Home made potato chips

Sick of paying $3 for a bag of potato chips? Got a deep fryer? And $.30 of potatoes?

Home made potato chips can be ready in as long a time as it takes your fryer to heat up.

Potatoes – choose starchy potatoes such as Russets or Kennebecs. New potatoes will work, but will not be as awesome, and are usually much more expensive. Other root veggies that will also work well for chips are sweet potatoes/yams and taro.

Oil – Neutral flavoured oils such as corn, canola or peanut work best. They all also have a high enough smoke point to be able to fry in.

Peel or wash your potatoes. Cut the ends off, then slice to your desired thickness on a mandolin/benriner, usually about 1mm thick for potato chips. For ‘kettle style’ try a slightly thicker slice, 2-3mm. If you don’t have a mandolin, the slicing side of a box grater will also work, but you might have to cut your spud in half to get it to fit, and you can’t adjust the thickness.

Rinse your potatoes in cold water until the water runs clear.  If you’re still waiting for your fryer, keep the potatoes under cold running water.   Dry the slices on a clean cotten towel just before frying to reduce the amount of water going into your oil.

Pop them in the fryer until golden and crispy. 30 seconds to a minute. Don’t overload your basket.

Toss with salt and flavourings like powdered parmesan, chili powder, or fresh herbs when still hot.