It's inevitable: Whether you roast, fry, bake, or mash potatoes, they're pretty much guaranteed to be delicious. But when it comes to potato perfection, nothing compares to the crispy, oniony, savory latke.
We won't lie to you, though. They are a bit of a production. There's a fair amount of standing over a skillet involved and wringing out your potatoes is practically a bicep workout. The payoff, however, is a multitude of golden brown, crispy potato-and-onion patties that you and your crowd get to dunk in sour cream and applesauce. And who wouldn't want that? Plus, latkes are a family affair. Not only are they the perfect party food, but you plenty of bonding time with your favorite folks to the tune of a sizzling skillet of frying potatoes.
But take heed: For something so simple, latkes are really easy to mess up if you don't know what you're doing. So we fried up dozens of batches to come up with a recipe that reliably delivers the best latkes ever, with a minimum of fuss. Ready for latke enlightenment? Read on to see how we created Our Favorite Latkes.
The Potatoes
There's no question about it: Russets are hands down the best spuds for making latkes. They have a high starch content, which means your latkes are less likely to fall apart and you don't need flour to bind them. We took our cues from Potato Latkes and tried both russet potatoes and Yukon Golds, but the russets yielded that perfect crispy, non-cakey consistency we were going for. And here's some bonus intel: You don't even have to peel your potatoes. Seriously, no one will know the difference!
Photo by Rhoda Boone
The Binder
A good latke doesn't require many ingredients beyond potatoes, onions, and eggs, but you need a little bit of binder to keep them together in the pan. We tried several combinations of breadcrumbs, potato starch, and matzo meal. Potato starch on its own yielded gummy latkes and breadcrumbs made a heavier latke than we were going for. Ultimately we sided with Potato Latkes and used all matzo meal because we loved the tender interior and crunchy edges that it produced.
The Fat
Having enough fat in the pan is super-important to prevent those latkes from sticking. We wanted to use something with a high smoke point that also added flavor. A combination of vegetable oil and schmaltz (rendered chicken fat), as suggested by Adam and Maxine's Favorite Latkes, was just the thing. The vegetable oil can stand up to the high heat and just a few spoonfuls of schmaltz add that delectable flavor that makes latkes so irresistible. If you make chicken stock regularly, then you might already have schmaltz on hand. It's that yellow fat that rises to the top after the stock is chilled. Otherwise you can purchase it at some butcher shops or from a Jewish deli or grocery store. It's also pretty easy to make yourself. Just one caveat: If you keep kosher, you probably know that you'll have to skip the sour cream if you fry your latkes with schmaltz! In that case, just use only vegetable oil.
The Method
We learned from this fast recipe for Potato Latkes that using a food processor's grating disk really cuts down on time (not to mention scraped knuckles). But once you've shredded your potatoes and onions, take heed: There's a critical, unskippable step that will keep your latkes crispy rather than soggy: Make sure you squeeze the excess liquid from the vegetables before mixing them with the eggs, matzo meal, and seasonings. When it comes to frying the latkes, it's all about efficiency. We cut cooking time in half by using two large skillets at the same time. As soon as one latke is done frying, replace it with a dollop of the uncooked latke mixture. And don't forget to add more fat as your batches cook. Pretty soon, you'll establish a rhythm and be slinging latkes as naturally as a Jewish bubbe.
