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Potato Latke Master Recipe

By jabbett
Published December, 13 2006 9:00 am
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I usually only make potato latkes once a year, for Chanukah, and every year I search online to find the right proportions of ingredients. Last year, I had had enough, and actually documented my process for posterity. It’s nothing earth-shattering, but at least it’ll be here for years to come. And it’s meant to be multiplied: I quintupled this recipe for a crowd — freezing/reheating instructions follow the recipe.

POTATO LATKE MASTER RECIPE

* 2 lb. russet potatoes
* 1 medium onion, pureed (about 1 cup)
* 2 large egg
* 1 tsp. salt
* 1/2 cup flour (or matzo meal)

* Pure olive oil for frying (not extra virgin)

Peel potatoes and shred in food processor (or, if appliance-challenged, with a box grater). Place potato shreds in a bowl and submerge in cold water for five minutes. Drain, then place in a clean kitchen towel, roll up, and twist forcefully to press juices out. (Use a kitchen towel you don’t like, as potato juice stains.) Set potato shreds aside.

If you are multiplying this recipe, keep the ingredients separated until ready to fry. Then, mix latke batter in single-recipe increments and fry (as described below), and repeat until completed.

Combine potato shreds, eggs, onion puree, salt, and flour — mix thoroughly.

In large skillet, heat 1/2 cup olive oil to 350-degrees. By heaping tablespoons, spoon batter into hot oil and press slightly into latke shape. Do not crowd the pan, as doing so will detrimentally lower the oil temperature — fry about five or six latkes at a time, depending on pan size. Cook five minutes, until brown on bottom, them flip and cook five minutes more. Place on paper towels to drain.

If you are multiplying this recipe, add more olive oil as necessary and be sure to maintain proper oil temperature. Also, you may need to add more flour (by the tablespoon) if the batter gets soggy.

If eating immediately, place drained latkes in a warm (250-degree) oven until ready to eat. If freezing, placed drained latkes in a storage container or foil tray, separating layers of latkes with wax paper, and freeze. To reheat, place latkes in a single layer on a baking sheet and bake at 350-degrees for 10-15 minutes until heated-through.

23 comments so far (Post your own)
1.At 9:09 am on December 13th, 2006, elf wrote:

It’s nice to have a recipe backed by a trustworthy cook.

Btw, I’ve discovered a trick for preventing shredded potato from turning without going through the trouble of soaking it in water and then drying it out. Just grate (or puree) the onion first and then stir in the potatoes. The acid in the onion will prevent oxidation.

2.At 11:22 am on December 13th, 2006, jabbett wrote:

IIRC, the soaking and drying also helps decrease the batter’s sogginess.

3.At 12:34 pm on December 13th, 2006, elf wrote:

Good to know.

4.At 1:38 pm on December 13th, 2006, sweinberger wrote:

Washing off the surface starch by the soak-dry-step will result in a latke that more potato-flavor, less glue-like texture. Of course, sometimes I have a hankering for the gummy, grated-potato latke. But the shred/wash really lets the potato-flavor shine.

5.At 4:13 pm on December 13th, 2006, Pseudonymous ben Kalonymous wrote:

I’d like to thank you, Jabbett, for the implicit invitation in this post to feed me some latkes. Much obliged :-)

6.At 4:14 pm on December 13th, 2006, Howard wrote:

Doh… didn’t change my pseudonym (the above is my message, but you probably already knew that)

7.At 12:39 am on December 19th, 2006, Meredith wrote:

I know this is a longshot, but… does anyone know a way to bake latkes (as an alternative to frying)?

8.At 9:28 am on December 19th, 2006, DeisCane wrote:

I’m sure you can make them in the oven, just like schnitzel can be made in the oven.

9.At 2:34 pm on December 19th, 2006, OC wrote:

Just wondering - why not extra virgin olive oil? (I am not a cooking-savvy person - so I really have no idea).

Thanks

10.At 3:07 pm on December 19th, 2006, jabbett wrote:

Extra virgin olive oil is usually reserved for sauces and dressings — occasions when you want to take advantage of its strong, fruity flavor. If you fried with it, I think the oil’s taste would be overwhelming (and way to expensive to use in such quantity). As for why one should use olive oil over other kinds of oil, it’s certainly more germane to the holiday, and it’s nutritionally superior to most generic vegetable oils.

