Fresh-Fried Corn Tortilla Chips, Salted Hot

By Sprig Originals ✓ · cooked up in Sprig

The 15-minute upgrade that makes bagged chips feel like a compromise: corn tortillas cut into wedges, fried in small batches until they blister and go rigid, then showered with fine salt the second they leave the oil so it actually sticks. A baked version is included for when you don't want to deal with a pot of oil. Either way, they arrive warm, taste like toasted corn, and hold up to the thickest guacamole.

Ingredients

• 16 corn tortillas (6-inch, preferably a day or two old)
• 4 cups neutral oil for frying, such as canola, peanut, or corn oil
• 2 teaspoons fine sea salt, plus more to taste
• 1 lime, cut into wedges (optional)

• 2 teaspoons fine sea salt
• 1 teaspoon ancho or guajillo chile powder
• 1/2 teaspoon lime zest, finely grated and dried briefly on a paper towel

• 3 tablespoons neutral oil
• 1 teaspoon fine sea salt

Instructions

1. Stack 4 tortillas at a time on a cutting board and cut through the stack with a chef's knife or pizza wheel into 6 wedges each (cut in half, then each half into thirds). Repeat with remaining tortillas — you'll have about 96 wedges. If your tortillas are very fresh and floppy, spread the wedges on a sheet pan and let them air-dry for 20 to 30 minutes; drier tortillas absorb less oil and fry crisper.
2. If making the chile-lime salt, stir the salt, chile powder, and dried lime zest together in a small bowl and set it next to the stove with a spoon.
3. Line two sheet pans with paper towels or set wire racks over them. Pour the oil into a heavy 4- to 5-quart Dutch oven or deep skillet — it should come up no more than 2 inches and leave at least 3 inches of clearance at the top. Clip on a deep-fry or instant-read thermometer and heat over medium-high to 350–360°F, about 8 to 10 minutes.
4. Test with one wedge: it should sizzle vigorously and float within 5 seconds. Add a small batch of chips — about 12 to 15 wedges, enough to float in a single loose layer. Crowding drops the oil temperature and gives you greasy, leathery chips.
5. Fry 45 to 90 seconds, stirring and flipping once or twice with a spider skimmer or slotted spoon. The chips are done when the bubbling has slowed noticeably, the edges are pale gold, and a chip feels rigid when you tap it against the side of the pot. Corn chips brown fast at the end — pull them just before they look as dark as you want.
6. Lift the chips out, letting oil drain back into the pot for a few seconds, and spread them on the lined pan. Immediately sprinkle with fine salt (or the chile-lime salt) from about a foot above so it lands evenly — hot chips still shiny with oil are the only ones salt will cling to. Repeat with remaining batches, letting the oil return to 350°F between each (about 30 to 60 seconds).
7. Serve warm, within an hour if you can, with lime wedges for squeezing over. Cooled leftovers keep in an airtight container or paper bag at room temperature for up to 3 days; revive them on a sheet pan in a 300°F oven for 4 to 5 minutes.
8. BAKED VERSION: Heat the oven to 375°F with racks in the upper and lower thirds. In a large bowl, toss the cut wedges with 3 tablespoons oil and the salt, using your hands to coat every piece. Spread in a single layer, barely overlapping, on two ungreased sheet pans. Bake 12 to 16 minutes, rotating and swapping the pans halfway, until the chips are dry, stiff, and speckled golden at the edges. Salt again lightly straight out of the oven and cool 5 minutes on the pans — they crisp further as they cool.

Chef's tips

Nutrition (per serving, estimated)

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