diff --git a/http.go b/http.go
index 5f7c87162bc..9a75bef5c35 100644
--- a/http.go
+++ b/http.go
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ package chef
 import (
 	"bytes"
 	"crypto/rsa"
+	"crypto/tls"
 	"crypto/x509"
 	"encoding/pem"
 	"fmt"
@@ -28,21 +29,32 @@ type Client struct {
 	client *http.Client
 }
 
+// Config contains the configuration options for a chef client
+type Config struct {
+	Name    string
+	Key     string
+	SkipSSL bool
+}
+
 // NewClient is the client generator used to instantiate a client for talking to a chef-server
 // It is a simple constructor for the Client struct intended as a easy interface for issuing
 // signed requests
-func NewClient(name string, key string) (*Client, error) {
-	pk, err := privateKeyFromString([]byte(key))
+func NewClient(cfg *Config) (*Client, error) {
+	pk, err := privateKeyFromString([]byte(cfg.Key))
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, err
 	}
 
+	tr := &http.Transport{
+		TLSClientConfig: &tls.Config{InsecureSkipVerify: cfg.SkipSSL},
+	}
+
 	c := &Client{
 		Auth: &AuthConfig{
 			privateKey: pk,
-			clientName: name,
+			clientName: cfg.Name,
 		},
-		client: &http.Client{},
+		client: &http.Client{Transport: tr},
 	}
 	return c, nil
 }
diff --git a/http_test.go b/http_test.go
index 867e5a97c69..e59b97b65d9 100644
--- a/http_test.go
+++ b/http_test.go
@@ -475,7 +475,8 @@ func TestRequestError(t *testing.T) {
 }
 
 func TestNewClient(t *testing.T) {
-	c, err := NewClient("testclient", privateKey)
+	cfg := &Config{Name: "testclient", Key: privateKey, SkipSSL: false}
+	c, err := NewClient(cfg)
 	if err != nil {
 		t.Error("Couldn't make a valid client...\n", err)
 	}
@@ -485,13 +486,15 @@ func TestNewClient(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 
 	// Bad PEM should be an error
-	c, err = NewClient("blah", "not a key")
+	cfg = &Config{Name: "blah", Key: "not a key", SkipSSL: false}
+	c, err = NewClient(cfg)
 	if err == nil {
 		t.Error("Built a client from a bad key string")
 	}
 
 	// Not a proper key should be an error
-	c, err = NewClient("blah", badPrivateKey)
+	cfg = &Config{Name: "blah", Key: badPrivateKey, SkipSSL: false}
+	c, err = NewClient(cfg)
 	if err == nil {
 		t.Error("Built a client from a bad key string")
 	}
@@ -499,7 +502,8 @@ func TestNewClient(t *testing.T) {
 
 func TestMakeRequest(t *testing.T) {
 	server := createServer()
-	c, _ := NewClient("testclient", privateKey)
+	cfg := &Config{Name: "testclient", Key: privateKey, SkipSSL: false}
+	c, _ := NewClient(cfg)
 	defer server.Close()
 
 	resp, err := c.MakeRequest("GET", server.URL, nil)