My new favourite potato thing: oven-dried crisps
Fond though I am of a proper bag of crisps, I don’t mind telling you that I am more than a little excited by these.
Paper-thin slices of potato, soaked in salt and vinegar, then dried to a crisp in the oven.
Yep, that’s dried, not fried.
I’ll grant you that these are not likely to usurp their fried-in-oil cousins anytime soon, but they do make a good case for themselves as a light and crispy snack in their own right. And they’re positively healthy to boot.
There’s a lot to like.
Oven-Dried Salt ‘N’ Vinegar Crisps
These crisps were the very happy combination of ideas from 2 different bloggers.
I was firstly intrigued by a recipe on 101 Cookbooks which involved grilling slices of potato that were first parboiled in vinegar. Then, over In Jennie’s Kitchen, I spotted some oven-dried slivers of potato and, hey presto, these crisps were born.
The idea couldn’t be simpler.
Take paper-thin slices of potato, soak in salted vinegar for 10 minutes and bake in a very low oven until crisp. If you don’t want vinegared crisps, just soak in salted water instead. If you like, you can bake the crisps without soaking and then sprinkle with some coarse salt, but I like the results better when they are soaked in salted liquid first.
The Summary:
- Makes around 25g to 35g of crisps & takes approx. 30 min to prep + 45 min to bake
You’ll need:
- approx. 200g potato (one medium to large spud)
- 0.75 tsp fine salt
- 150ml malt or cider vinegar (or use water for plain, salted crisps)
You’ll also need:
- A mandoline for cutting paper-thin potato slices, plus a couple of large baking sheets (approx. 40cm x 30cm) and parchment paper to line them.
The Steps:
- Preheat your oven to 120C and line your baking sheets with parchment paper (otherwise the crisps may stick to the baking sheets).
- Mix the salt with the vinegar (if using) until dissolved or mix with an equivalent amount of water instead.
- Scrub your potato(es) well and leave unpeeled. Cut into paper-thin slices using a mandoline or similar implement.
- Place the potato slices in a bowl, pour over the liquid and leave to soak for 10 minutes. The liquid should just cover the slices. If you don’t have quite enough liquid, you can try weighting the slices down lightly using a plate or saucer
- After soaking, drain the potato slices well and shake off any excess liquid. Lay the slices in a single layer on your baking sheets.
- Bake for 30 minutes, then turn the baking sheets around, swap the shelves that they’re on and bake for another 15 to 30 minutes until crisp. Ovens, potatoes and slicing thicknesses vary, so check them periodically.
- Eat on their own or with dips.
The Variations:
- I have really only begun to experiment with these, so I suspect that the possibilities are endless. Do try varying the liquid you use and the length of time you soak the slices for. Slices soaked for 30 minutes in vinegar were, well, very vinegary, but you might like that. Who knows.
If it’s real crisps you’re after, you could do worse that to seek out a new entrant to the Irish crisp market. I had the opportunity to sample some of Ed O’Donnell’s Tipperary Crisps during the week and, my, but they are worthy of your attention.
They are naturally appealing for the fact that they use fine, locally sourced ingredients, like Mount Callan cheddar and cider vinegar from Tipperary’s Apple Farm, but mostly they just taste good. The cider vinegar and sea salt flavour I thought an especially fine example of the genre. Here in Ireland, look for them in SuperValu or Centra.
Oh man, I need these fast! Nice work, lady.
Wow these potato crisps look absolutely fantastic! I do love the market versions, but eat them very rarely as they are very oily and I know they are unhealthy. This is a wonderful solution. I sometimes bake very thin potatoes, but they don’t taste like crips. Thank you for telling it’s better to wait them in salty vinegar or water.
I’d seen the vinegar and salt version at 101 Cookbooks and was very intrigued myself. I am so glad you got to them first and added your spudness to them, now they’re a guaranteed hit
I like the idea of baking them at a lower temp for a longer period of time. Whenever I’ve tried to bake crisps in the past, the temp is always very high and they turn out a bit too brown/burnt. These look like the real thing! Going to try this recipe (have to buy a mandolin though!)!
I love that you combined my baking method with Heidi’s (101 Cookbooks) soaking and seasoning. I’ve been wanting to make hers ever since she posted them, but I may just have to go straight to your suggestion.
Ooooh…healthy pototo crisps? Me likey. Time to invest in a mandoline!
Definitely a lot to like, I must try these soon.
Awesome! I love salt & vinegar chips but never indulge because it is hard not to eat half a bag. This looks like a wonderful healthy twist.
If I had seen this anywhere but here I would have scoffed… GREG
kickpleat: Thank you! Luckily they can be done pretty fast :)
zerrin: I hope you like the version with salted water or vinegar. Of course they’re still quite different than if they were fried in oil but it’s nice to have a healthy alternative!
OysterCulture: I had every intention of trying the original 101 cookbooks grilled salt ‘n’ vinegar spuds – by the time I had gotten ’round to it, they had morphed into these!
Clare: definitely need the low temperature here as they will brown and burn too easily otherwise
Jennie: why hello there and thanks so much for providing the inspiration behind these, I love ’em!
