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Crispy Potato Latkes are delicious paired with applesauce or sour cream and chives. They are excellent on the side of your next fish fry!
When I think of Friday nights in Milwaukee, I think of fish fries. There were so many potato options as side dishes with your fish: Baked potato, mashed potatoes, french fries, hash browns, American fried potatoes, broasted potato wedges, boiled potatoes, and potato latkes.
The latkes were always among my favorites. The potato pancakes are crispy on the outside, tender on the inside and easy to customize with toppings to cure sweet or savory cravings.
Table of Contents
Recipe ingredients
At a Glance: Here is a quick snapshot of what ingredients are in this recipe.
Please see the recipe card below for specific quantities.
Ingredient notes
- Potatoes: The starch content of Russet and Idaho potatoes make them among the best for Crispy Potato Latkes. These starches break down and get darker when cooked, so the fresher the potato, the better.
- Vegetable oil: Opt for a neutral oil with a high smoke point, like canola, peanut, or grapeseed.
Step-by-step instructions
- Move an oven rack to the middle position and preheat oven to 300 degrees. Line a large plate with paper towels. Place a wire rack inside a rimmed baking sheet and place in the oven. In a food processor fitted with a shredding disc, or with a box grater, shred the potatoes and onions. Pour onto a clean kitchen towel.
- Wrap the towel around the shredded potatoes and onions and squeeze over a sink or bowl to remove as much liquid as possible. Transfer the potatoes and onions to a large bowl. Stir in eggs, flour, baking powder, 1 teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon pepper. Mix with clean hands or a spatula until uniformly combined.
- Heat oil in a large cast-iron or other heavy-duty skillet to 325 degrees. Drop heaping rounded tablespoons of the shredded potato mixture into the oil and flatten with a heatproof utensil. Do not overcrowd.
- Fry until golden brown on one side, 2 to 3 minutes, then carefully flip using a fish turner or other heatproof spatula. Continue to cook until the second side is golden brown and crusty, 1 to 2 minutes longer.
- Transfer to the plate lined with paper towels to drain on both sides, then transfer to a baking sheet and place in the preheated oven to keep warm until serving time. Repeat with the remaining shredded potato mixture until all potato pancakes are cooked (you should have about 24 potato pancakes). Garnish with fresh chives and serve with applesauce and sour cream.
Recipe tips and variations
- Yield: 2 pounds of potatoes yields 24 potato pancakes.
- Storage: Crispy Potato Latkes are best enjoyed hot, as soon as possible after cooking.
- Leftovers: Reheat leftovers in the oven at 350 degrees.
- Shred the spuds: You can use a box grater, although I like to use the shredding disk on my food processor. You wind up with longer shreds if you use a food processor, but I think the end result is basically the same.
- Frying safety: Use a pot that is large enough for the potatoes and allows that space on top of the pot for oil to bubble up.
- Thermometer: Monitor the oil temperature as you cook with a digital thermometer.
- Resting plate: To prevent soggy potato latkes, allow them to drain on the paper towel-lined plate on both sides before transferring to the oven to keep warm. The paper towel will soak up just enough of the residual cooking oil.
- Oven: Place a wire rack inside a baking sheet and place in the oven set to 300 degrees. This will act as a warm holding area for early batches of latkes.
Complete your fish fry
Fish and Seafood Recipes
Beer Battered Cod
Salad Recipes
Easy Coleslaw
Cocktail Recipes
Brandy Old Fashioned
Side Dish Recipes
Homemade French Fries
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Crispy Potato Latkes
Crispy potato latkes are delicious paired with applesauce or sour cream and chives. They are excellent on the side of your next fish fry!
Ingredients
- 2 pounds russet potatoes peeled (see note 1)
- 1 large onion peeled and halved
- 2 eggs
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil for frying (see note 2)
- fresh chives mined, for garnish
- applesauce for serving
- sour cream for serving
Instructions
- Move an oven rack to the middle position and preheat oven to 300 degrees. Line a large plate with paper towels. Place a wire rack inside a rimmed baking sheet and place in the oven.
- In a food processor fitted with a shredding disc, or with a box grater, shred the potatoes and onions. Pour on to a clean kitchen towel.
- Gather the towel around the potatoes and onions and squeeze over a sink or bowl to extract as much liquid as possible. Transfer the shredded potatoes and onions to a large bowl.
- Stir in eggs, flour, baking powder, 1 teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon pepper. Mix until uniformly combined (I like to use my hands).
- Heat oil in a large cast-iron or other heavy duty skillet to 325 degrees. Drop heaping rounded tablespoons of the shredded potato mixture in to the oil and flatten with a heatproof utensil. Do not overcrowd.
- Fry until golden brown on one side, 2 to 3 minutes, then carefully flip using a fish turner or other heatproof spatula. Continue to cook until the second side is golden brown and crusty, 1 to 2 minutes longer. Transfer to the plate lined with paper towels to drain.
- Repeat with remaining shredded potato mixture until all potato pancakes are cooked (you should have about 24 potato pancakes). Transfer to a baking sheet and place in the preheated oven to keep warm until serving time. Garnish with fresh chives and serve with applesauce and sour cream.
Notes
- Potatoes: The starch content of Russet and Idaho potatoes make them among the best for Crispy Potato Latkes. These starches break down and get darker when cooked, so the fresher the potato, the better.
- Vegetable oil: Opt for a neutral oil with a high smoke point, like canola, peanut, or grapeseed.
- Yield: 2 pounds of potatoes yields 24 potato pancakes.
- Storage: Crispy Potato Latkes are best enjoyed hot, as soon as possible after cooking.
- Leftovers: Reheat leftovers in the oven at 350 degrees.
- Shred the spuds: You can use a box grater, although I like to use the shredding disk on my food processor. You wind up with longer shreds if you use a food processor, but I think the end result is basically the same.
- Frying safety: Use a pot that is large enough for the potatoes and allows and that space on top of the pot for oil to bubble up.
- Thermometer: Monitor the oil temperature as you cook with a digital thermometer.
- Resting plate: To prevent soggy potato latkes, allow them to drain on the paper towel-lined plate on both sids before transferring to the oven to keep warm. The paper towel will soak up just enough of the residual cooking oil.
- Oven: Place a wire rack inside a baking sheet and place in the oven set to 300 degrees. This will act as a warm holding area for early batches of latkes.
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving (2 latkes each)Calories: 159kcalCarbohydrates: 16gProtein: 3gFat: 10gSaturated Fat: 8gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 27mgSodium: 42mgPotassium: 349mgFiber: 2gSugar: 1gVitamin A: 41IUVitamin C: 16mgCalcium: 31mgIron: 1mg
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Meggan Hill is a classically-trained chef and professional writer. Her meticulously-tested recipes and detailed tutorials bring confidence and success to home cooks everywhere. Meggan has been featured on NPR, HuffPost, FoxNews, LA Times, and more.
Potatoes latkes
Sorry for the auto correct.
Can you use frozen hash browns for the potato lakes by thawing them? Does it make a difference?
Hi Linda, I haven’t tried it myself but I don’t see why not! I would thaw them and squeeze as much liquid out of them as possible to ensure the latkes come out crispy. Hope this helps! Take care! – Meggan