The Absolute Best Way to Make Crispy Potato Chips

In Absolute Best Tests, Ella Quittner destroys the sanctity of her home kitchen in the name of the truth. She's boiled dozens of eggs, mashed a concerning number of potatoes, and seared more Porterhouse steaks than she cares to recall. Today, she tackles the ubiquitous potato chip.

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Nobody knows who fried the world’s first potato chip.

Some attribute the invention of thinly sliced potatoes, crisped until golden in hot oil, to a prank played by George Crum, a chef at Moon’s Lake House in Saratoga Springs, New York in 1853. Others point to an 1817 recipe for a chip-like dish, written by English doctor William Kitchiner for The Cook’s Oracle. And still others mention “Eliza,” another Saratoga-area chef who fried sliced potatoes, as recorded by an 1849 newspaper article.

Historians can, however, agree on the name of the person who made the most recent and unhinged selection of potato chips, yielding four large mixing bowls containing several pounds of tissue-thin chips each. Some were fried in duck fat and others in olive oil, some baked, some air fried, and a good number blitzed until paralyzed in a microwave. It’s me. Hi. I’m the problem, it’s me.

Let’s jump in…

For the sanctity of my chips, I used only Idaho (Russet) potatoes, peeled, and Diamond Crystal kosher salt. I prepared each batch the same way:

• I sliced the peeled potatoes on a mandolin as thinly as possible: ⅛-inch-thick or even thinner, if possible.
• I soaked the thin slices in icy water for 15 minutes, stirring intermittently to releases excess starch.
• I drained the potato slices and rinsed again several times with water until it ran clear.
• I patted the slices thoroughly until fully dry with dish towels.

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1. Deep Fry With Vegetable Oil

Riff on: M.F.K. Fisher’s Potato Chips

1. Heat 5 to 6 cups of vegetable oil in a Dutch oven or wok until it’s hot enough to produce tiny bubbles around the handle of a wooden spoon when dipped into the oil. (If you prefer to use an instant- read thermometer, general wisdom is that fat for deep frying potato chips should remain between 330°F and 375°F.)
2. Add half the potato chips. Stir constantly as they cook, until they’re golden brown, about 5 to 10 minutes.
3. Remove from oil and transfer to paper towels. Shower in large pinches of salt. They will continue to crisp as they drain and cool. Repeat with second half of potato chips.
   
   Findings: The Deep Fry (Vegetable Oil) potato chips were perhaps the most classic of the bunch, if we look to a chip like Zapp’s or Lay’s as the fit model. They were evenly golden, extremely crispy, and held their salt seasoning well. Compared to the batches deep-fried in olive oil and duck fat, the veggie oil guys lacked any extra zhush to complement the brininess, but they had more flavor than the baked chips, thanks to more intense oil saturation.

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2. Deep Fry With Vinegar Variation

Riff on: Crispiest Potato Chips

1. After you’ve drained the chips from the second rinse, Return potatoes to bowl; cover with distilled white vinegar and several cups of water. Let sit at least 30 minutes or up to 2 hours. Drain; pat thoroughly dry.
2. Heat 5 to 6 cups of vegetable oil in a Dutch oven or wok until it’s hot enough to produce tiny bubbles around the handle of a wooden spoon when dipped into the oil.
3. Add half the potato chips. Stir constantly as they cook, until they’re golden brown, about 5 to 10 minutes.
4. Remove from oil and transfer to paper towels. Shower in large pinches of salt. They will continue to crisp as they drain and cool. Repeat with second half of potato chips.
   
   Findings: According to a Serious Eats analysis of crispy French fries, a dip in vinegar does two things: It slows down pectin dissolution for crispiness even after cooling, and it helps prevent over-browning by getting rid of sugars. Both proved true in my trial; the Deep Fry (Vinegar Variation) potato chips had a surface covered with a higher concentration of tiny blisters than with any other method, and they were crisp as broken stemware. (Trust me, I’m halfway through mine.) Perhaps because the vinegar wash was brief, or perhaps because of the amount I diluted it, there was no flavor difference in the final chips when compared to the Deep Fry (Vegetable Oil) batch, despite my hope for a tiny tang.

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3. Deep Fry With Duck Fat

1. Heat about 5 cups of duck fat in a Dutch oven or wok until it’s hot enough to produce tiny bubbles around the handle of a wooden spoon when dipped into the oil.
2. Add half the potato chips. Stir constantly as they cook, until they’re golden brown, about 5 to 10 minutes.
3. Remove from oil and transfer to paper towels. Shower in large pinches of salt. They will continue to crisp as they drain and cool. Repeat with second half of potato chips.
   
