Ingredients
1 large potato (Russet works well, about the size of a small baked potato, or the equivalent from two smaller potatoes about the same size.)
Canola oil, about 2/3 to 1 cup.
Salt.
Preparation
Clean potato. Put in microwave on baked potato setting, or use your usual baked potato settings, and cook until baked. Chill in water and remove peel when potato skin is cool. If you are using a medium to large size potato for one serving, slice potato in half length-wise, then quarter each half to produce large wedges. (This reduces surface area per “chip” and loss of moisture while deep frying. If you cut into small bits like French fries, they’ll dry out and burn.)
Use a high sided, stove top cooking pan, about five or six inches in diameter (to insure that oil is at least one inch deep to provide for deep frying, without requiring an entire bottle of oil). Turn burner onto high, and bring oil to deep frying temperature. VERY CAREFULLY, using a long spoon, so that your hands aren’t burned by splatter, place potato wedges very gently into oil. Let wedges cook until browned, occasionally “shuffling” the ones on the bottom to the top with a long, metal utensil to insure that they all lightly brown evenly on the outside. When done, turn off heat. CAREFULLY remove wedges from oil with a long fork. Salt on plate while still hot to insure that salt sticks. (I list one serving, but be warned, these things are so good, one serving is never enough.) BE EXTREMELY CAREFUL WITH HOT OIL. (You can carefully strain with a metal strainer and put remaining oil in a large coffee mug or two, cover with foil, let cool on heat pad, and store overnight in refrigerator to make chips again the next day.)
