Last Updated on 25th August 2021 by

We all love store-bought chips, but sometimes it’s not the best option for our health. That’s mostly for young kids and people who tend to eat out a lot. As a woman in love with potato chips, I scoured the internet and recipe books for the right ingredients. However, somehow, it always turned out wrong!

Mind you, it tasted lovely. But was it the same as the store-bought ones? Not even close!

Finally, I came up with a common-ground recipe that perfectly balances the delicious taste of store-bought chips and homemade ones’ health benefits. I like to believe it’s the best salt and vinegar chips recipe out there. Check out the instructions and directions below. I’ll include some exciting tips, too!

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How to Make the Best Sea Salt and Vinegar Chips

The recipe is easy and quick. It’ll take you less than an hour to come out with the chips. That way, you can make it for your kids if you’re in a hurry. The ingredients are only enough for one person, but you can adjust them as you see necessary.

Ingredients

A russet potato—large and peeled
¾ cup of distilled white vinegar
1 tbsp of vinegar powder
½ tsp of salt
Vegetable frying oil

Instructions

Slice the Potato
The problem with slicing the potato for making chips is adjusting the thickness. Cutting it using a knife will likely result in too thick chips, and we’re not making French fries. So, unless your knife skills are to speak of, I recommend getting a mandoline. If you already have one, you’re one of the lucky ones.
Mandolines usually have three settings; you can try all of them till you find your preferred thickness. Some people prefer extra thin chips, so they’d be crispy. Personally, I like the medium setting, when there’s some softness towards the middle of the chip, rather than all-the-way crispiness.
Submerge the Chips
To create the vinegar taste, you’ll submerge the chips in some vinegar for a while. The first thing you should do is grab a large bowl, place the potato chips in it, and pour vinegar over it. Make sure that the vinegar covers all the chips.
Leave the potato chips soaked for 30 minutes. Afterward, drain them and pat them till they’re dry.
Prepare the Dressing
For the flavour dressing, grab a large bowl to prepare the powders. I’d choose a bowl with a lid because it’d make it easier for me to shake. That way, the coating is also easier.
In the bowl, combine some salt and vinegar powder and leave it aside for now. Some people like to add some paprika for a spicy taste, but I don’t want anything to mask the vinegar’s taste.
Fry the Chips
For frying the chips, you’ll need a deep saucepan, so the chips are thoroughly fried. If you have a fryer, you won’t face this issue. On the other hand, if you don’t, avoid frying the chips in a shallow container. They’ll come out unequally fried.
Prepare a cookie sheet and leave it aside for now. You may put a cooling rack over it if you want. Afterward, heat the oil to 350 F. Make sure to dry the potato slices completely before placing them in the oil.
When the oil is hot enough, drop the chips and leave them to fry until the colour turns to a golden brown. Try to avoid overcrowding the fryer, so every patch gets fried evenly. The chips should take 3–5 minutes to fry, but the time may vary according to the thickness you choose and the amount.
After the chips are fried, remove them from the fryer and put them on the cookie sheet or cooling rack. Leave them to cool so they crisp well enough before sprinkling the salt and vinegar powder.

Alternative: Bake the Chips

If you want to make a healthy meal for your kids that doesn’t include any frying, you can bake the chips instead. The process is still easy enough and much healthier.

For starters, preheat your oven to 400 F, then start preparing. Grab two baking sheets and line them with foil. Afterward, grease them lightly with a cooking spray. Don’t let it get too thick; we only want it to lubricate the sheet so the chips don’t stick while baking.

Now, grab your potato slices from the vinegar and dry them thoroughly. Next, place them next to each other on the two baking sheets. Make sure to keep them in a single layer; stacking them will cause the ones above to get too roasted for your liking.

After organising them on the sheets, grab a brush and smear it with oil. Then, pass it on each slice until it’s covered in oil. Only cover it lightly; avoid adding a thick later. You don’t want to end up with oily chips.

Push the slices into the oven and bake them for 10—15 minutes. When you notice their colour getting golden brown, that’s when they’re done. If you’re making thin chips, they’ll likely need 10 minutes maximum.

After taking the chips out, leave them to cool for five minutes, then sprinkle salt and vinegar over them.

Tips to Follow for Making the Best Salt and Vinegar Potato Chips

The first note to take care of when deep-frying anything is choosing the right oil. Some oils give flavour, such as olive oil. Meanwhile, some oils, such as canola oil, only have a neutral taste. That depends on your preference.

Another thing to note is the right time to add salt. A lot of people tend to add it before the deep frying, thinking that’s the right thing to do. However, adding salt before frying will cause small burns on top of the chips, and its taste will get masked.

Lastly, here’s a trick that’ll work with all deep-fried foods. Before you drop the chips into the fryer or deep saucepan, hold them in the oil—right below the surface. Five seconds and release them. That way, they won’t stick to each other, and you’ll guarantee a crunchy exterior.

Final Thoughts

Cooking homemade chips is one of the easiest recipes ever! Although it took me some time to achieve the perfect result, the steps are still easy and quick enough to do in a hurry. Your kids will also be in love with their healthy, crunchy snacks!

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Pauline

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I'm Pauline, a mother of four grown children, my passion for cooking stemmed from the joy i get cooking for my family. I love to try new dishes, especially when dining out but creating and sharing my own recipes is my favourite thing to do!