For the perfect, crispy chips you must use the right kind of potato and a good knife or mandolin. The key is to slice the potatoes as thin as possible.
A mandolin with the thinnest setting is the best option for getting perfectly thin slices, but a sharp knife will also work. Soak the potatoes in a bowl of salted water for about 30 minutes. This will draw out excess moisture and make the chips more crunchy.
Peel the Potatoes
If you want to make potato chips at home, it’s important to peel the potatoes first. Doing this will help to remove as much of the starch as possible, and also ensure that they don’t turn brown on frying.
It is also important to wash the potatoes thoroughly. This will remove any dirt that has built up on them, as well as keep the skins from being slippery when you cut them.
Another way to peel the potatoes is to boil them first. This is a fast and efficient method, which is ideal when you’re making mashed potatoes or soups.
This method is great for all types of potatoes, including those that have a waxy skin such as New Potatoes, fingerling, Red Bliss, creamers, and Red Adirondack. You’ll still need to peel them if you’re planning on using them for baked potatoes or rustic mashes, but this quick hack will save you plenty of time!
Slice the Potatoes
If you want to make homemade chips, you need to learn how to slice the potatoes with a knife. This will make it easier to cut them into thin slices so they cook evenly.
You can use a sharp knife or a mandoline slicer to get uniformly thin potato slices. A food processor may also work, but a knife will be easier to control.
The potatoes need to be sliced very thin to create crisp potato chips that won’t get soggy. To help get the slices thin, soak the potatoes in water as you cut them and rinse them several times.
Next, boil the potato slices in water to remove the excess starch. This will ensure that the chips are lighter and won’t turn red when fried. This can be done twice or thrice to get the best results.
Soak the Potatoes in Water
Soaking the potatoes in water is an important step in achieving crispy homemade potato chips. It helps remove excess starch that prevents fries from sticking together during frying and also renders a lighter-colored chip.
The longer you soak the potatoes, the better, but you can skip this step if you’re short on time. Regardless, soaking the potatoes before frying will ensure that they cook evenly and crisp up quickly.
If you want to prepare potatoes ahead of time, soaking them in salt water is an excellent way to help remove excess starch and improve the outcome of your finished dish.
The amount of starch that’s removed depends on how thick your potato slices are and how long you soak them. For the best results, it’s recommended that you cut the potatoes into 1-inch pieces. This exposes a larger surface area that’s easier to wipe away with cold water.
Dry the Potatoes
Potatoes are known to be a good natural blackening agent for knife blades, so if you’re looking to make your kitchen knives more sharp, try adding a bit of potato to the water when boiling them. This will darken the blade, making it easier to cut vegetables and other foods.
Before you can start dicing potatoes, you’ll want to clean them thoroughly to remove any dirt that might have built up. You can use a vegetable brush to do this.
Once you’ve scrubbed them clean, place them on a cutting board. Then, use a chef’s knife to cut them into slices.
When dicing potatoes, it’s important to slice them evenly so that they end up with an even shape. If you don’t, you’ll end up with a lot of scraps that aren’t usable.
When you’re done slicing, put them in ice cold water to help cool them off. You can also dry them in the oven or a dehydrator.