   Findings: These were, far and away, the most delicious. They tasted like French fries—those extra-crispy, thick (but not steak frite-sized) ones you can’t stop dunking into mayo and ketchup as though by doing so, you’re creating the urgent antidote to a fast-spreading condition. They were as crispy as any of the non-vinegar soaked deep fry batches, which is to say, just as brittle as any store bought chip.

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4. Deep Fry With Olive Oil

1. Heat 5 to 6 cups of extra-virgin olive oil in a Dutch oven or wok until it’s hot enough to produce tiny bubbles around the handle of a wooden spoon when dipped into the oil.
2. Add half the potato chips. Stir constantly as they cook, until they’re golden brown, about 5 to 10 minutes.
3. Remove from oil and transfer to paper towels. Shower in large pinches of salt. They will continue to crisp as they drain and cool. Repeat with second half of potato chips.
   
   Findings: Like the Deep Fry (Duck Fat) batch, these Deep Fry (Olive Oil) potato chips had their own personality. The olive oil I used had clean, grassy notes, and so the chips fried within it had a subtly vegetal undertone. For reasons I cannot fathom, they were ever so slightly thicker than the other deep-fried batches.

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1. Air Fry

1. Heat air fryer to 360°F.
2. Toss dried potato chips with olive oil (enough to evenly coat but not drown them in slickness). Season with large pinches of salt.
3. Cook in batches until crisp and golden, stirring midway through, about 12 to 20 minutes. Remove from air fryer basket.
   
   Findings: The Air Fry trial made for surprisingly delicious specimens; they tasted similar to the Deep Fry (Olive Oil) batch, but were slightly less thick despite using slices of the same dimensions. The method was more hands on than any other method, since the chips kept piling up and getting stuck to one another in the fry basket. Also, because my air fryer is sized for a home countertop, each batch—in my attempt to avoid overlapping slices—produced very few chips. If I were going to make another run at this method, I would try it in an oven with the convection setting so I could fit more potato slices across a few sheet pans.

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2. Bake

Riff on: Baked Potato Chips

1. Heat oven to 425°F.
2. Toss dried potato chips with olive oil (enough to evenly coat but not drown them in slickness). Season with large pinches of salt.
3. Spread the potato slices in a single layer on a large rimmed metal sheet pan, without letting the slices overlap.
4. Bake until chips are lightly golden, about 10 minutes (they’ll continue to cook on the pan). Pull them out and let them cool on the pan another few minutes.
   
   Findings: The Bake method produced crunchy chips with uneven coloring. They were no more efficient, start to finish, than the deep fry batches, because each oiled potato slice had to be laid out flat (overlapping edges stayed soft). They tasted solidly savory, but were noticeably less flavorful than the others, since baking them meant a reduced “oil uptake”—so the olive oil flavor was present on the surface, but not throughout each chip. Their flavor was most similar to a Baked Lay’s. Overall, I found it fussy to have to organize the slices into a single layer (as well as prohibitive for scaling), but I would employ this method again if I didn’t own an air fryer and was making chips for someone who didn’t eat fried food.

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3. Microwave

Riff on: How to Make Potato Chips in the Microwave

1. Toss dried potato chips with olive oil (enough to evenly coat but not drown them in slickness). Season with large pinches of salt.
2. Arrange as many slices as will fit in a single layer on a dinner plate lined with a paper towel, without letting the slices overlap.
3. Microwave at 100 percent power for 3 minutes. Flip the chips and microwave at 50% power for another 3 minutes. Remove any chips that are starting to crisp and brown. Continue microwaving the remaining chips at 50% power in 1-minute intervals until they are all crispy and golden. Repeat with remaining batches.
   
   Findings: The Microwave batch produced “chips” with the exact coloring, texture, and flavor as UTZ Potato Stix, those canned crunchy shoestring potatoes. I would not voluntarily use this technique again if I were craving classic chips, but knowing it exists and works for emergencies makes me feel like a potato god.

So, who takes the golden chip?

• Deep frying is the way to go if you have the equipment and enough cooking fat. For the most savory, snackable flavor, opt for duck fat if you can find it, or an olive oil you like. Vegetable oil is a good way to go if you’re looking for a more neutral canvas to add flavor (like ranch seasoning powder, BBQ spice, vinegar and salt).
• After the initial water wash, a soak in vinegar will ensure the crispiest possible surface.
• If you’re avoiding fried foods, baking will do the trick. Air frying will as well, but be prepared to fuss.

What chip method will you be trying? Let us know below!