Homemade Bacon Potato Chips

I don't know if these are healthier for you than standard potato chips, but there are definitely fewer chemicals, and some nutritionists even believe that bacon grease is healthier for you than standard vegetable oil. Regardless, these are delicious and I'm okay with shaving a few years off my life in order to enjoy them.


They are simple enough to make: first, save up your bacon grease. If you're like me and tend to make brunches every Sunday, then just empty your pan into a jar (which you should be doing anyway because grease and oil is horrible for your sink!). The only thing to keep in mind is that the jar should always be left open. Putting a lid on it will cause the bacon grease to rot. Keeping it nice and aerated will make it last at least a couple months. You'll need roughly half a standard jar's worth of bacon grease (so maybe two or three pounds of bacon's worth).


Next, clean and peel the potatoes. Cut them into extraordinarily thin slices (as thin as you can make them -- the thinner they are, the more crisp they will be. And, likewise, the thicker they are, the more likely they'll be chewy. Still yummy, but a completely different eating experience) and soak them in a bowl of salt water for roughly an hour.


And then, you cook! Empty the half-jar of grease, turn up the heart to roughly 7 and wait until all of the grease has changed back into it's beautiful hot bacony goodness. Place a dozen or so (depending on how big your pan is) slices into the pan and let them cook. They'll need roughly 3 or 4 minutes on each side, or until the edges are crisp and the center is tan.


A metal strainer is perfect for cooking with large amount of oil, but a slotted spoon can work in a pinch. I recommend scooping out the next batch of potato slices and letting them dry a little bit before putting them in the grease, as water + hot grease = spiddle. Which = potentially burning yourself.


Anything with the words "bacon" and "potato chips" is bound to be delicious...and horrifically bad for you. But, hey, you only live once!