Potato chips are a simple, mobile and hearty snack. It is not known to be very healthy. Fryer, salt, flavorings - that's what creates dissonance inside: it tastes so good that you can't tear yourself away, but it's unhealthy.
Homemade chips are quite the solution to the dilemma. No, you can't do without a deep fryer. But you can vary the quality of oil, the amount of salt and additives, too. Pre-made chips allow you to do different manipulations with them: you want to add herbs and spices, from curry to honeysuneli, you want aromatic herbs, you want pepper, grated cheese, flavored butter. Show some imagination.
A basic recipe for potato chips from Vladimir Chistyakov, chef of the Buro TSUM restaurant, is in front of you.
"For chips, absolutely any potato, any kind of potato will do. I know that some restaurants bring special potatoes for French fries from Poland and Belgium, where the starch content is reduced, it is more dense, does not burn, etc. In the case of chips, this is not so relevant, because the slices are thin, we'll still wash them to remove the starch.
But it makes sense to take potatoes of about the same size, so they are cooked evenly and at the same time. Keep in mind that a kilogram of potatoes is for a party of 5-6 people, from this amount will turn out about 600 grams of chips.
1.
Slice the potatoes into slices no thicker than a millimeter, and preferably a little thinner. The slices should be almost transparent, like on the photo.
This is convenient to do on a grater, so that the thickness is even. If you cut it with a knife, the same thickness will not turn out, as a result, the chips will burn somewhere, somewhere will remain raw. If the slices are too thick, there may be extra moisture left in them, and the chips will not be crispy.
2.
Slice immediately in water, so that the potatoes do not darken. You don't have to peel off the peels, but make sure you wash the potatoes properly.
The peel gives a nice flavor to young potatoes when boiled, but it doesn't work when deep frying - it burns everything there. We don't peel simply because with the thickness of the slices, it won't get in the way. Plus we will throw away a lot of product - because many people peel some of the potato itself along with the peel.
3.
Rinse the potatoes under cold running water until the water is clear. This will remove excess starch, and the potatoes will not darken. It took us about 7 minutes for 2 potatoes.
4.
After rinsing the potatoes may remain slimy because of the starch. Use your hands to peel the potatoes from the remaining sliminess. The less starch, the more likely you are to get nice crispy chips.
5.
Lay the potatoes out to dry between paper towels. One minute will suffice for drying.
Next is optional. You can start frying the potatoes right away. You can pre-blanch them. That is, put them in boiling water with salt for 30 seconds. And then immediately into cold water. What do you get out of it? After such a procedure, the fried potatoes will be lighter, clearer and crispier. This is relevant to us: we have a restaurant, an outside the type of product is of utmost importance. But at home you can do without this procedure, it does not affect the taste.
6.
While the potatoes are drying, turn on the stove to maximum. Pour into a pot of vegetable refined oil - a liter or two.
Fryer oil will also work. It makes no sense to take olive oil, because at these temperatures it will not give its taste, and this is what we love olive oil for. Also, extra virgin olive oil is bitter, behaves unpredictably and can start to burn.
It's better to have more oil: two liters of oil is needed for a five-liter saucepan. Home fryers are just designed for a volume of 2-3 liters. This is needed so that the potatoes move freely in the oil and fry.
Heat the oil to a temperature of 160 degrees. I use a thermometer, they are now inexpensive, available. To check the temperature of the oil without a thermometer, place a slice of potato in the oil and see what happens to it. It should become more transparent and lighter in color, and moisture should start to come out of it, which is indicated by the appearance of bubbles.
If the oil begins to smoke, it means that it starts to burn, and the temperature must be lowered. It is better when the temperature is lower: the higher the temperature, the faster the potatoes will burn. At a lower temperature, the oil will sparingly drive all the moisture out of the product, and only the flesh will remain, the potatoes will be more crispy.
Flavoring oil with spices, such as throwing rosemary or basil in it is pointless: everything will burn. If you want to make flavorful chips, it is better to sprinkle spices on the finished dish. The same goes for salt.
And another thing - if you heat the oil too much, it will start snorting and spluttering, this is also not necessary for us at all. If you dip the potatoes in such oil, because of the big difference in temperature and the appearance of moisture, the oil may foam and overflow over the sides of the pan, which is at least dangerous.
7.
Potatoes in the oil should be thrown in small portions: about one and a half potatoes of medium size, cut into thin slices. When we throw the potatoes in, it cools the fryer sharply. We need the potatoes to float freely, they should not lie on the bottom, pinned by the top layer. Stir the potatoes with a slotted spoon so they don't stick together and fry evenly.
At first everything will start to boil - the moisture will start to come out of the potatoes. Then the bubbling will decrease, and the potatoes will gradually become golden. Some of the chips will curdle. When the potatoes start to darken and curdle, it's done. It took about 4 minutes for our batch.
8.
8. Cover the container, in which you will put the ready potatoes, with napkins to absorb the fat. After the chips have lain and dried, they will be as crispy as crackers. If you break the potato apart, you can see that it's not just fried, but as if it has bubbles inside.
Take out the napkins, salt and stir the chips. After that, you can add aromatic oil, garlic or rosemary. A win-win combination is truffle oil, salt and parmesan. A more affordable and budget-friendly option is aromatic herbs. Fresh thyme works well: on hot chips, the little leaves will give off their aroma and be delicious.
Chips can also be made with beets, topinambour, parsnips, celery and parsley root. They should be cooked at about 130 degrees and be sure to blanch before frying
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