AB's BBQ Potato Chips

Steps

1. 1Soak the wood chip in water for 30 minutes.
2. 2Slice the potatoes widthwise into 1/8-inch-thick rounds — a mandoline with a 2mm blade is perfect for this. Arrange the potatoes on a steamer basket or Steel Lotus, dividing them into thirds and staggering any overlapping pieces.
3. 3Line an 8-quart stockpot with aluminum foil and set the drained wood chips in the bottom. Set the Steel Lotus in the pot over the wood chips, cover, and set over high heat. Turn on your fan or vent hood and smoke the potato slices for 20 minutes, then remove the pot from the heat. If you’re using a steamer basket, you’ll have to work in 3 batches, steaming each batch for 10 minutes.
4. 4While the potatoes smoke, combine the paprika, brown sugar, onion powder, salt, chili powder, and garlic powder in a food processor or a small coffee grinder reserved for spices. Pulse to combine and the spices form a fine powder. Set aside.
5. 5Remove the Steel Lotus or steamer basket from the pot and remove the potato slices to clean paper towels—this wicks away any residual moisture to prevent splattering oil later.
6. 6Heat the peanut oil in a 4-quart cast-iron Dutch oven fittedwith a candy/fry thermometer over medium-high heatto 300ºF.
7. 7While the oil heats, line a large mixing bowl with paper towels. Carefully add the potato slices one at a time to the hot oil. Using a spider strainer, fry 6 to 8 slices at a time in the hot oil until golden brown and crisp, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove the chips with the spider and hold over the oil to drain as much excess oil as possible. Move the finished chips to a paper towel-lined bowland shake to remove additional oil. Adjust the heat as necessary to maintain 300ºF, frying the potatoes in small batches.
8. 8When the final batch has finished frying, move the chips to a large brown paper bag. Sprinkle the chips with the spice mixture, fold the top of the bag over to seal and shake. Serve immediately.