Homemade Kettle Chips

Super crunchy kettle chips are easy to make at home and you get to flavor them any way you want! Go on and use our recipe to make some, you know you want to!

WHAT ARE KETTLE CHIPS

They are potato chips that have been made in smaller batches.  Basically, kettle chips and potato chips are the same thing but made differently.

Without a conveyor deep-frying system like those used by big food manufacturers, you aren’t likely to get those crazy thin light-colored chips you can buy in a bag.

When you buy bags at the store, they have been made in the same way as you can make them at home, just in much larger batches.  It all has to do with the control of the oil temperature.

Kettle chips have always been somewhat of a mystery to me. How do you get a super thin crispy chip and do it repeatedly and reliably? After some experimentation, my wife and I think we’ve figured out how to make your own homemade kettle or potato chips whenever you’d like.

Potatoes 

First, you’ll need some potatoes. You’ll need a simple russet or Yukon gold.

Just about any potato will work, you just want to avoid using any of the super waxy varieties like red potatoes or fingerling.

If red is all you have on hand, they would work but they are so full of moisture they may turn dark brown before they are crispy.

How to Slice the Potatoes

You can use a knife to turn your potatoes into individual slices, but we have found that produces a very inconsistent product and you can end up with chips that are both burnt and undercooked at the same time. Yuck!

We have found a simple mandolin works magnificently. We recommend a handheld one from Kyocera. It is super affordable and can easily fit in a drawer.

We also recommend getting a kevlar glove to keep you from slicing your fingertips off if you choose not to use the safety handle provided with your mandoline.

You’ll want to slice your potatoes as thin as your mandolin can handle. The thinner the better.

See the photos below for how thin we’re able to get with your Kyocera mandolin.

Slice your potatoes into a bowl of ice water. This will help rinse the starch off the potatoes and will help keep your potatoes from getting brown and limp.

You really want these to be thin enough to see through.

Frying

You’ll want to set up your fryer. If you have a dedicated fryer, then preheat your oil to 350 degrees F.

We prefer to fry in our dutch oven.

Throw your potato slices into the pot and fry until they turn lightly golden brown. These potato chips will continue to brown even after you pull them out of the oil.

If you wait until they are deep golden brown, they’ll be too dark and may taste a little burnt.

Seasoning

You can season your potato chips however you like.

The important thing about seasoning is that needs to happen immediately after coming out of the oil. If you wait and the chips cool off, the seasoning will just slide right off. You want to add your seasoning while they are still glistening with a little bit of oil.

For seasoning, try:

• Sea salt
• Black pepper
• Garlic powder
• dried spices
• dried chipotle powder
• Salt and vinegar “dust”

The list for chip seasoning is only limited to your imagination.

Our absolute favorite seasoning is a little unconventional. We like to take Trader Joe’s Everything Bagel Seasoning and put a few tablespoons into our mortar and pestle, grind it into a finder powder, and sprinkle that over our chips. It’s soooo good.

Suggested Pairings

First of all, kettle chips make a delicious snack all by themselves!  We recommend making more than you need because we promise you they will get eaten slowly one at a time as people walk past them!

• Chip Dip
• Simple Patty Melt
• Turkey Sandwich
• Hamburger made with Homemade Ground Beef
• Sloppy Joes
• Oklahoma Onion Burger Sliders
• Chicken Tenders
• Fried Shrimp
• Use homemade kettle chips as the base for potato chip nachos

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