When you make these crispy sweet potato chips with rosemary, your family will flock to the kitchen and eat them straight out of the pan…they are that good. You can use any kind of potato, yam or sweet potato – the trick is to cook only a handful at a time and season them as soon as they come out of the hot pan. Sweet potato chips sprinkled with salt and rosemary are sure to please everyone in your family. Served right after making and the chips will be crispy, warm and delicious. If you plan to fill a bowl of these sweet potato chips to a crowd, make them ahead of time and watch them disappear. I like to have them ready when my guests arrive and plan to be done cooking them at least an hour ahead of time.
- 4 - 6 Sweet potatoes or yams, The thinner and longer the better
- 2 Tablespoons Dried Rosemary
- 4 Tablespoons Kosher salt
- 24 ounces Crisco or other vegetable shortening
- Peel the sweet potatoes or yams.
- Use a mandolin or a slicer to slice the potatoes very thin.
- In a cast iron pot or other deep pot heat the Crisco on medium high heat until a potato slice dropped into it sizzles (about 5-8 minutes).
- Once the oil is hot carefully drop one handful of the sliced potatoes into the hot oil, about 1 ½ cups if you are measuring.
- Cook the sweet potatoes in the hot oil, stirring occasionally to cook evenly until they begin to turn crispy brown on the edges (about 5 minutes).
- While the sweet potatoes are cooking, cover a tray with several layers of paper towels.
- While the sweet potatoes are cooking, mix the salt and rosemary together in a mortar and pestle and crush lightly. Set aside.
- Using a metal slotted spoon with a long handle, carefully scoop the sweet potatoes from the hot oil and spread out on the paper towels.
- Immediately sprinkle the salt and rosemary mixture on top of the hot sweet potato chips while they are still glistening with oil. The spices will stick to the chip.
- Drop another handful of sweet potato slices into the hot oil and repeat until all of the slices are cooked.
- Spread each of the newly cooked chips on top of the last batch and season each layer with the salt and rosemary mixture.
- Serve warm or room temperature. They will stay crisp for several days, but are best if eaten within several hours of making.
Mama’s Notes:
Tips
Sprinkle the hot sweet potato chips with salt and rosemary Season the hot chips with the seasoning mixture just after they come out of the hot oil. The seasonings will stick to the chip better.
The oil needs to be hot – to test the heat, drop one of the potatoes into the oil and when it starts to boil from around the edges – it is time to carefully place the handful of sweet potatoes into the pot. I repeat this step after each batch is removed from the pan so that I can be sure the temperature of the oil has sufficiently increased.
A cast iron Dutch oven is the perfect pot to cook the sweet potato chip in, the heat gets high enough and is evenly distributed.
Kosher salt and crushed dried rosemary are the perfect combination to elevate these chips – or try your favorite seasonings.