Crisp Churros with Dark Chocolate Sauce

Bake. Mix water (or milk), butter, sugar, and salt in one 3-quart stainless-steel saucier or saucepan. Set over high and cook till liquid comes to a rolling boil plus butter has fully melted, around 4 minutes. Remove from heat and add flour. Well mix in flour till no lumps remain (check that to hunt down plus smash out any stubborn ones) with a wooden spoon or stiff silicone spatula. Return saucepan to medium-high heat and cook, mixing very often, till dough registers 80°C upon an instant-read thermometer; if you do not have one thermometer, other signs the dough is ready include one thin starchy film forming all over this inside of the saucier plus the dough pulling together in one cohesive mass. Let dough cool in saucepan, mixing often, till it registers 65°C on an instant-read thermometer. Add eggs 1 after another, mixing well between additions till every egg is fully incorporated before adding this next, till a smooth, shiny paste forms. Move choux dough to a pastry bag fitted using a roughly 1.3 cm (15mm) star piping tip. Line a rimmed baking tray using parchment plus, using a ruler as a guide plus one permanent marker for easily visible lines, draw 12 uniformly spaced 17.8 cm lines. Flip paper over, next, holding the bag at a 45° angle, gently drag the tip along the surface of the paper plus apply steady downward pressure, while slowly piping a 2.5 cm wide line of choux following one single line upon the template. In order to stop piping, cease applying pressure plus shift the pastry tip up plus over toward this opposite end of the churro before completely lifting away. Keep to pipe till tray is full. Move to freezer and freeze till firm, at least 30 minutes. (If wanted, you can skip this freezing step plus instead squeeze the pastry directly in the frying oil, snipping every length free using gently oiled kitchen shears before piping this next, though this is one little trickier than freezing.) Set a rack inside a rimmed baking tray and line rack with paper towels. In a big Dutch oven or fryer, heat 5 cm of oil over a medium-high flame to 175°C. Working a batch after another to avoid crowding this oil, fry frozen choux sticks till puffed and deep golden, around 2 minutes. Carefully move churros to ready rack and let tip off the liquid using a spider or strainer. Toss churros in it while still warm in order to adhere, plus/or offer using hot, thick chocolate (if wanted) for dipping on the side if using cinnamon sugar.