Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Microwave Potato Chips

I am a potato chip fanatic.

I. Love. Them.

And because I have such an unholy desire for the little slices of heaven. And because they are, in the commercial form anyways, so very unhealthy for you.

AND because if they are here at Chez Knit I will eat them.

I do not usually purchase them.

Because I have no will power at all.

I have experimented with making potato chips at home. I have one of those Little Daddy fryers or whatever the thing is called. It is a fun thing I will say but it is a tad messy and really, potato chips done in a fryer on my counter are still not that good for me.

But now. Now I have discovered that I can make potato chips in the microwave.

The angels sang.

And I think that you should know how to do this too. You really do. AND this process can also be applied, with delicious results, to sweet potatoes as well.

Oh, one more thing. This is for those of you who need measurements for when you are cooking. In this instance you are going to have to put on your Big Girl panties and deal with the fact that there aren’t any. Just the process. You know who you are and you can do this.

IMG_1549AThese are all the things that you will need. I prefer to slice my potato using my Mandoline. You can slice the potato with a very sharp knife if you do not have a Mandoline. The slices just have to be very thin and as even in thickness as you can achieve. You can also slice the potato in your food processor but I find that I don’t seem to get slices that are thin enough. If the slices are too thick then it takes too long to cook them in the microwave.

IMG_1551A Run some cold water into a bowl and set the bowl aside. Also wash and dry your potato.

IMG_1552 I cut off the end of the potato with a knife to start with. It just makes getting the slices going a bit easier.

IMG_1553A Lovely thin slices. They are just waiting to be made into potato chips. Of course, at this point you could totally change directions and make Scalloped potatoes. Or not.

IMG_1555A Let all the slices take a short swim in the water. Everybody in the pool! It just helps to get rid of a bit of the starch.

IMG_1557  Then drain the potatoes and dry them on a kitchen towel.

IMG_1559A Put them in a bowl and drizzle some olive oil over them. Mix everything around with your digits. Fingers are what you need, that way all the slices will be covered. Do not drown them in oil. We are not frying them we are actually dehydrating them in the microwave. Too much oil makes for a mess. You are only putting some oil on them so that the salt sticks. You could just as easily use an olive oil spray. In fact, you don’t have to use olive oil. You could use canola if you wish. Be daring and change things around.

IMG_1558A Place some slices in a single layer on a piece of paper towel. Sprinkle them lightly with kosher salt and cover them with another piece of paper towel and put the potato slice paper towel sandwich in the microwave.

Now comes the part where you have to be mindful and attentive. These are not something that you can start and then go to do something else. Set the microwave for 2 minutes on high and press start. After the microwave beeps check your chips. They will not be done yet but you need to keep an eye on them. If they are sticking to the paper towel then loosen them up.

Continue to cook the chips in 30 second intervals until they are just beginning to brown and feel “chip like”. When they are starting to brown they are done. They may not feel totally crisp but they should feel close. They will crisp up more as they cool.

IMG_1561A See the just browned appearance? That is what you want. Take them out and let them cool on a wire rack while you start on the next batch. The entire batch of chips, from starting to eating took me less that 45 minutes to complete.

IMG_1563ACome to Momma

 

Microwave Potato Chips 

7 comments:

  1. Thank you!!! As a fellow chip addict I can't wait to try this out this weekend. I have been totally avoiding any sort of chip lately, even the baked, because I just can't control myself. No such thing as "just a handful" for me .....

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  2. This is something I did not need to know. SMILE

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  3. Thank you so much, Debbie--I am looking forward to making them.

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  4. You had me at 'sweet potato'.

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  5. Yum! I need one of those Mandoline slicers!

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  6. Once again, my diet is at risk because of your wonderful recipes! The kale chips were amazing! Bug tried to eat them all.
    And now this...I bow down to you, oh kitchen goddess!
    Thank you!

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