These Homemade Chips Bring Serious Crunch and Big Potato Flavor (2024)

FAQs

What makes potato chips crunchy? ›

Cooking at a farily constant and high oil temperature, around 350°F/[177°C], heats the slices so rapidly that the starch granules and cell walls have little chance to absorb any mositure before they're dessicated and done, in 3–4 minutes. The texture is therefore delicately crisp and fine-grained.

For chips, the best potatoes have a combination of waxy and floury qualities. King Edwards and Maris Pipers are great examples, combining these qualities so that the outer edges crisp up and hold their shape while the inside of the chip gets creamy and soft.

Usually, chips are also coated in various spices, herbs, and other Flavourings that add complexity and depth to the taste. For example, barbecue chips are often Flavoured with a combination of sugar, smoke Flavouring, and paprika, which create a sweet, smoky taste that is hard to resist.

How Do You Keep Homemade Chips Crispy? The key to keeping homemade potato chips crisp is to store them in an airtight container, which protects your chips from outside moisture. Just make sure the chips have thoroughly cooled off for at least 30 minutes at room temperature before sealing them.

The Double-Fry Method

When it comes to the actual cooking, you want to fry the french fries twice. The first round is at a lower temperature to cook the inside of the potato and the second time you'll use a higher temperature to make the fries golden brown and crispy.

If the oven isn't hot enough to brown the chips on the 'air-side', or if there's not space for the heat to circulate around each chip, they'll be unevenly crisp. Deep-frying also means the oil can penetrate the craggy, broken edges on all sides to make an extra crisp surface.

On oil, sunflower and sunseed are very efficient, and many people swear by using groundnut oil. But, if you're after flavour, cooking chips in beef tallow (rendered beef fat you can get from your butcher) gives you better flavour and colour – the choice is yours.

Peel the potatoes and cut into 1cm-thick chips. Parboil the chips in boiling salted water for 8 to 10 minutes, or until soft but keeping their shape. Drain in a colander and leave to steam until completely dry – this is very important before frying.

Our World Famous Fries® are made from quality potatoes, including Russet Burbank, Ranger Russet, Umatilla Russet and the Shepody. The suppliers we work with first peel, cut and blanche the potatoes. They then dry, partially fry and quickly freeze the fries for our restaurants.

Spread a layer of store-bought kettle cooked potato chips on a baking sheet and sprinkle with finely grated Parmesan cheese (Pecorino also works well). Grind some black pepper on top, then do another layer. Think of it like making nachos: you want every chip to get at least a little bit of action from the toppings.

Why do restaurant chips taste better? ›

Chef Santibañez also points out that restaurants have high-tech equipment and experienced staff that can crank out chips at a faster rate. Therefore, he asserts that restaurant chips are so delicious because the kitchen staff has "the possibility of frying them fresh for every shift."

Add a combination of dried nacho cheese seasoning, cumin, paprika, and cayenne pepper to a bag of plain potato chips. Shake the bag to distribute the spices evenly. Top with a dollop of sour cream and salsa.

To have the best chances for crisping, soak your cut chips for 30 minutes in a bowl of slightly salted water to remove some of the starch. Once soaked, dry them off properly with a paper towel as any moisture will create steam which will inhibit crisping.

For chips, we recommend using a maincrop floury potato, like a Maris Piper, which will give you a fluffy inside and crisp outer coating. They will absorb the oil when fried to give you the crunchy chip you're looking for.

While starch is essential for achieving crispy fries, an excessive amount of surface starch can lead to quick browning during frying, resulting in burnt, bitter, or soggy fries.

Spread the chips out on a large plate and microwave them on High. Try it for short bursts, like 20 seconds at a time and stir then around and test them after each time. Just remember that if you test them while they're still warm they'll be soft, so let the chip that you're testing cool down before you eat it.

The main reasons to cut the potatoes and pre-soak in water are: To allow the excess starches and sugars to be removed from the outer surface of the fry strips AND to keep the potatoes from browning prematurely from exposure to air. Covering in water helps the potato from turning a dark color.

Potato starch could serve as a suitable fried food coating. It can coat foods, such as chicken, fish, or vegetables, before frying. The potato starch coating can give the foods a golden and crispy outer layer during the frying process.