(upbeat music)
- I'm gonna show you how to make latkes.
This is a traditional Jewish recipe often made on Hanukkah,
but they are amazing as breakfast potato pancakes.
They literally disappear off the skillet as I cook them.
My family loves these, and I'm craving some latkes.
So let's get started.
We'll start with the star ingredient, the potatoes.
The traditional choice
for making latkes are russet potatoes.
You'll need to peel one pound or two large russet potatoes.
Now, if you don't have one already,
a great potato peeler is a must in the kitchen,
and it will save you tons of time,
especially if you love potato recipes.
(upbeat music)
Next, you'll need half of a medium-sized yellow onion.
Peel the skin of the onion and cut off the ends.
(upbeat music)
Now we're gonna grate the potatoes and the onions.
You can either use the large holes on your box grater
or use the grater attachment on a food processor.
I will leave a link to this food processor in the notes,
but my food processor does have two sizes
on the grating disc.
I do like to use the holes that are slightly smaller
because the bigger ones give a pretty coarse grating.
If you've never tried using your food processor for grating,
it is such a time saver.
Cut your potatoes into chunks that will fit into the hopper
and just push them through.
This process takes literally seconds to do
and no elbow grease required.
Once you're done with the potato, add the onion
to the hopper the same way and grate it through.
This really is such a time saver.
Once your potatoes and onions are grated together,
we're gonna drain off the excess liquid.
Draining off the liquid is key
to getting crispy edges on your latkes,
and you'll be amazed at just
how much liquid you can get out of your potatoes.
To squeeze the potatoes dry,
you can either use a cheesecloth or a kitchen towel.
If you're gonna use a kitchen towel,
make sure it's not a clean, beautiful kitchen towel,
because potato juice tends to stain.
So pick a clean towel that you won't be afraid
to dirty up a little bit.
I personally prefer using a cheesecloth for this
because it's a little easier to squeeze,
and I use and reuse my cheesecloth for everything.
Now, squeeze tightly over your potatoes and onions,
and really it is amazing
how much liquid will come out of there.
We also do this to ensure we have crispy hash browns.
And if you haven't tried our hash brown recipe,
make sure you check it out.
That's a lot of potato juice.
Let me know what you like to use your potato juice for.
Personally, I just pour it into the sink.
Now we'll make a quick batter.
In a mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt.
We're gonna give that a quick stir to combine.
Then crack in one large egg.
The egg can be cold right out of the fridge.
It doesn't matter in this recipe.
Now, stir that together until a thick batter forms.
I'm just using a fork, nothing fancy.
You just want it to combine.
And of course, I forgot,
you'll also need some freshly-cracked black pepper.
Once a thick uniform batter has formed,
you are gonna add your grated potatoes
and onions to the batter.
Now, it's worth noting that as soon
as you start grating your potatoes,
they do start to discolor.
So if your grated potatoes start to look a little orange
or red colored, don't worry.
You won't be able to tell in the cooked latkes.
Stir your mixture until your potatoes
and onions are evenly coated in your batter.
Think of the batter as the glue
that holds the latkes together,
and it also adds great flavor.
All right, our mixture is ready
and it's time to fire up the stove.
Set a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat.
I'm using my cast-iron skillet,
and I will link to it in the notes.
Add enough high-heat cooking oil
to generously coat the bottom,
which is about 1/4 inch of oil.
Once the oil is hot,
you can scoop the potato mixture into the pan.
I love using my trigger-release ice cream scoop
to make latkes because when it releases from the scoop,
it forms the perfectly portioned little fritters.
As you add the mixture to the pan,
you'll wanna immediately flatten the tops
to make evenly thick latkes.
Fry for four to five minutes on the first side,
or until the edges are browned.
If you find that your latkes are browning too quickly,
make sure you reduce the heat.
You wanna give them enough time to cook
through in the center.
Flip and cook for another three
to four minutes on the second side,
or until they're golden brown.
(bright music)
Once they're done cooking, transfer those
to a paper-towel-lined plate to soak up any excess oil.
And while they're still hot, I love to sprinkle them
with a little bit of kosher salt.
There's something just irresistible
about a salty bite on potatoes.
(bright music)
It's nice to add the little sprinkle of salt right
as they come off the oil,
because then the salt sticks a little better.
And it's time to enjoy these.
And I've got my favorite taste tester right here.
We're gonna do this together.
How much do you love latkes? - I love them a lot.
Honestly, they kinda taste like Chick-fil-A fries, so.
- Hm. It's true.
Little crispy on the edges, soft on the inside.
So good.
The classic way to serve these is,
and this is my personal favorite
and my daughter's favorite, with some sour cream.
So just take a dollop of that.
And then just to add a little bit of pizazzle,
I like to sprinkle the top with some fresh chives,
which we just plucked out of our garden.
And this is how I like to eat my latkes.
All right, show them your way.
- I like to eat mine with some fry sauce, actually.
So take 1/3 cup of mayo, scoop it into the bowl.
Then you're gonna take one tablespoon
of ketchup and also put that in.
- What do we call this? - Fry sauce.
- Fry sauce.
- And gosh dang is it good.
- Also, a really good burger sauce right there.
(upbeat music)
Oh, that looks good.
I do love some good fry sauce.
Okay. You wanna grab one for the taste test?
- I'm gonna do the chuck thing we do.
- No, no, no, no, no, no. Not with the mayo.
Don't do the chuck thing with the mayo.
Dad won't like that.
All right, you ready? Just take a dunk.
Oh, that's a good amount of fry sauce.
Ready?
Mm hmm.
That crunch in every bite.
I just love those crispy edges.
How about you?
- Yeah, same here.
- Oh, so yummy.
Ooh, I bet this would be good
with a lemon garlic aioli sauce too.
Mm.
Well, we're gonna go ahead
and finish off the rest of this taste test
behind the scenes, and maybe we'll share with Dad.
- I don't think so.
- Hey, you forgot your sauce.
Forgot your sauce.
Also, if you love potato recipes, woo.
There goes my sour cream.
Make sure to check out one
of our most popular potato recipes right over there.
And... - Don't forget
to share this recipe with your family and friends.
It really helps out the channel
and more people know about our wonderful recipes.
- That's right.
And let me know in the comments
if you spotted Sharky and where you saw him.
Bye.
Let's go.