Salt & Vinegar Fingerling Potatoes
For potato chip lovers.
If you’re a fan of salt & vinegar potato chips then these are for you — and if you’re not then get your head checked and try these anyways.
I’ve played with different potatoes and cuts, and the fingerling cut is one of my favourites. (I consider this to be slightly thinner than a wedge, but that might just be me.) This cut/style of potato gets good and crispy on the outside while staying tender and moist inside. And now I’m going to go against everything I just said and tell you that you can slice your potatoes into 1/4” thick chips which I also love, but you need to be vigilant while cooking so they don’t burn or dry out.
No matter what cut you use, the real secret to these potatoes is the time spent in a vinegar bath followed up by a quick parboil. A 1hr soak leaves a very subtle taste and 2hrs is an absolute minimum for me — my best recommendation though is to soak your taters in a pot of vinegar for 4-6 hours for that true salt & vinegar flavour. Pile them high and serve them up with decadent sour cream and some premium malt vinegar splashed on top and you might just forget the rest of the food on your plate. — CFG
Ingredients:
(Note: A 1lb bag of fingerling potatoes serves 2-3. If using regular baking potatoes, prepare one large potato per person plus one extra. This recipe uses the 1lb portion.)
1 lb fingerling potatoes
4-6 cups white vinegar
Olive oil
1 lemon
Freshly ground sea salt
Freshly cracked pepper
Sour cream (optional, for serving)
Malt vinegar (optional for serving)
Directions:
Prepare potatoes by cleaning and removing any spots/eyes. Leave the skin on.
Slice potatoes lengthwise in half. If the potato is thick, slice halves lengthwise one more time to create thick-cut French fries.
Rinse the starch from the potatoes and then place in a large saucepan.
Cover potatoes with 4-6 cups of white vinegar (or enough until all the potatoes are completely covered.
Place the lid on the saucepan and allow to soak for anywhere from 2-6+ hours. (2 hours creates a mild flavour; 6+ hours creates a strong salt & vinegar taste.)
Bring the pot of vinegar/potatoes to a boil. Boil until potatoes are not quite fork tender.
While potatoes are boiling preheat oven to 425°F. Prepare a large cookie sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
Drain potatoes. Be careful not to stand over/inhale the draining vinegar — your lungs will thank me!
Transfer potatoes to cookie sheet and spread them out so they aren’t crowding each other. Drizzle with olive oil and squeeze a lemon over top. Season with a generous amount of freshly ground seal salt
Cook in the oven for ~30 - 45 minutes (this will depend on how big your potatoes are and how many are on the pan). At the halfway mark turn the potatoes so they can brown on both sides.
Once the potatoes are a golden brown remove from the oven and transfer to a serving dish.
Serve with sour cream and malt vinegar and enjoy!
