Chocolate Covered Salt and Vinegar Chips
April 1, 2010 5:20 PM   Subscribe

Any of you ever try to make chocolate covered potato chips? What about chocolate covered salt and vinegar chips?

I'm going to try and make some in about an hour, and would love some tips before I start. What kind of chocolate did you use? What kind of chips? Does it matter if they are ridged or smooth? Have you tried to use chips that aren't just "original"?
posted by Corduroy to Food & Drink (11 answers total) 7 users marked this as a favorite
 
Yes for the chocolate-covered potato chips. We used couverture chocolate, but anything with 64% or more cocoa content would work.

The trick is that you have to "temper" the chocolate so that it will set properly and melt at a higher temperature than non-tempered chocolate. The tempering process requires a great deal of temperature control. For this, I recommend an infrared thermometer.

Working with dark chocolate is a lot easier than working with milk chocolate.
posted by rw at 5:38 PM on April 1, 2010


From Ms. Vegetable:

Ridged. HUGE difference. Gotta have enough chocolate, and smooth just doesn't have the right surface to hold it. Smooth also tends to be thinner and crack in the chocolate.

nomnomnom...
posted by a robot made out of meat at 5:45 PM on April 1, 2010


Oh, yeah. And whatever you do: DO NOT add water to adjust the texture of your chocolate. You will ruin it.
posted by rw at 5:51 PM on April 1, 2010


Agreed with the ridged chips -- for more chocolately goodness. I didn't follow any fancy tempering instructions when I did this with my kid. We just slowly melted the chocolate in a double boiler. Then dipped! Then let everything harden on a cookie sheet covered in parchment paper.
posted by BlahLaLa at 6:10 PM on April 1, 2010


I've never made them myself but I've had some very yummy ones and they were made with ridged Pringles. Ordinarily I would consider Pringles a poor excuse for a potato chip but in that instance they were the perfect chip for chocolate.
posted by contessa at 6:19 PM on April 1, 2010


i did this, and it was amazing!

i used ruffles ridged chips, they were just the right thickness, and the ridges were thick enough to hold a great amount of chocolate. in addition, the salt-to-sugar ratio was PERFECT!

i used milk chocolate, dark chocolate, and did one where i dipped half in rainbow sprinkles. no matter what, your results are going to be delicious, though the dark chocolate ones were a bit more aesthetically pleasing (esp with sprinkles!).

use a double boiler to melt your chocolate, or if you're careful, you can even just use the microwave. just dip, and lay on wax paper, let set. don't put it in the fridge to speed it up -- they'll turn an unappetizing white. i dipped holding one part carefully with my fingers, let them set, dipped again from the other side. the best kind of double dip *ever!*

i have a penchant for chocolate + garlic, and have heard that chocolate + bacon is delicious, so maybe chips with those themes would be delicious also?

good luck!
posted by crawfo at 6:53 PM on April 1, 2010 [1 favorite]


I also used a double boiler and top quality Belgian milk chocolate.. I basted each chip with my little rubber baster and allowed them to cool off and set on a baker's rack. My chip of choice was Lays Classic. They were perfect-- exactly what I wanted: rich milk chocolate outside; thin, crisp, slightly salty middle.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 7:01 PM on April 1, 2010


Response by poster: I just did Kettle Sea Salt and Vinegar chips with 72% Endangered Species dark chocolate, and it was delicious. Like, holy shit. Thank you all for the tips! I urge you all to try it with salt and vinegar chips: it tastes like chocolate covered raisins, but with a big crunch.
posted by Corduroy at 7:30 PM on April 1, 2010 [1 favorite]


I use this recipe for Chocolate Covered Cornflakes, I don't see why it wouldn't work just fine for coating potato chips. And yes, I'd go with ridged as stated above:

4 cups cornflakes*
16 ounces bittersweet chocolate , tempered **

* Crispness is important here, so use a fresh box of cornflakes.

** Place the chocolate in the microwave for 30 seconds at a time on high power until the chocolate is melted. Be very careful not to overheat it. The chocolate may not look as if it has completely melted, because it retains its shape. The chocolate should be only slightly warmer than your bottom lips. You may still see lumps in it once you've stirred it, but don't worry; the residual heat of the chocolate will melt them.

Pour the flakes into a large mixing bowl, then pour about 1/2 of the tempered chocolate over them. Use a rubber spatula and mix until they are coated evenly. The tempered chocolate will immediately being to set up. Once the chocolate has set, repeat with the remaining chocolate to give a second coat.

Quickly scoop the chocolate cornflakes into small mounds onto a parchment paper-covered baking sheet. Use one spoon to scoop and one spoon to scrape the mixture onto the sheet. It is important to work quickly because the mixture is easier to scoop before the chocolate hardens.

If your kitchen is very hot, you can place the baking sheet in the refrigerator for about 5 minutes to allow the chocolate to harden. Do not leave the cornflakes in the refrigerator for more than 10 minutes; if they get too cold, condensation will form on them when they are removed from the refrigerator because of the difference in temperature between the cold chocolate and the warm air. This will cause the chocolate to turn white. While this doesn't affect the taste, it does ruin the appearance.

Store the chocolate cornflakes in an airtight container in a cool, dry area. They will keep for two weeks, if you can resist eating them

Makes about 6 dozen pieces.
posted by Splunge at 5:18 AM on April 2, 2010


Splunge, I hate to be pedantic, but the method you're referring to is not tempering. It's melting. Tempering involves either working ~3/4 of a batch of melted chocolate on a marble slab (or other appropriate, non-heat-retaining surface) until it's at about 88 degrees Farenheit or using a piece of "seed" chocolate in a melted chocolate batch.
posted by cooker girl at 10:11 AM on April 2, 2010


You should try making dark chocolate covered crakers with sea salt on top next.
posted by WeekendJen at 10:31 AM on April 2, 2010


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