It has come to my attention recently, that the majority of the world doesn’t know what a piccadilly chip is. Yeah. Crazy, I know. If you are from/have ever visited Sanpete county, Utah, then your jaw is probably on the floor right now. I guess sometimes you take the good things in life for granted!
Sanpete is a small county located in the heart of Utah. {No, literally, the center of Utah is really in Sanpete county.} It houses a handful of towns ranging from Chester, where we see if we can hold our breath through the entire town {known as the ‘Chester Challenge’} to Ephraim, the largest town with a whopping population of 6,000 peeps. {Which is where I happened to grow up.} The two biggest things that Sanpete is known for are:
1. Snow College. {What a blessed place.} and
2. The Norbest turkey plant.
You know you’re in Sanpete when you can smell that wonderful aroma of turkey poop coming from all the turkey farms. Makes your eyes water some days. We won’t get into that a whole lot right now though. The reason I bring all of this up, is every year there’s a ‘Scandinavian Days’ celebration in Ephraim where a bunch of peeps line the roads with booths of random knick knacks, jewelry/art, and food. Lots and lots of food. My favorite food booth is the infamous turkey/piccadilly booth. Best turkey you will ever have in your life {Check out the famous marinade recipe here!} and my ever so favorite piccadilly chips. So, what is a piccadilly chip?? Zachary teases and says they’re no different than fries, but I have a serious argument to make about that.
Note: I’m not going to give specific amounts on the ingredients because it really is dependent on how many you are cooking for and how big/small of a pot you are using. If it helps, 2 potatoes were just great for Zachary and me to split.
- Russet potatoes
- Frying oil {Word on the street is, peanut oil works best. We use Canola, so it really is up to you.}
- Salt
Directions:
- Peel the potatoes and slice them into 1/2-1 inch cubes.
- Place the potatoes in a bowl of cold water and let them soak for 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, pour enough oil into your pan until it comes up about a third of the way up. {A little less is okay, but more isn’t. This would cause a risk of the oil boiling over.}
- Heat the oil to about 375°F.
- Drain and dry your potatoes, place in a frying basket, and lower them into the oil slowly. {Or if you’re ghetto like us, you can use a metal spoon and place scoops of potatoes into the oil.}
- When the potatoes are covered and the bubbling has slowed down, cover the pan and cook them for about 6 minutes. {This is to cook them – they shouldn’t be brown when you take them out.}
- Now, take the potatoes out of the pan and allow the oil to heat back up to around 390°F.
- Put the potatoes back in the pan and cook until brown. {Around 5-7 minutes.}
- Remove them and place on papers towels to let the excess oil drain. {Pat dry if necessary.}
- Salt generously and serve warm.
There you have it! A little taste of Sanpete right in your own home. If you ever find yourself in the area, promise me that you will try these babies. {Because I know you all make it a point to go on vacation to little farm towns in the middle of nowhere. ;)} I hope you love these just as much as all of us Sanpetians do! If not, I don’t want to hear about it.
Thanks. I grew up in manti and never new how to make these and the turkey is my favorite
This is so great! Sam is going to die! Making these ASAP!
Don’t forget the parade of sheep down one of the main roads! Had a shock when I came out of the Science Building one day to see that! Thanks for the recipe!
I think I need to make a trip to Utah to try these out! I’ve been in the dark all my life 🙂
Just wanted to let you know that I made these with my Sanpete Turkey last night and it was wonderful! Much easier than the other recipe I had on file. I loved it. Thanks for sharing.
Sarah, I am SO excited to try this recipe! Here in St. George we have a Frostop that serves amazing Picadilly chips! I order extra fry sauce and go to town on those babies 😀 I am so happy I know how to make them at home now!
Sarah, I am so excited to try this recipe! Here in St. George we have a Frostop that serves amazing Picadilly chips. I always order extra fry sauce and go to town on those babies!:D I’m so happy I know how to make them at home now!
I’ve never heard of Picadilly chips before (gasp!!!) but now that I have you can bet I’ll be making them. Sounds fantastic!
These look so yummy what is the sauce on the side? Can’t wait to learn more about the turkey!
Did you ever post the “be on the look out for a recipe this week” for the turkey? I have made these ‘chips’ a bunch of times, but always called them the “you know, square ones that are like fries but square” – Now I can actually give them a name!
I always thought that they were battered and fried… at least the ones that were produced in the Piccadilly plant on the South end of Mount Pleasant were. Those are the ones I’d love to figure out a recipe for!
As a Utah native transplanted to Minnesota, I have been asking everyone for a English Chip (that was the going name in Utah county) recipe. I can smell the fryer going right now and have amazing memories of Sanpete county that I am picturing in my mind as I type!
Same!! It’s amazing how much I crave something that is so simple from home. I hope these are what you’ve been looking for!!