherwise. I don't intend this to be a blog of recipes, but I'll outline what happens during the cooking process:
> Roughly peel the potatoes. More than you than think you can eat, obviously.
> Slice to your required thickness, then slice again to get your chips (Anthony suggests 1cmx1cm).
> Plunge your chips into cold water straight away and leave them for a while. Rinse to get rid of the starch.
> 'Blanch' your chips in the oil first. This should be at 140C, for about 8 minutes. Do this in small batches. Take them out and leave them to rest on a baking tray for about 15 minutes.
> When you're ready for the chips, fry them again, at a higher temperature of 190C, for about 2-3 minutes. Again, this should be done in batches. They should be golden brown. Drain on kitchen towel, then toss in salt.
The second frying was done while we were cooking our steaks/letting them rest. The result? Arguably the best chips i've ever eaten at home. However, they weren't quite up to restaurant standard. I suspect this could be for a couple of reasons. Firstly, my choice of potato let things down. Maris Pipers next time, i think. Second, I don't think they were cooked for long enough on the second frying. Though beautifully golden, they just weren't crispy enough on the outside. Let's not be too negative, though. The depth of flavour offered by a home cooked chip, even if it isn't ideally crispy, beats an oven chip hands down every time. And the smug feeling gained by having home made bernaise and fries with your steak, well, that's hard to beat...
