Air Fryer Recipe
Salt and Vinegar Chips
These salt and vinegar chips are a quick, tasty snack, made a little lighter in the air fryer.
Ingredients
- 2 large potatoes, thinly sliced
- 2 cups of water
- 1 cup white vinegar
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- Additional vinegar for seasoning
Method
- Wash and peel the potatoes, then cut them into thin slices with a mandoline slicer.
- Mix the water and white vinegar in a large bowl, then soak the potato slices for at least 30 minutes.
- Drain the potato slices and pat them dry with a kitchen towel.
- Preheat the air fryer to 180°C (356°F).
- Drizzle the potato slices with olive oil and toss until evenly coated.
- Lay the slices in a single layer in the air fryer basket, cooking in batches if needed.
- Cook for 15-20 minutes, shaking the basket halfway through, until the chips are golden brown and crisp.
- Take them out of the air fryer and season straight away with sea salt and extra vinegar to taste.
Why this works in an air fryer
The vinegar soak seasons the potato surface and rinses off excess starch that would otherwise glue slices together. Thorough drying lets the air fryer’s fast convection evaporate surface moisture quickly, while a thin oil film improves heat transfer and browning so the slices crisp before the centres overcook.
Equipment notes
Assumes a 4–5 litre basket holding roughly one large potato in a loose single layer; in a single-drawer model cook in batches, while dual-zone drawers need smaller loads per side, shaking both drawers and usually adding 2–4 minutes if both zones are full.
Common pitfalls
- Slices are leathery and pale after 15 minutes? They went in too wet or too thick; pat dry again if needed and continue at 180°C in 3-minute bursts, using thinner mandoline cuts next time.
- Edges are burnt while centres stay soft? The slices are uneven or curled over each other; remove the browned pieces early, separate overlaps, and cut more consistently next batch.
- Chips taste sharp but turn limp straight after seasoning? Too much finishing vinegar has rehydrated the crust; mist or sprinkle lightly, then return to the air fryer for 1–2 minutes to drive off excess moisture.
- Slices stick together in clumps? Surface starch and oil have formed a paste because the basket is crowded; split into smaller batches and shake firmly halfway through and again near the end.
Variations & substitutions
- Use malt vinegar instead of white vinegar for a rounder chip-shop flavour; it darkens slightly faster, so check the slices a couple of minutes earlier.
- Swap olive oil for rapeseed or sunflower oil for a more neutral flavour and slightly cleaner crisping at air-fryer temperatures.
- Add a pinch of onion powder or smoked paprika with the salt after cooking; dry seasonings cling best while the oil film is still hot.
- Use skin-on potatoes for a more rustic edge and extra texture; scrub well and expect the peel edges to brown before the centres.
Storage & reheating
Keep cooled chips in an airtight container for up to 2 days and re-crisp in the air fryer at 160°C for 3–5 minutes, adding salt and vinegar only after reheating.
Nutrition
Calories: 250
