Don’t be surprised when the room falls silent– other than the crunching of crispy chips that is– when you put out these delectable sweet and spicy treats!
Chipotle chili powder, salt, and a touch of sugar give these tortilla chips a smoky and tangy punch that can stand alone or enhance any dip. Plus, frying tortillas is a snap!Need some dip to go with your chips? Get the classic guacamole recipe here!
Sweet, Spicy, + Seasoned!
Holy guacamole, do I love a flavorful tortilla chip!!
You can season your chips with anything you like– cinnamon sugar, powdered ranch seasoning, picositos, or anything else you can dream up!
One important factor to keep in mind when choosing seasoning is the size of the granules of your spices. Larger, heavier granules like sugar will have a more difficult time sticking to chips than fine granules like chili powder.
For instance, popcorn salt is a very very fine powder, designed to stick to all the nooks and crannies of popcorn. We want to create a similar fine powder for excellent seasoning stickage!
For this recipe, I pulsed my salt, sugar, and chipotle chili powder in a food processor to make the mixture finer, but a coffee grinder would be ideal! Because a food processor is made for larger volumes of food, it was difficult to keep the spices in contact with the blades (I did a lot of tilting and shaking of the machine.)
This step isn’t totally necessary, so feel free to skip it if you like! But evenly weighted spices will season your chips more evenly.
Be sure to season your chips as soon as they come out of the oil for maximum seasoning stickage! Yum!
Frying Tortillas
Frying up tortilla chips is just like frying anything else- easy peasy! As long as you’ve got the right tools.
You will need:
- A heavy bottomed pot, deep and wide pan, or dutch oven.
When choosing your frying vehicle, keep in mind that the bigger the space, the more oil you will need to use. If you are making a small batch of chips, a standard 12 inch cast iron pan will do just fine to fry a few chips at a time.
Cast iron is ideal for frying because it heats evenly and retains heat very well, giving you evenly cooked chips. - A thermometer
A thermometer is essential for good frying! Oil temperature can change quickly and it’s important to keep an eye on it to ensure well fried items. If the oil is too cold, you’ll end up with greasy chips, and if it’s too hot your oil could burn and give your chips an off taste.
I use an infrared thermometer that reads the surface temperature of the oil. Alternatively a frying thermometer or a candy thermometer can be used. - A heatproof slotted spoon or spider for flipping and scooping/draining
- Paper towels for draining
Safety first!
- Never fill your pot or pan more than halfway with oil. Hot oil splashes are dangerous, and can cause burns or fires.
- It’s always a good idea to know how to put out a grease fire if one happens. Here’s a great guide from The Kitchn!
- Wear an apron to protect your skin and clothes
Corn tortillas fry up quickly and beautifully!
Be sure not to crowd your pot or pan when frying, as it can cool the oil too much and make your chips greasy. It can also cause the chips to stick together in some cases. Try frying a few chips at a time, keep an eye on the oil temperature, and go from there!
Well fried chips will be lightly golden in color, very crunchy, and not greasy.
Sweet + Spicy Seasoned Tortilla Chips Recipe
Spicy + Sweet Tortilla Chips
Ingredients
- 12 corn tortillas
- canola or other neutral oil with a high smoke point (The amount of oil needed will depend on the size of your pot or pan. The oil should be about 1 inch in depth.)
- 1/2 tsp chipotle chili powder (ancho chili or standard chili powder are also good options but aren’t as spicy)
- 2 tsp sugar
- 1.5 tsp salt,
Instructions
Prepare the seasoning:
- (Optional) In a food processor, clean coffee grinder, or spice grinder, blitz the chipotle, salt, and sugar until fine (this will help the seasoning stick to the chips more uniformly.)
Dry the tortillas:
- To dry tortillas, spread in a single layer and leave out for 4-5 hours to overnight, or, dry them in the oven. To dry in the oven, heat to 200F and place the tortillas directly on the racks in a single layer. Bake for 10 minutes.
Cut into chips:
- When the tortillas have been dried, make a stack and use a large knife to cut the tortillas into 4 or 6 wedges, depending on your size preference.
Frying:
- In a dutch oven or heavy bottomed pot, heat 1 inch of oil to 360F
- Fry tortillas in batches until golden (the chips will still be quite pale while frying, but will be crisp and firm, and the color will intensify as they cool), flipping and stirring occasionally, about 3 minutes. Note that the chips will stop bubbling fiercely after about 40 seconds or so- don’t be alarmed, they are still cooking just fine!
Draining, Seasoning, and Cooling:
- Scoop with a heat proof slotted spoon or spider and drain in a large bowl lined with paper towels.
- Sprinkle with seasoning mix immediately while the chips are still hot for maximum spice coverage! Use a spoon to flip the chips so you don’t burn your fingers.
- Drain one batch at a time, transferring cooled chips to a clean bowl.
- Remember to let the oil come back to 360F between frying batches.
Notes