Phyllis: I like that you likey :)
Sarah: definitely worth investing a spud or two in trying these out…
Phoo-d: I have the same problem :) Hope you like the healthy version!
sippitysup: I am honoured by your opinion Greg!
I will have to check but I hope my inexpensive, plastic mandoline has a setting for slicing potatoes as thin as these, because I would love to try them out. I love how they’ve curled up! Although I’ve never been a fan of chips or fries flavored with vinegar, I’m willing to give it a go in this case. What a cool recipe!
simple, delicious and dare i say, healthy. a must try. thanks for sharing!
Home made potato chips!! MMMMMMMMMM,…We say chips instead of crisps!
The chips looks wonderfully tasty too!
Oh, wow, I would never have thought this could be done. I now have a new use for all the potatoes we just dug up out of our garden.
Oh I am so making these tomorrow! Gosh I can taste them now!
These crisps look so good! I love them, but don’t know how I could slice my potatoes so thin. How do you get them that way?
I love potatoes so much I am abstaining at the moment. Now, your post doesn’t help. These paper thin ones are just terribly tempting.
This sounded so good, I included it in my linky love! Thanks for the great post!
http://onecookandtwochefs.blogspot.com/2010/07/cookies-curry-and-zucchini.html
Hey!
thanks for stopping by foodwhirl :) Do let me know if you do a sweet potato version, I’d love to see it!
Dot
Tangled Noodle: hope your plastic mandoline is up to the job!
Yemi Amu: and thanks so much for stopping by to say so :)
Sophie: chips or crisps, I guess it doesn’t matter so much what you call them, as long as they taste good!
Lori: Enjoy! It’s just one of the things I’ve been doing with the spuds from my garden this year…
Chef E: hope you like them :)
Jessica: you will need some kind of special slicer that can slice that thinly (otherwise it’s a real pain to even attempt it with a very sharp knife) – look out for some kind of mandoline to do the job
Valentina: oh dear, sorry to tempt you in that way!
Kris: and thanks for the linky love inclusion :)
Dot: thanks for the shout out on foodwhirl – will let you know if I ever do a sweet potato version!
how can i slice if i dont have a mandoline? :)
is there any other ways i can slice thinly
Hi Danni – I guess if you don’t have a mandoline, you can try using a sharp knife and a lot of care :)
These are baked crisps. No one calls them dried!
Ah George – I think this is a case of you say poTAYto, I say poTAHto – indeed they are baked (slow-baked, if you like) and if that’s how you want to refer to them, then please do. I hope that we can at least agree on the fact that, no matter what you call them, they’re good to eat.
I love this recipe but I just tried to make the salt version and they are stuck like glue to the parchment paper! How can I avoid this please?
Oh dear, sorry to hear that JS :( Try to get rid of as much excess water as possible before you lay the slices down on the parchment paper (you could try patting them dry with kitchen paper first) and make sure that you’re using non-stick baking parchment and not greaseproof paper. Hope that helps!
Really like the idea of these.. will be trying them for sure..! Thanks!.. Have you tried soaking them in other vinegars?
this sounds like a great recipe, will try it out, though am surprised that most comments are saying the same, and no responses of actual trial and result!! I’ll get back to you. Von
You can try flavouring your crisps chicken or beef flavoured by either soaking then crumbling and oxo cube on or dissolving the oxo cube in water and soaking the potato int that!
Oh my goodness, I’m rather late to the oven baked potato chip train but have only just recently purchased a mandolin. I was just wanting to know how long these delicious looking darlings last for? I don’t want them to go soggy. Thanks in advance! :)
Hi Emma, to be honest, they never lasted very long at all simply because they got eaten! I’d be inclined not to make them too far in advance (a few hours should be ok), and store them in an airtight tin if you’re keeping them beyond that. If slices haven’t been completely dried out in the oven, then that could result in later sogginess.
Just made these and didn’t have a mandolin so used a peeler – wow what a chore that was! Soaked in salt and vinegar for 10 minutes then onto baking trays with paper. Checked them after 30 minutes and they were done already! Maybe a bit too crispy and VERY dark (was I supposed to use white vinegar?). Into a bowl with a sprinkling of rock salt and they’re not too bad. A little burnt but nicely flavoured. Maybe I left oven on for too long beforehand though it was only 120 degrees. Anyway I think I will try again after obtaining a mandolin and check more frequently. Thanks for the recipe – nice to have an alternative to oily crisps when plenty of spuds in the house!
Thanks so much for letting me know how you got on – and I agree, it’s definitely a bit of a chore without a mandolin to slice the potatoes. Also makes it hard to get slices of uniform thickness, so some areas may burn more easily if they are that bit thinner than the rest. And a good idea to check them frequently – ovens can vary a lot, so if it’s running a bit hot, they could certainly be ready sooner than you’d think. Also, re: the vinegar, you can just use white vinegar (though I like the flavour of cider vinegar) – see what flavour you like best!
I have a meat slicer and used this at a very thin setting.Whizzed through two potatoes and now waiting for them to come out of the oven.
I have to commend you on this recipe. I have been using pink apple potatos to make these crisps and they are just as good as the real thing. Crisp and full of flavour. Thank you for sharing it ????
Awesome. These look amazing. Thanks for sharing this great recipe.
Simon