sunday nights are our night to nest up at home, cook a fun dinner and rest before the business of the week rushes in. we like to try new recipes and make simple things homemade. we thought it would be fun to try our hand at homemade potato chips. not only that but to make them loaded with brie and bacon. i mean why not? the ingredients are simple.
- potatoes, russet
- canola oil
- salt and/or other seasonings
- water
- vinegar
since this was our first round making potato chips we kept it simple for the most part. we had some rosemary, truffle salt and regular salt on hand. we made a half batch with rosemary and salt and a half batch with the truffle salt. while i love rosemary…the truffle salted chips were a clear winner. we ate those plain but used the rest of the rosemary chips with a warmed brie and bacon topping. you can’t get much better than that. i think next time we are going to try another vegetable like parsnips or even carrots! stay tuned.
what i found the key to success is removing the starch via water and vinegar and also watching the temperature. I have a candy thermometer that monitors the temp of the oil so you don’t burn the oil. they’re usually under $20 and if you are making temperature sensitive things on the stove (caramel, marshmallows etc) this will pay for itself in terms of wasted burned batches.
ok so how do we do this.
step 1. scrub down the potatoes and remove any bumps you can leave the skin on. slice thin via knife or if you have a food processor or kitchen aide use the slicer attachement. I had mine set at the thinnest setting.
step 2. once you have the potatoes sliced place them in a big bowl of water for about 10 minutes. this helps remove a bunch of the starch and makes them crisp up.
step 3. while the potatoes are setting in water start a pot of water on the stove boiling. once boiling, add 2 tbsp white vinegar to the pot. drain the potato slices and add to the boiling water. let boil about 5 minutes.
step 4. drain and rinse the boiled potato slices and toss on to a tea towel. dry the slices off by gently tossing around the slices.
step 5. get your oil up to temperature. set a bowl up lined with paper towel. get your salt and seasonings ready. i had 4 sliced potatoes and the canola oil was about an inch deep. if you do not have a temperature gauge toss a small potato in the oil and see if it bubbles. the bubbles are the extra water leaving the potato. if this occurs add a thin layer of potatoes to the oil. it’s ok if they overlap just don’t over crowd. once the potatoes are done bubbling about 3 minutes a batch they are ready to be moved out of the oil and into the paper towel lined bowl. toss with a pinch of salt and/or seasons. do this to every batch you remove from the oil.
step 6. eat right away or keep sealed at room temperature for up to a week!
for my latest recipe check out better than anything cake!
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