Thrice Cooked Food

THRICE-COOKED

Steps:

• Brown a slab of bacon on all sides; remove with a slotted spoon. Add chopped onion, carrot and celery, and cook until onion is soft. Add red wine, and boil out a bit; add stock and bacon; cover and simmer until very tender. Remove the bacon, pat dry and sear it in a skillet or on the grill. Slice and serve with reduced braising liquid. Garnish: Thyme or parsley.

TRIPLE-COOKED FRIES

Steps:

• Cut the potatoes into strips approximately 1/2 to 3/4 inch wide and 1/2 inch thick. As you cut them, submerge them in a bowl filled with cold water to prevent oxidizing (turning color).
• Fill a stockpot with cold water, add a little salt, and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Lift the potatoes from the cold water with a slotted spoon and cook in the boiling water until fork-tender, 10 to 12 minutes. Lift the potatoes from the water and spread out on a paper towel-lined baking sheet. Pat the potatoes dry, replace the original layer of paper towels with dry paper towels, and refrigerate for at least 15 minutes.
• Meanwhile, in a deep, heavy pot or deep-fat fryer, bring the fat to a temperature of 275°F over medium-high heat.
• Working in batches, fry the chilled potatoes for 3 to 5 minutes before lifting them from the hot oil with a slotted metal spoon and spreading on the baking sheet (no paper towels this time!). Let the oil regain its heat between batches. Chill the potatoes again for about 15 minutes.
• While the potatoes chill, raise the heat under the fat or adjust the thermostat on the fryer and heat the fat to 375°F.
• Fry the chilled potatoes again until golden brown and crispy, 4 to 5 minutes, working in batches and letting the fat regain its heat between each one. Use tongs or extra-long chopsticks to break the potatoes apart, if necessary, and turn them in the fat so that they brown evenly.
• With a slotted spoon, transfer the fries to a shallow bowl. Add the parsley and toss to mix. Season with salt and serve warm.

TRIPLE-COOKED CHIPS

Steps:

• Place the cut chips into a bowl under running water for 5 minutes to wash the starch off.
• Place 2kg cold tap water in a large saucepan and add the potatoes. Place the pan over a medium heat and simmer until the chips are almost falling apart (approximately 20-30 minutes, depending on the potato).
• Carefully remove the cooked chips and place them on a cooling rack to dry out. Then place in the freezer for at least 1 hour to remove more moisture.
• Heat a deep-fat fryer or a deep pan no more than half filled with oil (to a depth of around 10cm) to 130°C. Fry the chips in small batches until a light crust forms (approximately 5 minutes), remove from the oil and drain on kitchen paper.
• Put the potatoes on a cooling rack and place in the freezer for at least 1 hour. (At this stage, if you don't want to cook and serve immediately, the chips can be kept in the fridge for 3 days.)
• Heat the oil in the deep-fat fryer or deep pan to 180°C and fry the chips until golden (approximately 7 minutes). Drain and sprinkle with sea salt.