Tortilla Chips

Quick Look_______________

I love eating fresh chips from Mexican restaurants. It tastes alot better than the bagged kind and it's easy to make. If you have an extra hand to make these, I'd recommend it.

• Prep time: 2 minutes
• Cook time: 20-30 minutes
• Difficulty: Easy.
• Labor Intensity: Easy enough to do on your own, though an extra hand would be nice
• 30 servings, adjust by 1.5x if your group tends to eat multiple servings.

Ingredients_______________

• 90 count bag of palm sized corn tortillas [$3-$4 at costco, safeway, wherever]
• salt
• oil
• Total: $3.00 -$4.00

Directions_______________

• Cut the tortillas into quarters.
• Pour 1/2 inch of oil into a pan or use a deep fryer.
• Heat stove on high.
• Drop tortillas into oil and fry until light brown, stir it around occassionally and make sure to flip them.
• Drain from oil and place in a basket with paper towel on bottom.
• Sprinkle with salt.

Tom's Tips and Tricks_______________

This is an easy side to make, but it means you are pretty much dedicated to it for about 20-30 minutes. When I make Mexican food, I assign someone to just do chips. If you have the resources, it's a great dish. But in a busy kitchen with limited manpower working on burritos, I'd just recommend the bagged kind.

Don't put too many chips in at once. They clump and stack up and oil doesn't get between them. Also, you may have to pour in more oil depending on what size pan you are using and how much you are making.

Take out the chips when they look light brown. They will turn a bit darker after they are removed. Your first batch may be a bit too dark or light. Play around with it a little.

Sprinkle salt from 2-3 feet above the chips. At In-N-Out, the people doing fries are instructed to salt at shoulder level above the food. This makes the salt evenly spread.

[Possible side dish] Serve with salsa and tacos/burritos