Classic Snacks Made from Scratch (11 page)

2 pounds (about 4 medium) Yukon Gold or russet potatoes

2 tablespoons smoked paprika

1 tablespoon packed light brown sugar

2 teaspoons kosher salt

2 teaspoons chili powder

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon onion powder

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

canola or vegetable oil for frying

PREPARE THE POTATOES:

Bring a 4-quart stockpot filled with water to a boil over high heat. Line a rimmed baking sheet with a kitchen towel.

Rinse and peel the potatoes, then slice 1/8 inch thick on a mandoline or Japanese slicer. (I recommend wearing a metal-mesh cut-resistant glove—not only does it allow you to handle the potato more securely, but it also lets you slice down to the very nubbin, leaving you with less food waste.)

Transfer half the slices to the boiling water and cook for 3 to 5 minutes. Don’t overcook and let the potatoes fall apart; we’re just jump-starting the cooking process so the potatoes will fry golden instead of burning.

Gently remove the slices with heatproof tongs or a metal skimmer or mesh strainer, drain well in a colander, and transfer to the towel-lined baking sheet in a single layer. Pat dry with an additional towel. Repeat with the remaining
potato slices.

Place the paprika, sugar, salt, chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, and pepper in a spice grinder or mini food processor and whir for 10 to 15 seconds to blend evenly. Set aside.

Note:
The potato slices and spice mixture can be prepared a day in advance. Slice the potatoes but don’t boil them, and refrigerate them overnight in cold water to cover, and keep the spice mixture in an airtight container.

FRY AND SEASON THE CHIPS:

Heat at least 2 inches of vegetable or canola oil to 350°F in an electric deep fryer or large, high-sided pot. Line a baking sheet with paper towels and an upside-down wire cooling rack (see Deep Frying 101,
page 188
).

Pour the spice blend into a gallon-size zip-top bag.

Add the potato slices in batches to the hot oil and fry until golden brown. Frying time will vary depending on your equipment, so watch carefully.

Remove the chips with heatproof tongs or a metal skimmer or mesh strainer. Drain the chips on the prepared baking sheet for about 1 minute, then place in the zip-top bag, seal, and shake lightly to distribute the spices. Remove the chips from the bag and repeat with the remaining potato slices.

Serve warm or at room temperature; these chips are best eaten the day they’re fried.

I’ve always considered Wheat Thins (or WHHHeat Thins, as Stewie from
Family Guy
pronounces it) to be an almost dessert-like cracker (good with Cool WHHHip, perhaps?). But there’s a fine line between crackers and pie crust, and a homemade version of a Wheat Thin can slip easily onto the wrong side of that line if the balance is off. My solution? Malted milk powder, which brings a roasty richness to the cracker that plain old white sugar just can’t pull off.

YIELD:
about 10 dozen crackers

TOTAL TIME:
45 minutes

DIFFICULTY:
2

SPECIAL EQUIPMENT:
food processor or stand mixer, pastry or pizza cutter

1 cup (4 ounces) whole wheat or white whole wheat flour

1 tablespoon granulated sugar

1 teaspoon malted milk powder

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more for sprinkling

4 tablespoons (2 ounces) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

2 tablespoons whole or reduced-fat milk

2 tablespoons water

INSTRUCTIONS:

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or Silpat liners.

Using a food processor or a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, whir the flour, sugar, malt powder, and 1/2 teaspoon salt together for a few seconds until combined.

Add the butter cubes and pulse in 3-second on/off turns in the food processor or stir at medium speed with the mixer until a crumbly dough forms, resembling moist cornmeal. Add the milk and water and continue to pulse/stir until a soft dough forms.

Turn the dough onto a floured surface and divide into 2 pieces. Lightly dust one of the pieces with flour and roll into a rough 12-inch square no more than 1/8 inch thick. (Make it as thin as you can, because the crackers will puff up when baked.) Cut into 1-1/2-inch squares using a pastry or pizza cutter, then transfer to a baking sheet. Repeat the process with the second piece of dough.

Sprinkle lightly with kosher salt and bake for 12 to 14 minutes, until golden brown and crispy at the edges. Transfer the crackers to a wire rack and let cool
completely.

Store the crackers at room temperature in an airtight container for up to a week.

Of the many road-trip snacks hanging on hooks in gas stations and rest stops across this great nation, one stands above all others for the Barber family: the mighty Corn Nut. Even now, I’ve got to fry up a batch any time my husband and I are planning to hit the road. Old habits die hard.

If you’re using canned hominy, I know it sounds counterintuitive to bake the corn before frying it, but it’s an absolutely necessary step. Do not—I repeat, do not—fry wet hominy or any other food unless you enjoy boiling oil splattering all over your kitchen and onto your skin. The water in each kernel quickly evaporates into steam when it hits the hot oil, causing the kernels to explode. Err on the safe side and dehydrate the corn in the oven!

