French Fry Diary 652: Ruffles Deep Ridged Classic Hot Wings Potato Chips

It is a rare occasion that I get to review a new flavor of Ruffles. Hell, I can't even get the flavors I like, like simple barbecue or even the ultimate. For some reason the folks at Ruffles just don't want to distribute to South Jersey. If they did, I know I'd buy them.

Anyway one new flavor did pop up in the local Wawa, not something I'd normally be interested in, but I'm in South Jersey, and beggars can't be choosers. Similar to those great Ultimate chips, these potato chips are giant Ruffles, with ridges twice as deep as usual, and also have a Classic Hot Wings flavor inspired by Buffalo Wild Wings. You might
remember I wasn't impressed with Buffalo Wild Wings, so I wasn't really looking forward to these chips.

The bad news is these are just potato chips with a barbecue taste, they also have chicken wings taste, yeah, they're meat chips. For the most part, I hate meat chips. These have that weird chicken fat taste and they are far too hot with a lingering burn. Still, the great shape is perfect for dipping. I would have much rather had a different flavor in that shape however.

Random Tater Pic of the Day #118

One of Ruffles' new advertising campaign, this one for Ultimate Sweet & Smokin' BBQ Ruffles. Awesome.

French Fry Diary 385: Ruffles Ultimate Sweet & Smokin' BBQ

I love Ruffles, they make a great dipping chip. But then I saw this. Ruffles. Ultimate. Really? When I first saw those words on the shelf at my local Wawa, I was entranced. I had to know what Ruffles Ultimate was. And even better - Ruffles Ultimate with sweet and smokin' barbecue flavor, what a bonus.

So of course I snagged a bag. The packaging held some clue. Apparently Ultimate Ruffles are all about 'hardcore flavors' to crush a 'hardcore hunger.' Apparently the Ultimate style chips come in the regular Original and there's also a Kickin' Jalapeño Ranch flavor. I don't think I'll be trying those. These, however, promised on the bag that my hunger was about to get blown up by a spicy, sweet and smoky taste bomb. Boom. Well, then.

I have to say, once opening the bag and trying them, these are indeed no ordinary potato chips. Heck, these are no ordinary Ruffles. The ridges are huge, bigger than any I've seen on any other ridged potato chip. They are more like Herr's pink foil Ripples but much bigger, and cut much differently than regular Ruffles. These chips would be and are amazing as dipping chips, especially with my favorite, ice cream as the cold contrasts with the heat of the chip.

Yes, be warned, these are very hot chips. No playing around here, these are hot, but it's a good heat. Have something cold and refreshing nearby to wash these babies down with. The seasoning is very heavy, almost making the chips a bright solid orange, and they are indeed both sweet and smoky.

These Ruffles are very close to ultimate. Bravo. Much like Herr's with their Lattice Cut Potato Chips, Ruffles has found a way to make a better dipping chip. Thumbs up.

Sweet Potato Matchsticks

Since we've been talking lately here about matchstick fries, for Food Network Friday today, here's a video of Tyler Florence making sweet potato matchstick fries:



Enjoy!

Ultimate Hash Browns

For Food Network Fridays this week, we're taking a page from the ultimate - Tyler Florence's Ultimate, or more accurately "Tyler's Ultimate."

Today's recipe is Tyler's Baked Potato Hash Browns, which appeared on the episode "Ultimate Steak House," along with fun stuff like Salt Crusted New York Strip and Bearnaise Sauce, among others.

Check out the recipe here, or see below. Enjoy!

Baked Potato Hash Browns
Yield: 4 to 6 servings

Ingredients

* 1 1/2 pounds russet potatoes
* 1 cup bacon lardoons
* 1 medium shallot, sliced
* 1 egg white
* 4 green onions, roughly chopped
* 2 sprigs thyme, leaves picked
* Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
* Extra-virgin olive oil
* 2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley

Directions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Peel potatoes and wash. Use a mandolin, or food processor with the grater attachment, to finely shred potatoes. Place in a kitchen towel and squeeze dry.

Take a 9-inch oven proof skillet and add bacon and sliced shallots. Set over medium heat and render fat, 4 to 5 minutes. Shallots will caramelize. Using a slotted spoon, remove the bacon and shallots and put in a large mixing bowl (reserve the bacon fat and pan) with potato slices, egg white, green onions, and thyme leaves and season well with salt and pepper. Toss to combine.

Spoon mixture into the hot pan with the bacon fat. Pack it in well pressing down with a large spoon to compress the mixture a little. Drizzle the top with some extra-virgin olive oil and season with salt and pepper. When it starts to get golden brown and crispy around the edges flip the hash brown over and pop into the oven to bake for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly before running a knife around the edges and then inverting the potato onto a cutting board. Slice into wedges, garnish with chopped flat leaf parsley and serve.