It’s surprising, really, that I’ve never made homemade potato chips before. Sure, I’ve tried lame baked ones (spoiler alert: they are not the same) but never truly fried potato chips at home before now. Perhaps the hassle of heating (practically) an entire bottle of oil to skin-searing temperatures and stinking up the entire house with the smell of greasy carnival fare has deterred me in the past. Shocking, really, almost as shocking as the fact that it is already May. Wait, what? What happened to March and April?
Maybe it was the blue cheese dipping sauce that got me to set aside my deep-fried reservations this time, but I had no qualms about frying up this batch of crispy potato chips. Do beware, two potatoes may not seem like much, but when they’ve been sliced paper thin and you’re standing in front of a pot of hot oil frying batches of 6 or 7 chips at a time, it’ll feel like you’re frying the entire state of Idaho. But stick with it, as what seems like a ton of chips now will disappear in a blink of an eye and a smack of the lips.
You want to slice the potatoes as thin as possible, which is very hard to do even with the most ninja-like knife skills. A mandoline is a necessity if you want to make chips of any kind. Once sliced, soak the potatoes in ice water to remove excess starch (it’ll result in crispier chips), and then dry completely between layers of paper towels. If you rush this and don’t let your potatoes dry completely they will spit at you like an angry llama. An angry, oil-spitting llama.
The chips you see above are not quite done, they need probably 35 more seconds. Fry them until the entire chip is golden brown, and then transfer to paper towels. But be sure to watch them closely, as the difference between perfectly golden and burnt to a crisp is separated by a matter of seconds. This is not the time to wander off to water the cats or feed the plants… stay focused on the task at hand and your chips will come out perfectly.
The blue cheese sauce is thinner than say, a sour cream dip. It’s more like a blue cheese fondue. Use a nice, creamy blue cheese (Gorgonzola, Roquefort, or just generic blue), the potency of the final sauce dependent on the cheese you use. Some older blue cheeses are stubborn and reluctant to melt; if that’s the case, just whir the whole mixture in a blender or food processor for a few seconds to emulsify any remaining chunks.
So no, I probably won’t be frying potato chips on a regular basis (for the reasons mentioned above, stinky carnival and yada yada), but this one time I sure did enjoy the results. The thick and salty, melt in your mouth crunch of just-fried potato chips really can’t be beat by anything in a bag.
Potato Chips with Blue Cheese Dipping Sauce
Ingredients:
For Chips:
- 2 medium russet potatoes
- Sunflower or vegetable oil, for frying
- Fine sea salt
For Dipping Sauce:
- 1 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 small onion, finely chopped (about 1/2 cup)
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 cup whole milk
- 4 ounces blue cheese, crumbled (about 1 cup crumbled)
- 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Directions:
- Using a mandoline slicer set to the thinnest setting, sliced unpeeled potatoes. Place potato slices in a bowl of ice water to soak for 15 to 20 minutes, then drain and arrange in a single layer between sheets of paper towels or clean tea towels to dry completely.
- Fill a large, heavy saucepan with 2 to 3 inches of oil. Set over medium heat and monitor until it reaches 350 degrees F. Carefully drop in a few potato slices at a time, taking care not to overcrowd the pan. Fry for about 2 minutes, flipping once or twice, until chips are evenly golden in color. Transfer to a paper-towel lined baking tray to cool; sprinkle liberally with fine sea salt. Let oil come back to temperature before repeating with another batch of potato slices.
- To prepare sauce, melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until softened, about 7 minutes. Whisk in the flour and cook for 1 minute. Slowly whisk in the milk. Continue to cook, whisking regularly, until thickened, about 5 minutes. Remove from head and whisk in blue cheese until melted. Season to taste with cayenne and salt. Serve warm.
Adapted from Bobby Flay.
All images and text ©Lindsay Landis / Love & Olive OilDid you make this recipe?
Let us know what you think!
Leave a Comment below or share a photo and tag me on Instagram with the hashtag #loveandoliveoil.
Can place the thin potato slices on baking paper, bake them in oven for about 45′ at 120 C instead of frying in oil. Saw this done on Top Chef by Jean-François Piège (well-known French Chef). I don’t remember if he used salt, but I sprinkle some Asian spices on the chips before baking.
I’ve always wanted to prepare potato chips but it looked scary. Your recipe looks surprisingly easy… um… I think I will try it. Let’s hope no one gets burned…
;)
xx,
E.
i got a *huge* laugh from the spitting llama remark..
and i really needed that today.
?
that wasn’t supposed to be a “?” .. it was a heart before i posted it. lol.
Want, want, want…now!
Oh.My.Goodness! This looks soooo good…looks exactly like what I’ve always loved getting at a restaurant!
Oh man, these look so good. And the photos are just beautiful Lindsay! I do really, really love Kettle’s baked potato chips though–super crunchy, but other than that, homemade is the way to go!
Wow! Lovely chips! I like to make dishes at home. This potato chips simply wonderful, tasty and crunchy. Thanks for sharing the blog.
lol, I can’t figure out if this: “water the cats or feed the plants” was a typo or on purpose. Either way, it made me chuckle.
Totally intentional. :) hehe
OMGSHHHHH these look amazing. I’m actually drooling at my computer right now!
OMG this looks amazing! I have got to make this! Pinned. :)
My friend mentioned the other day she was wanting some sweet potato chips with blue cheese sauce..making this recipe will totally surprise her.
“An angry, oil-spitting llama.” You are hilarious! Hoping to give this recipe a spin soon. :)
I could crunch on these until every last crumb is gone.
I relate with the “carnival” deep fry smell. And it’s probably a good thing overall. These look really tasty indeed! : )
Yum! I made potato chips for the first time a couple of months ago with amazing success. Love your Blue cheese sauce. Cheers!
I don’t know what I like more the dip or the chips. Both look so good!
I’ve tried baked chips and they came out less than stellar! These look perfectly crunchy and delicious, and that dipping sauce…YUM!
Oh wow. This looks amazing.
We’ve tried this at home but I guess the trick is in soaking and completely drying the chips before frying.
I’ve tried frying beet chips lately, they were oily but at least a bit better than the almost charred baked ones.
I made homemade chips years ago. These look so yum I should make them again.
That blue cheese sauce looks fabulous! Not only does the sauce look fab, but the chips are just perfect. Cannot wait to give these a try.
I could eat all of these!! Your chips look amazing and that blue cheese sauce? Amazing!
Wow I could go to TOWN on these things! Omg wow. About a year ago I was gifted a ridic amount of blue cheese. Like…tons and tons. I wish I had it now and would make this sauce. Best use of blue cheese EVER! pinned