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"Where the heck are the BBQ crisps in Home Alone?" we hear you cry! You would be forgiven for thinking that we are hallucinating salty snacks (it's been known to happen) but, there actually is a sneaky bag in the iconic snack-binging-movie-watching scene of our Christmas fave. In the scene, Kevin is eating an Ice Cream Sundae, but at this point in our eat along movie night, we're not ready for dessert so, we're honing in on the big bag o' chips chilling in the background and whipping up a crunchy delight.
Kevin's snack of choice is Frito Lay's Crunch Tators. Which, thanks to the wonderful Home Alone Wiki, we understand are the BBQ flavour and have since been discontinued. As we never got to try the alligator faves, we have concocted our best guess spicy bbq seasoning, but we welcome you to have a play around and adjust to your liking.
The beauty of making your own crispies is that you can experiment with seasoning and thickness to really make them your own. If you fancy a larger crisp- use a bigger potato. Want a thicker slice- go for it, just increase the cooking time. Feel like flavouring them with strawberry protein powder- actually wait, don't do that.
Tell me a bigger flex than serving homemade crisps to your nearest and dearest (I'll wait) but they are surprisingly simple, if a little long winded. You can make these a couple of days before serving and store in an airtight container until the big night, just make sure they are fully cooled before storing, otherwise they will go soggy.
There is a pesky little step in this recipe that is low on labour but high on time... soaking the potato slices. You might be tempted to skip this step, but it helps to draw the starch out of the potato and stops the crisps from sticking together during frying. So please, Just Do It.
Drying the potatoes post soaking however, is annoyingly labour intensive. There is a reason they say that oil and water don't mix, and unless your want to explain to your dermatologist why you decided to get an at home chemical peel, then please take the time to make sure that the tatties are properly dried before they meet hot oil.
In the unlikely event that you have leftovers, you can store the crisps in an airtight container lined with a piece of kitchen roll for a couple of days before they start to lose their crunch.
If you haven't already, be sure to check out our video so you can follow along step by step.
Happy snacking!
INGREDIENTS
3 medium potatoes
peanut/groundnut or vegetable oil for deep frying
BBQ seasoning
2 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp light brown sugar
½ tsp smoked salt
½ tsp black pepper
¼ - ½ tsp cayenne pepper (to taste)
METHOD
Wash and dry the potatoes. Using a mandoline, thinly slice the potatoes approx 2mm thick. **Be cautious when using a mandoline and wear a protective glove and/or use the guard provided. If you don't have a mandoline, slice using a sharp nice, consistency in thickness is key for even frying.
Place the sliced potato in a large bowl and cover with cold water. Soak for 30 mins.
Fill a large heavy bottomed pot at least 3 inches deep with groundnut/vegetable oil. Warm on a high heat.
Drain and pat dry the potato. It needs to be fully dry before frying or the oil will splatter.
If you have a thermometer, when the oil reaches 180°C, it's ready. If you don't have a thermometer, then drop in a slice of potato, it's good to go if it immediately starts to sizzle.
Fry in small batches for 5-7 mins until golden.
Remove using a wire skimmer or slotted metal spoon, and drain on kitchen towel in a single layer.
The oil temperature will drop during frying, so be sure to bring it back up to temperature between batches.
Leave the crisps to cool on the kitchen towel before seasoning.
In a large bowl, mix together all the BBQ seasoning ingredients, add the crisps, and toss to coat.
