Kale chips

Ingredients

0 of 6 out on the counter

• 12 cups chopped raw kale leaves, stems removed, washed and dried completely
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• ¼ tsp ground black pepper
• ¼ tsp salt

All set! Everything is out. Time to bake.

Method

1. 1Heat the oven to 300 °F with two racks in the middle. Line two large baking sheets with parchment. Oven heat is not changed at 5,300 ft.
2. 2Wash the kale, then dry it completely in a salad spinner and with a clean towel. Wet leaves steam and go limp instead of crisping. Cut out the stems and tear the leaves into pieces about 2 inches across; they shrink a lot.
3. 3Put the kale in a big bowl. Drizzle the oil over it and rub it in with your hands for about a minute, until every leaf has a thin shine.
4. 4Mix the garlic powder, paprika, pepper and salt in a small bowl. Sprinkle it over the kale and toss until the color is even.
5. 5Oven: spread the kale in a single layer on the two sheets, with no leaves on top of each other. Bake 15 minutes, switch the sheets between racks and turn the leaves over, then bake 5 to 10 minutes more. They are done when they snap and no leaf feels bendy. Pull them as soon as the edges turn a shade darker than the middle: the next minute can burn them.
6. 6Dehydrator: spread the kale on 2 to 3 trays, in one layer, and dry at 125 °F for 2½ to 4 hours, turning the trays once. Done means they snap, not bend. Dry air in Colorado may shorten the time, so check at 2½ hours.
7. 7Cool the chips on the sheet for 5 minutes; they crisp more as they cool. Store fully cooled in a jar or paper bag at room temperature for up to 3 days. A damp or warm chip goes soft in a closed jar.