Daily food & travel inspiration in your inbox
Which Method Makes the Best Potato Chip?
Jen Phanomrat
Jen tests 3 different methods to find out which one makes the best homemade potato chip, the suspense...
Daily food & travel inspiration in your inbox
Daily food & travel inspiration in your inbox
Transcript
- Some days I'm an overachiever and other days I'm just a plain old couch potato, but today, I'm going to be both because I wanna test which method makes the best homemade potato chip. I'll be testing three methods: the oven method, the microwave method, and the fryer method. Like any good experiment, you need to set up a control. So, for all three methods I will be using Idaho potatoes and preparing the first step the same way. Now, in this bowl I have some ice water. To that, I'm gonna add a little white vinegar. To make the potato slices, you can use a super sharp knife and just do your best to make uniform slices. It's a little bit hard to do, so that's why I recommend using a mandolin. This guy is sharp. This is a sharp guy. This ensures that you have the same thickness every single time you swipe the potato across. Now, I do use a knife to just cut off the little nub in there so that we have more surface area. You could peel the potato, but I just leave the skins on. Pop the slices into the bowl of water. I got two whole Idaho potatoes here. Just mix them around in the ice bath. Now, the vinegar's gonna help prevent the potato from oxidizing, and when it oxidizes it turns that pinkish brownish color and the ice water will help remove some of the excess starch so that we can try to maximize on getting the crispiest potato possible. Now, just let this sit for an hour. Now these are ready. If you could see here on the bottom, that white stuff, that's the potato starch. Now, all you have to do is pull these out of the water, lay 'em on some paper towel, and pat dry 'em as much as you can. Now, let's try the first method. For the oven method, oil a baking sheet, places the slices on top, brush the surfaces with olive oil, and season with salt. Bake it in the oven at 400 degrees for about 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown. Allow to cool on a rack for extra crispiness. Taste test! Okay, first observation here is you could see is they look a little bit burned. It was very difficult to keep them the same brownness. Okay, you see this one's a lot lighter, this one's a lot darker, but in the middle it's super soft. So, it feels hard and cripsy on the outside. Mm! Crispy on the outside, little soft and soggy in the center. For the microwave method, line a microwave safe plate with parchment paper then brush both sides of the slices with olive oil, spread them across the plate, microwave one side for one minute and 30 seconds, flip them over, and microwave for another minute and 30 seconds. Then place on a cooling rack and sprinkle with salt. I'm really excited to try this one. Now, I have to be honest. I was a little skeptical because I didn't think a microwave could make something this crispy. Listen to this. That's hard. Hard with a hard D at the end, and the method was really fun and easy, simple. Let's give it a try. What? I guess it did a really good job of extracting that extra moisture and it cooked pretty evenly. I mean, some of these have darker spots, but not like the first method. Lastly, the fryer method. Using a pot or a fryer, heat vegetable oil to 300 degrees Fahrenheit. Place the slices and fry until golden brown. Place it on a rack to drain and season with salt. Last taste test. Okay, these look like normal potato chips you get out of the bag, and just like the microwave method, they all cooked pretty evenly. No, you know, super burnt spots here. Mm! It actually reminds me of those really super oily potato chips you get at the store. Delicious, but I don't like the method as much. Unless you fry often at home, then you know, meh. Seems wasteful to me. So, which method do I think makes the best homemade potato chip? This one right here, the microwave method wins. Super easy, no waste of oil needed. Pretty much the same crispiness as the fried one. So, that's the winner in my book. So, go ahead, try these different methods at home to see which one you think you like the best. You can even play around with the seasonings. Just have fun and you, too, can be an overachieving couch potato like me.