Mashed Potato Pancakes - Recipe for Holiday Leftovers (2024)

FAQs

How do you reheat potato pancakes so they are crispy? ›

After allowing the latkes to drain on the wire cooling rack, place them on an ungreased, unlined cookie sheet. When ready to reheat, place in a 375 degree oven for about 10 minutes (7 if using a convection oven) until heated through just prior to serving. A convection oven setting will produce a more crispy result.

When peeled, potatoes begin immediately to oxidizeand turn brown. One of the tricks to reduce discoloration is squeezing out all of the potato water (See tip #7). Another trick is grinding the potatoes with onions; they help keep the potato mixture white. More onions are added later for flavor.

Potato pancakes have a creamy, almost mashed-potato-like center, with a thin, golden, crisp exterior. Latkes, on the other hand, should have a deeply browned crust, with wispy, lacy edges. Latkes also aren't hash browns.

Too thick in the center will mean they are soggy and undercooked. The pancakes should be about 1/4 thick after pressing down on them. Over-crowding the skillet with pancakes will prevent browning on the edges and result in soggy/mushy potato pancakes, which is why cooking these in batches is so important.

The Best Method for Single-Serve Pancakes: The Toaster

If your toaster has different settings, put the toaster on a gentle setting—like toast or bagel. The pancake will need probably 90 seconds to two minutes in the toaster. Each model will be a bit different so you might have to experiment with a trial pancake.

Fry in an oil with a high smoke point

Vegetable oil or canola oil is usually best, because of its high smoking point. Latkes were traditionally made with schmaltz, or chicken fat, so if you have access to it, you should certainly add it in, because it does contribute to the flavor.

A: I am guessing the onions accelerated the potatoes turning black or the potatoes were not fully cooked in the middle (make the same thickness and not mounded up in the middle next time to try this out). I used to run into this when different people made pizza, especially with fresh sausage.

If you don't drain the moisture, they won't crisp as easily and that may be why your potato pancakes are gummy. Feel the Heat. Sufficiently heating oil in the pan prior to placing the patty in the pan is the key to a properly crispy pancake.

Tart and fruity applesauce—unsweetened is best—cuts through the grease and lightens them right up, leaving you feeling perfectly satisfied, but not stuffed. Sure, sour cream is tart too, but since it's dairy, it can weigh down the latkes—adding unwanted heft to an already filling meal.

These potato pancakes (called latkes) are meant to symbolize the miracle of Hanukkah, when the oil of the menorah in the ransacked Second Temple of Jerusalem was able to stay aflame for eight days even though there was only enough oil for one day. The symbolism comes in the form of the oil in which latkes are fried.

Why are restaurant pancakes so fluffy? ›

The main ingredient in these delicious pancakes is all-purpose flour. The recipe also calls for baking powder—a leavener that makes pancakes extra fluffy— salt, and sugar. There are a few wet ingredients in the recipe as well: milk, butter, and an egg to add a bit more moisture and bind the batter together.

Fry the latkes no more than an hour or two ahead of serving. You can warm them by placing the latkes in a single layer on a sheet pan in a very low (200 F) oven. If they stay there too long, they will no longer be as crisp, but they will still be very appealing.

The USDA says food that has been left out of the fridge for more than two hours should be thrown away. At room temperature, bacteria grows incredibly fast and can make you sick. Reheating something that has been sitting at room temperature for longer than two hours won't be safe from bacteria.

Preheat your oven to 350°F, place the hash browns on a baking sheet, and bake for 10-15 minutes or until they are heated through. Finally, you can also reheat leftover hash browns in the microwave. Place them in a microwave-safe dish and heat for 30 seconds to one minute, stirring halfway through.

To get those potatoes crisp again, Consumer Reports recommends reheating in a 400-degree oven, covering your potatoes with tin foil until warm, and then removing the cover for a final few minutes to allow the skin to crisp back up.

If you want to keep them warm, say, for a party, I suggest keeping them on a wire rack (no paper towel) in a 375 oven. This will keep them warm and as crisp as possible (just know they'll never be as crisp as when they come out of the oven).

Your Latkes Aren't Crisp Enough

You might also be crowding your latkes when you cook them — you want to use a large pan and make sure your latkes don't touch when they're cooking (otherwise they'll steam instead of crisping up). Additionally, your oil might not be hot enough.