Crispy, peppery, and deliciously salty homemade potato chips
I am not one of those people that is capable of restraining themselves in all areas of their life at once. I never could, and wouldn’t expect myself to, pinch my pennies, watch what I eat, hit the gym every day, log in extra hours at the office, and be kind to strangers, all at the same time. It simply can not happen.
With the recession in full-swing, and having imposed a temporary ban on shopping at Barney’s, I feel fully justified… nee, compelled to assuage my spirit with a little culinary over-indulgence.
Potato chips are one of my greatest weaknesses. I may wax poetic about farm-fresh eggs, local butchers, and in-season produce, but put a bag of Doritos or Lays in front of me, and all of that Organivore/Localvore dogma goes right out the window, and I get downright gluttonous.
Happily, and not surprisingly, I’ve come up with a fantastic recipe (if you can call it that) for making russet potato chips at home, and they are phenomenal. Case in point, I brought them out at a party a few months ago, laid them on the table, went to the kitchen to retrieve something, came back, and they were all gone. An entire bowl of them was devoured in minutes, they are that good.
A Microplane grater makes quick work of slicing potatoes.
Certainly play around with any flavors that you like, but I love these with crisp, fried sage leaves, sea salt and pepper.
Click here for the printable version of the recipe
Homemade Potato Chips
Ingredients:
3 Russet Potatoes, sliced or grated thin
1/3 Cup Bacon Fat (substitute vegetable oil if you must, but if possible, use the bacon fat)
Sea Salt
Pepper
1 Tbls. Sage
Preparation:
Heat the bacon fat in a medium-large saute pan over medium heat; there should be about ½ inch of melted fat in the pan.
While the fat is heating, prepare a dish covered with paper towels to drain the sage. Add the sage to the pan and let fry for 30 seconds. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on the paper towels.
Turn the heat up a bit to medium-high. Prepare another paper-towel covered plate. Add the potato slices to the pan. Cook for 2 minutes each side, until they are a deep orangey-brown. Remove with the slotted spoon and drain on the paper towels.
Once you start to see the russet color extend up the side of the chip, you're nearly ready to flip them.
Cover the chips in sea salt, the fried sage, and pepper, and enjoy.
I bet I could eat a lot of potatoes in one sitting prepared this way. Sounds absolutely addictive and one of those dishes people will ask you to make over and over!
Looks crispy and delicious!
Great recipe! I found an exceptional way to make potato chips, they call it “Potato Chip on a Stick” in Korea, I have just bought the slicer machine, you can slice the potato in spiral on a wood skewer, is really amazing, you can see how it work at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KD1WBAqT6Ko. A totally different way to make your own potato chips at home, you can make banana chips as well, my kid loves it.
Sorry for the delayed response – I’ve been spending more time in airports than on the ground recently
I love homemade potato chips and look for any variation to liven them up – thanks for the suggestion! As an aside, I tried homemade potato chips, smothered in Old Bay Seasoning this past weekend that were To Die For!