Kale Chips - What works for me!

There are a lot of kale chip recipes out there, they're all similar and pretty simple. For some reason I can never remember exactly what to add and what temperature;

• 325, 350 or 375 degrees Fahrenheit?
• Olive oil, grape seed or what?
• Put the seasoning on before baking or after?

I have tried making oil-free chips in a dehydrator - they looked wonderful but they had a horrible taste with a thin cardboard texture.  So the dehydrator is out which is fine since I'm using it to dry celery for a low-salt celery salt today! I think you just need to experiment and see what works for you in your oven.  Below is a list of what I've learned; 

• Choose a kale variety that has smoother leaves, the more undulating the leaves are, the more difficult it is to evenly bake them.
• Plan to bake an entire bunch of kale...it is addictive and the chips will probably not survive 24 hours!  Trust me :-)
• Heat oven to 350 degrees and go from there (if they start to burn drop the temp to 325, if you end up with soggy leaves bump up the temp to 375 next time). 
• Cut out the stalks with scissors and pull leaves into palm size pieces.
• Put kale into a salad spinner, wash and thoroughly spin dry, lay leaves on a towel to dry.
• To speed things up, and to make sure the leaves are completely dry, you can put them between paper towels and roll out the moisture with a rolling pin.  Don't worry about harming the leaves!
• I have tried various oils like olive oil, grape seed and coconut, but my favorite by far is hazelnut oil.  I recently read that avocado oil works well too, so I may try that next.
• Pour some oil (~1 tbsp) into a small dish that you can dip the tips of your fingers into, and massage the oil onto both sides of the leaves. Make sure you use the oil, if you are economical with oil the leaves will not be protected and you're more likely to end up with dark singed and burned edges.  This is not a recipe where reducing oil will work - if you're worried about the calories in oil don't make these chips.  If you try and be lean with the oil you will increase the risk of uneven baking and half your chips will turn out brown and inedible!  Been there, done that!
• Spread leaves out onto a parchment-lined baking sheet, give the leaves some space and don't overlap.  Place in the oven on a middle rack and set a timer for 10 mins.
• At 10 mins keep an eye on the color of the leaves, you want them green with not even a hint of brown.  As soon as you see any slight browning, pull them out of the oven.  You can always pull out the cooked ones and put the rest back in the oven for a few more minutes; all the leaves are a little different so it makes sense that they will bake slightly differently.
• Mine generally take about 11 to 12 mins depending on how many leaves I load on the tray - I usually split a bunch of kale in to 2 or 3 batches in the oven.
• When you take them out of the oven immediately slide the parchment paper onto a cooling rack or cool granite surface to prevent them from cooking any longer, and season with salt.  I'm currently having a love-affaire with Herbamare seasoned salt, but you can also use garlic salt, paprika, ground steak seasoning, whatever makes your taste buds happy!

So to summarize;

1. Set oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit
2. Cut stalks from leaves 
3. Wash leaves and dry really well
4. Massage in oil (don't skimp)
5. Place leaves on a lined baking tray (make sure leaves don't touch)
6. Place in oven for 10 mins (keep an eye on them)
7. Season after they come out of the oven!

Enjoy your crunchy, salty little leaves of green!