Homemade Potato Chips

Homemade potato chips are sliced potatoes, fried to golden perfection, and dipped in your favorite sauce.

I remember being a young boy, maybe 4 or 5, and I was shopping with my foster mother at Penner Foods in Steinbach Manitoba. She was pushing the cart up and down the aisles, tossing boring foods into the cart, while my little legs struggled to keep pace with her and my 3 sisters followed. And then we passed by the chip and junk food aisle. My foster mother would very rarely buy chips and we would never go down that aisle, only pass by it. It was like a forbidden aisle, which only made me want to go down it, even more, to see what kinds of goodies it offered. But my sisters and I would always ask her if she could please buy just 1 box of Old Dutch potato chips for us. And 99% of the time the answer would be no. One time though, we came in pretty aggressive with our negotiations, even stating that we would be happy with Sunchips (because my foster mother thought those were a healthier alternative to potato chips). She still wouldn’t give in. But then suddenly exclaimed that she could make us potato chips at home. Maybe it was because we were confused, maybe a bit intrigued, but we agreed to homemade chips at home, and that evening was the first time that she made us homemade potato chips.

One of the funnest meals that I would get as a kid was homemade potato chips. I mean, what kid wouldn’t want to eat potato chips for supper? At the time, like many meals that my foster mother used to make for us, I thought that we were the only family that ate this. And I was too embarrassed to ask any of my friends if their parents ever made them this because I didn’t want it to seem like we were too poor to get actual chips from the store. I thought that this was my mom’s way of giving us the treat of potato chips, without actually having to spend money on a box of Old Dutch because potatoes were free out of the garden. But I didn’t care. This was a fun meal, like tacos and pizza. And I would always get excited when I knew that she was making homemade potato chips because that also meant that we would be having hotdogs alongside them, which was also something we rarely got.

I remember as a kid watching my foster mother peel and slice the potatoes, and then cook the sliced potatoes in her electric frying pan and being super excited about supper. The first couple of batches were always the best, they were perfectly golden brown, with crispy edges and a soft middle. But then after a few batches, the batches of potatoes would start to get less crispy, and more mushy. Like a little disc of boiled potato.

I hadn’t had these for years, and then one day I remembered them. My whole life I thought that we were the only ones that had made them and that it was a Mennonite potato chip. So I started describing these delicious fried potatoes to my wife, who informed me that as a kid, her dad would make these for suppers as well. And her dad was a French Canadian. So this wasn’t a cheap Mennonite dish after all. Please let me know in the comments below if you have had/made these before and if there is something you do differently.

We only had this meal maybe half a dozen times in my childhood, and I didn’t understand why my foster mother wouldn’t make it more often. But then I made this for our family of five, using only a cast-iron frying pan, and realized how much work and time it actually took. We have since invested in an actual deep fryer, and it makes frying these a lot easier.

I decided to make this dish before my wife got home from work one day, hoping to have it ready for when she came home. So I peeled all of the potatoes and starting slicing them with a knife. It was taking a really long time, and I just couldn’t slice the potatoes as thin as what my mom did. I was about halfway done slicing when my wife came home. She looked at me very confused and asked why I wasn’t just using the mandolin to slice the potatoes. What?! That’s what that thing is for?! I’ve seen that thing around in the kitchen before, but had never connected the dots and thought to slice potatoes with it!

So if I could pass on 2 tips to make your life a bit easier while making this, it would be to use a deep fryer instead of a regular pan, and a mandolin to slice your potatoes instead of a knife.

Things you’ll need:
Either a deep fryer or cast iron frying pan (here is a deep fryer similar to the one we bought https://amzn.to/375vbTZ and a cast iron frying pan similar to ours https://amzn.to/3jRGepb )
Mandolin or sharp knife (here is a mandolin similar to the one we have https://amzn.to/2OpHF2d )
Jug of Canola Oil
Potatoes
Salt
Paper Towels
Bowl

Peel (if you want) and slice your potatoes. Place the sliced potatoes in a bowl of warm water for 10-20 minutes to get rid of some of the starch.

Heat oil in a deep-fryer or pan to 365 degrees F (185 degrees C).

Drain the water and dry the potato slices with some paper towels.

Fry potato slices in small batches until they turn golden brown.

Remove the potato slices from the oil and place them on dry paper towels or in a colander (to get rid of some of the excess oil).

Salt your chips and enjoy! Repeat with the remaining potato slices.