Paqui Ghost Pepper Chips Copycat Recipe

We've long been fans of Paqui Ghost Pepper chips, but unfortunately they were recently discontinued. Luckily, we carry a large variety of chile powders that can help you recreate these fiery chips at home. The result may never be identical to the original, but who knows, you might just find you like your version better. Don't be afraid to customize the recipe to your liking, substituting in chile powders as needed.

 

Ingredients:

• 1.5 tsp Ghost pepper powder

• 1 tsp Chipotle powder

• 1/2 tsp Chile de Arbol powder (optional)

• 1 tsp Superfine salt, or more as needed¹

• 1 tsp Habanero Umami seasoning or flavor enhancer of your choice (optional)

• 1/4 tsp powdered sugar, sifted (optional)

1 - Super fine sea salt is best here because you want everything to stick to the chip, and finer grains stick better than larger ones. You may find it referred to as "popcorn salt" or if needed, you can blend regular salt down to a fine powder in a clean coffee grinder. How much salt you add depends on the chips you're using as a base. If your chips are low sodium, I'd recommend doubling the salt content listed here

Method:

The key here is to get the seasoning to stick to the chips. It's easier with potato chips since they maintain an oilier exterior. I found baking corn chips really helps, though it is not going to be as perfect as a chip that was seasoned right after frying (if you really want to go all out, frying your own is definitely the way to go).

• Mix ingredients really well (I shook them together in an air tight tupperware - be sure to let it settle before opening so you don't tear gas yourself)

• Bake chips at 300 degrees for 4 minutes. Keep an eye on them and pull early if needed, you don't want to see the chip darken because they will taste burnt

• Put chips in a sealable tupperware or bag, and add the seasoning, and shake. I used 1 tbsp seasoning for about 50 g of chips, but you can eye it and add more as needed.

That's it! Once you've started with a small batch, you can make modifications and scale it up. If you find any particularly tasty additions, let us know and we'll make a note of it.