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In my recent post on lazy Goyslop tater chips, https://poal.co/s/Goyslop/786322 made some suggestions on how to roll my own.

Today I did. Happy with the results.

Starch wash vs. no wash, the little container is the tallow, RT stands for "Rindertalg" The thing on the right is the slicer I used, notice the "Made in Germany" :)

Frying

1st batch, partly a little too dark, still had timing/heat issues.

Too much heat makes for quick color but you end up being stressed taking them out of the pan before they get too dark.

I ended up putting only like 25 into the pan at any one time and removing single ones when they looked right, shaking off excess fat as I went. Tedious work but I had time. I'll use some kind of tweezers next time, not my fingers. Had a little bowl of cold water to cool them off, don't laugh.

Didn't notice a huge difference between the starch washed ones and the ones without the wash. Washed ones were a little crunchier maybe.

I used salt and freshly ground pepper for three out of four batches and 'Fried potato spice mix' from a butcher shop for one. Salt and pepper is still my favorite.

Some of the ones from batch two to four were still a little 'not really crispy'. Fifteen minutes at 110°C in my little Panasonic convection oven cleared that right up.

Wife's verdict: Those are good eating.

Only had the little container of tallow that you see in the first picture and still have maybe half left over, not a bit of contamination in it. Next time I'll get two of those containers, it'll be just more convenient to maintain that liquid fat level in the frying pan that way.

This is by no means an optimized process but the result is good and you learn a little each time.

In my recent post on lazy Goyslop tater chips, https://poal.co/s/Goyslop/786322 @level_101 made some suggestions on how to roll my own. Today I did. Happy with the results. Starch wash vs. no wash, the little container is the tallow, RT stands for "Rindertalg" The thing on the right is the slicer I used, notice the "Made in Germany" :) [embed](/static/images/9c98d7e3d9d9ace6.jpg) Frying [embed](/static/images/6fa5f1f3f3e1e4cf.jpg) 1st batch, partly a little too dark, still had timing/heat issues. [embed](/static/images/8613216964455923.jpg) Too much heat makes for quick color but you end up being stressed taking them out of the pan before they get too dark. I ended up putting only like 25 into the pan at any one time and removing single ones when they looked right, shaking off excess fat as I went. Tedious work but I had time. I'll use some kind of tweezers next time, not my fingers. Had a little bowl of cold water to cool them off, don't laugh. Didn't notice a huge difference between the starch washed ones and the ones without the wash. Washed ones were a little crunchier maybe. I used salt and freshly ground pepper for three out of four batches and 'Fried potato spice mix' from a butcher shop for one. Salt and pepper is still my favorite. Some of the ones from batch two to four were still a little 'not really crispy'. Fifteen minutes at 110°C in my little Panasonic convection oven cleared that right up. Wife's verdict: Those are good eating. Only had the little container of tallow that you see in the first picture and still have maybe half left over, not a bit of contamination in it. Next time I'll get two of those containers, it'll be just more convenient to maintain that liquid fat level in the frying pan that way. This is by no means an optimized process but the result is good and you learn a little each time.
[–] • 3 pts

TIL: Potato niggers are not exclusive to Ireland...

[–] • 2 pts

We get around. On boats and such.

[–] • 1 pt

We are everywhere......

At least 1/4th of the dishes we make at home have potato's in them. Sometimes we grew them ourselves too. I hope to make that nearly "every time" in the future if we get the land I am looking for.

[–] • 2 pts

Not only are they much healthier and taste way better than store bought slop, but it is also cheaper.

[–] • 2 pts

The chips turned brown during frying because there's too much starch and sugars near the surface. The sugars burn and darken and the starch gives it a weird texture as it crisps up and traps moisture inside. There is a multi-step process to fix it that involves par-blanching, shock cooling and par-frying before final frying. It adds a lot of time to the prep, but it improves the chips overall. The biggest issue though is using the wrong varietal of potatoes when making chips. The varietals that are available to regular people are just too starchy or sugary to work well. You can't easily get the kind that work best though. Same goes for popcorn.

[–] • 3 pts (edited )

We get ours from Thomas Schmoll (Son of Otto Schmoll, my wife's local potato dealer). No idea what kind they are, I only know she got all the same ones this time, no hard cooking, partially hard cooking or soft cooking kinds. At least that's what we call them over here: 'festkochend', 'teilweise festkochend' and 'weichkochend'. I guess the soft cooking ones are the ones with the least starch?

My lazy ass went down to the basement and took a pic, just in case you think I'm yanking your chain. ! Looks like these are the 'Festkochend' salad potato kind. Easier to slice once they're cooked, don't crumble as easily.

Seriously, thanks for all those tips. Cooking is chemistry and material science. I guess I should finally read that book by Thomas Vilgis that I own for over ten years. It's called 'The Molecular Kitchen" (Die Molekül-Küche). After I got married, my cooking ventures really took a back seat. No English edition, AFAIK.