11.At 4:45 am on December 20th, 2006, DeisCane wrote:

Great response, jabbett. EVOO is overused among today’s lay cooks because they see it on The Food Network but lack the depth of understanding of its usage, imo.

12.At 12:46 pm on December 22nd, 2006, Rebecca wrote:

Regarding making latkes without deep frying - I have had great luck making latkes with very small amounts of oil (actually I use butter) on a non-stick pan and/or griddle. I use the Joy of Cooking potato pancake recipe. They don’t turn out all brown and crispy, they’re more like pancakes, but they’re good.

Thanks for the tip about oxidation & onions. I’m wondering, does anyone know, how long can you leave the batter sit once the onions are in? I’m trying to decide whether I can do the grating & drying ahead of time (earlier the same day).

13.At 8:29 pm on December 22nd, 2006, GP wrote:

Right on rebecca, that’s how we started preparing them at our bed and breakfast.

GP in Montana

14.At 5:59 am on December 24th, 2006, DeisCane wrote:

Actually, the poster said, “as an alternative to frying,” not, “as an alternative to deep frying.”

15.At 12:51 am on December 25th, 2006, EtTuBrute2 wrote:

Thanks for the recipe. I made them tonight for a belated Hanukkah party, and they came out great!

One thing, though. I’m not sure if I had enough onion. The concept of a “medium” onion is fairly subjective, and I’m not sure if I had enough. I like the idea of giving a weight to the quantity of potatoes (as opposed to a number of potatoes, like many other recipes give). Would it be possible to say how many ounces or pounds of onion should be bought at the grocery store?

Thanks,
David in South Florida

16.At 1:21 am on December 28th, 2006, elf wrote:

Jabbett said:
Extra virgin olive oil is usually reserved for sauces and dressings — occasions when you want to take advantage of its strong, fruity flavor. If you fried with it, I think the oil’s taste would be overwhelming (and way to expensive to use in such quantity)

EVOO is not recommended for frying (especially deep frying) because of its low smoke point. Refined olive oil is better. Unfortunately, it is not necessarily cheaper (at least according to America’s Test Kitchen).

I usually use canola oil for frying, but I like the idea of using olive oil on Chanukkah. Maybe next year I’ll buy some refined OO.

17.At 5:37 pm on December 28th, 2006, judi wrote:

Late latke tip- if you grate the onions and add them to cold water along with the potatoes, you get a pleasant onion flavor that permeates the latkes but isn’t overbearing. Just pull handfuls of potato & onion as you need them , squeeze as dry as possible, mix with an egg and ample salt and matza meal, press into pancake shape and fry in hot oil.

I use the medium shred wheel most of the time, but the fine shredder makes really crispy latkes.

18.At 5:51 pm on January 6th, 2007, Becki wrote:

I have made latkes like this forever. I was teachimg my 10th grade class how to make crisp, WHITE latkes. And the old timer lady in the litchen thought I was nuts for peeling the taters and for soaking them in ice water. She tossed the whole potato and the rusult was clay brown colored batter ( not sure above about the onion thing as she put DID put onion in hers). GAG! Her latkes turned out lime green…gag. Ours…beautiful brown on the outside, white on the inside.

I saw Marth Stewart stole my ( and yours) recipe!

FYI..pet peeve on Latke cooking: DON”T press latkes to be flat…yuck…

19.At 7:50 am on April 11th, 2007, trama wrote:

Ich erklare meinen Freunden uber diese Seite. Interessieren!

20.At 1:04 pm on March 23rd, 2008, Rachael wrote:

Thanks so much for putting this in writing. I married into my husbands family 9 years 10 months ago. We just moved out of state.so this year I’m incharge of making the latkes. I’m only allowed to get the recipe from my father in law after we’ve been married for 10 years. I’ve watched in on making them last year in December but wasn’t allowed to have the reciepe. this is exactly what I needed. I feel like I just cheated my father in law out of a sacred family secret

21.At 6:17 pm on April 19th, 2008, Erica wrote:

I don’t get it..what’s the big secret about your father-in-law’s latke’s? It’s not like he’s Toll House or Duncan Hines, for crying out loud.

Make these and let them think you stole the recipe!

22.At 12:27 pm on June 28th, 2008, Michelle wrote:

You can raise the extra-virgin olive oil smoke point by adding garlic or onion to the oil while heating it, maintaining the health benefits while enjoying the flavor.

23.At 9:10 am on June 30th, 2008, DeisCane wrote:

Still, EVOO has too much flavor, imo. XLOO is much better.

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