This video by Joshua Weissman actually contains more information than I was looking for (stuff about cheese powder), but it includes some helpful tips for making corn chips:
I also watched an Unwrapped video about how Doritos are made. (Trivia: Doritos means "little golden ones" in Spanish. I should have realized that since, in French, "golden" is doré, from the word for "gold," which is or, itself related to the Latin aurum, i.e., "gold." Remember how the Bond villain Goldfinger's first name was Auric? Same Latin root.) Both the Unwrapped video and the above Weissman video make the same point: you don't just dunk your corn tortillas directly into the hot oil for the deep fry: you have to dry the tortillas out first. According to Weissman, this allows you to fry the chips at 350ºF for 2-3 minutes, which is longer than I was frying my chips for. (I was frying them for 45 seconds to a minute.) At a guess, the water cooks your tortillas faster as it's escaping the chips, which is why the frying time for my chips was so much less than 2-3 minutes. I'll have to remember that when I try making my own chips again someday. Lesson learned. Second tip: your chips aren't supposed to brown at all. Timing is still important.
You know, I saw a show once about making corn chips, and I remember now that they did indeed dry them before frying them. I wish I had remembered that before your attempt--then I could have had some actually helpful information for you. Stupid brain.
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