Homemade corn tortilla chips

Today is National Corn Chip Day, so we wanted to celebrate the corn farmers who make tortilla chips possible the best way we know how – by eating the food they grow! The corn used to make tortilla chips isn’t the same corn you enjoy eating off the cob. Field corn contains more starch and is much more useful in making things like corn starch, corn meal and chips!

Make your own tortilla chips

You’ll need:

• 1 cup canola, grapeseed, or corn oil (because they have a high smoke point)
• Corn tortillas (each tortilla will make 6 chips)
• Salt

The tortilla chips will fry better if they are a bit dried out first. Either leave the whole tortillas out overnight, exposed to air so they are stale the next day, or dry them out a bit in the oven. To dry them in the oven, lay them out in a single layer on a baking sheet and put them in a 350°F for 5 minutes or a 200°F oven for 10 minutes.

Cut each tortilla into 6 triangle shaped wedges.

Pour oil into a medium skillet to a depth of 1/8 to 1/4 of an inch. Heat the oil on medium high heat until a small piece of tortilla placed in the oil sizzles, about 350°F.

Place a paper towel onto a large plate and have several other paper towels ready. Place a handful of tortilla triangles into the hot oil, in a single layer. Use metal tongs or a metal slotted spoon to distribute the tortilla triangles so that they aren’t overlapping and so that all sides get coated with oil. Fry for approximately 2 minutes until the chips just begin to color and they are firm, no longer pliable.

Use tongs or a slotted spoon to remove the chips from the oil to the paper-towel-lined plate. Sprinkle with salt to taste, and enjoy! We recommend making some of this corn queso to go with your fresh tortilla chips, too.