Home Made Oven Chips | Community Recipes | Nigella's Recipes (2024)

FAQs

Why are my oven chips not crispy? ›

If the oven isn't hot enough to brown the chips on the 'air-side', or if there's not space for the heat to circulate around each chip, they'll be unevenly crisp. Deep-frying also means the oil can penetrate the craggy, broken edges on all sides to make an extra crisp surface.

Starch on the surface of the chips locks in moisture and causes them to go soggy. Drain the chips and rinse under cold water, then dry thoroughly before cooking. 2. Using enough of the right oil.

Having hot oil is key to getting the potatoes not to stick to the tray and getting a perfect crisp skin. Toss the chips in the hot oil, salt, and place back into the oven. Cook for 20-25 minutes until golden. That's it – there isn't anything more to it.

Preheat the oven and pan HOT for as long as you can, you want to hear a loud sizzle when the chips hit the pan. Adding extra oil gives you a closer texture to fried chips, especially animal fat like lard or beef dripping.

The difference lies in their starch content and structure. Waxy potatoes are amazing for boiling as they keep their shape, but floury potatoes fry up crisper. Use a floury (also called mealy) potato such as Russet or Shepody for your chips and you'll have better success.

Don't salt the oil, and don't overcrowd the pan, or the oven. Steam is the arch nemesis of the crispy chip. Cook the chips at a high temperature, and turn them halfway through.

How Do You Keep Homemade Chips Crispy? The key to keeping homemade potato chips crisp is to store them in an airtight container, which protects your chips from outside moisture. Just make sure the chips have thoroughly cooled off for at least 30 minutes at room temperature before sealing them.

Place your tray of chips in the centre of the oven and cook for 20 - 25 minutes. After about 12 minutes, toss and turn your chips to ensure an even crispness.

The key to the perfectly crisp oven chip is to save the seasoning until the end of cooking. This is because salt draws out water – in lots of other dishes this intensifies the flavour of each ingredient, but with chips, it can make them turn soggy as they cook.

Canola Oil:

Canola oil (AKA rapeseed oil), known for its low levels of saturated fats and high smoke point, is a fantastic choice for deep-frying fries. Its light flavour allows the fries' natural taste to come forward while providing a crispy and golden exterior.

How long to soak chips before cooking? ›

To have the best chances for crisping, soak your cut chips for 30 minutes in a bowl of slightly salted water to remove some of the starch. Once soaked, dry them off properly with a paper towel as any moisture will create steam which will inhibit crisping.

Put oven chips on a large baking tray. Drizzle over vegetable oil and sprinkle over smoked paprika, smoked or regular sea sealt flakes, dried rosemary, a small pinch of cayenne pepper and garlic granules; toss well to coat. Bake the chips to pack instructions until golden and crisp.

Why are my homemade chips not crispy? It's likely that too many chips were cooked at once (a crowded pan is never a good thing) and doing so means the temperature of the oil decreases, resulting in soggy, greasy chips.

The secret to getting a crispy surface on home fries is to make sure the potatoes aren't warm when you pan-fry them. In this recipe, we precook the potatoes and let them cool to room temperature before they hit the buttered pan, ensuring perfectly crusty and crispy edges.

If your potato chips aren't crispy, it's likely because your potatoes were not completely dry before you started cooking, or you did not soak and rinse them long enough. Using too much oil could also make your potato chips less crispy.

I always cook over chips at a lower temperature and for longer than recommended on the packet. This stops them turning out rock hard. Toss them in a little olive oil, salt & pepper, cook for 20 minutes at the recommended temp then whack your oven up to full for the last 10-15 minutes.