Any literature recommendations? I'm always looking for more books to put on the still-have-to-read-this pile. Not kidding either.

[–] • 2 pts

Any literature recommendations? I'm always looking for more books to put on the still-have-to-read-this pile. Not kidding either.

I don't have any recommendations off the top of my head, but I know there are some more "molecular cooking" videos out there. I'll link one of the better ones below.

Alex French Guy Cooking: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=504iV6_BCRE

[–] • 1 pt

Good video, thanks!

[–] • 2 pts

How much more you work are you willing to put into this process, because I might have a suggestion

[–] • 1 pt

I'll give you a definite "It depends", mostly on effort vs. reward. :) Oh what the hell, shoot. I'm down.

[–] • 2 pts

You might wanna try two fries, one at a lower oil temp to do most of the cooking/dehydrating, followed by a second flash fry at a higher temp, just to get them to your desired color.

It slightly more work, but it really troubleshoots the balancing act of making sure they are properly crispy and makes it easier to control exactly what color you end up with.

[–] • 3 pts

There is a name for that. Blanching or parboiling, but those are based on water.

Fuck it, twice cooked.

I used to know a place that would premake their pancakes before opening. Then they would sear them when ordered. Much faster but the double cook method gave them a tasty second burn.

They did this till I asked the cook if he did it in front do the manager. He said no. Then it all changed. The manger likely didn’t know what’s what and thought you lazy fuck don’t do that. But he didn’t eat the pancakes and those were the best I ever had.

[–] • 2 pts

That's what said, although not in such detail. Thanks, guys.

[–] • 0 pt (edited )

I am happy that it was helpful. To those not in Germany/EU or someone who cooks often the slicer is basically a mandolin. I have a personal "fear" of those things because I want to keep my fingertips but they do work damn well if you want about anything thinly sliced (including part of your hand, quickly, without warning). I have "cut proof gloves" specifically for that reason.

For a future experiment I was reading up on it since you pinged me on this earlier. You could possibly replace the starch wash step with a par-boil with a small amount of white vinegar (like 2 tablespoons to 2 quarts of water).

Cook them for ~3 min, drain and spread them out to dry for around 5 minutes (drying rack over a pan, paper towel, etc). After they are "mostly dry-ish" then cook like you already did but make sure to flip them. You can use a strainer/spoon with holes/slots/chopsitcks if you are quick and fancy... Tongs, etc..

That might allow you to skip the 2nd fry step but it still adds extra time/effort. I would also do as others suggested and look for a potato that is more suited for it. Not all potatoes are equal. If you want to try something a little fun, go get some of the multi-color "fingerling" potatoes (purple, gold, orange, etc) and try the same thing with them. It will really show you how much the type of potato matters.

I say all of this not doing it much at all myself. I just like to mess around with things sometimes and one year we did a bunch of stuff where I was cooking/frying a lot of potatoes in various ways (mostly in fry format for chili.. Damn, its gotten cold-ish, I think I will be doing that soon again, I really do love some good chili cheese fries with a proper 3-bean red chili).

My current amusement is popcorn. I am trying to do a more "healthy" at home "movie theater style" popcorn that is not overly hard to make. Ill post about it this winter as we start making it more since it's getting cold out and its the time of the year we don't go outside as much.

Oh, I assume you went to a local butcher for the tallow? If not, I would spend the effort to find one. We do that when the local place has it. Otherwise we use this https://www.southchicagopacking.com/products/wagyu-beef-tallow I don't know if they ship internationally though.

[–] • 2 pts

TIL they're called mandolin slicers. Here's the one we use: https://www.bornerkitchentools.com/en/collections/all/slicer Yeah, you've got to respect sharp blades, thankfully I never had a huge accident with mine... so far :)

I might try the par-boiling step in the future, although I also like to keep things a simple as possible, we'll see. In any case, thanks for the hint.

posted a link to a video that removes some of the ambiguity in choosing the right spud and good process parameters.: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=504iV6_BCRE

Yes, I sourced the tallow at a local butcher, thank God these are still around, even with meat prices skyrocketing. Thank you for the link although I'll probably look for a source in Europe or here in Germany. It's sold for cooking and for skin care. Damn, those prices are high.

Good luck with your popcorn project, I'm sure you'll find something in time for the snowy days. The only time I made some is in one of those mini hot-air popcorn ...poppers. Last time I used that thing, I roasted coffee beans in it. Worked surprisingly well but not worth the effort for me.

[–] • 1 pt

Yeah, I have been using one of those little hot air things for a while but it's just not great. The popcorn is not "crispy" enough for what I prefer. I also have about a dozen different types of popping corn, all non-gmo, various breeds, sizes, etc.. When you look into something as simple as popping corn you figure out very quickly it is not even slightly simple o.0.

In the USA we have very different "chips" than in Europe so you do you. I am just happy that I could help some. Here, Russet potato's are popular for a lot of things, including chips.