YIELD:
about 4 cups

TOTAL TIME:
1 hour 15 minutes, plus soaking time if using dried hominy

DIFFICULTY:
2

SPECIAL EQUIPMENT:
electric deep fryer (or a large Dutch oven and a candy/oil thermometer), splatter screen, metal skimmer, fine-mesh strainer

2 (15-ounce) cans hominy, or 12 ounces dried hominy or dried whole corn kernels

corn or vegetable oil for frying

cornstarch

kosher salt

FOR DRIED HOMINY OR WHOLE CORN:

In a deep saucepan, cover the kernels with at least 2 inches of water and bring to a boil over medium heat. Cover, remove from the heat, and allow to soak for at least 4 hours, or up to 12 hours. Drain and pat dry.

FOR CANNED HOMINY:

Preheat the oven to 300°F. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.

Drain and rinse the hominy in a mesh strainer. Transfer to a clean kitchen towel and gently pat dry. Transfer to the prepared baking sheet and bake for 45 minutes. (There is no need to bake dried hominy or corn that has been soaked.)

FRY THE CORN NUTS:

Heat at least 2 inches of vegetable or canola oil to 350°F in an electric deep fryer or large, high-sided pot. Line a large baking sheet with paper towels and top with an upside-down wire cooling rack (see Deep Frying 101,
page 188
). Have a splatter screen at the ready if your deep fryer doesn’t have a vented lid: flaming-hot escaping corn is dangerous and painful.

Toss the hominy with enough cornstarch to lightly coat each kernel, then pour into a fine-mesh strainer and shake gently over the sink to remove any excess cornstarch.

Add the hominy to the hot oil, in batches if necessary to prevent overcrowding, and fry for about 6 minutes, until the bubbles subside and the corn has a golden brown coating. Frying time will vary depending on your equipment, so watch carefully, and use a splatter screen if your fryer doesn’t have a safety lid.

Transfer the corn nuts with a metal skimmer or mesh strainer to the lined baking sheet to drain; they will still be slightly chewy when removed from the oil, but they’ll crisp up as they cool. Immediately sprinkle very liberally with kosher salt. Serve at room temperature.

Store the corn nuts at room temperature in an airtight container for up to a week.

Into the heart of Pennsylvania Dutch country we go, where Utz, Martin’s, and Snyder’s of Hanover all ply the hard pretzel trade within a 50-mile radius of one another. (The western PA Snyder’s of Berlin is an offshoot of the original factory that split from the Hanover clan in 1950). Though some factories have automated their pretzel-rolling process, the Mennonite family that runs Martin’s still employs workers to shape each of their pretzels by hand.

You can roll your hard pretzel dough into whatever shape you want (see the soft pretzel recipe on
page 167
for instructions on making a traditional pretzel knot), but rods are a classic shape even a novice can master.

YIELD:
24 pretzels

TOTAL TIME:
3 hours, including dough rising time

DIFFICULTY:
3

PRETZELS

1-1/2 cups (6-3/8 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour

1-1/2 cups (6-3/8 ounces) bread flour

1 teaspoon instant yeast (not active dry or rapid-rise)

2 teaspoons packed light brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1 cup warm water

cooking spray or vegetable oil

POACHING LIQUID

8 cups (2 quarts) water

1/2 cup baked soda (see
page 12
)

1/4 cup (1-7/8 ounces) packed light brown sugar

TOPPING

1 large egg whisked with 1 tablespoon water, for egg wash

2 tablespoons pretzel salt or coarse sea salt

MAKE THE PRETZELS:

Stir the flours, yeast, brown sugar, and salt together in a large bowl, then stir in the warm water until a shaggy dough forms. (The water should feel as warm as a hot bath or Jacuzzi—not lukewarm but not boiling, either.) Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and knead for 5 minutes. The dough should feel smooth and satiny.

Spritz a large, clean bowl with cooking spray or grease lightly with vegetable oil. Place the dough ball in the bowl and cover with a spritzed or greased piece
of plastic wrap. Let rise for 1 hour, until doubled in size.

Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

Transfer the dough to a clean, unfloured surface and divide into 24 pieces. Roll each piece into a rope about 9 inches long and 1/2 inch wide. Line up the ropes on the baking sheets and cover loosely with spritzed or greased plastic wrap. Let rise for another 30 minutes.

POACH AND BAKE:

Preheat the oven to 375°F and prepare the poaching liquid. Bring the 8 cups water to a simmer in a large, wide saucepan or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the baked soda and brown sugar and stir until dissolved. The water will foam slightly.

Gently drop the dough ropes into the simmering water, a few at a time, and poach for 15 seconds. Remove the ropes gently using tongs, a slotted spoon, or a metal skimmer and return them to the baking sheets. Brush with the egg wash and sprinkle with the pretzel salt or sea salt.

Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until fully hardened, dark brown, and glossy, checking every few minutes after a half hour; switch the sheets between top and bottom racks halfway through. Transfer the baked pretzels to a wire rack and let cool completely.

Store the pretzels at room temperature in an airtight container for up to a week.