Crispy Potato Pancakes
I like a cheap McDonald’s hashbrown or tater tot as much as the next guy, but I couldn’t figure out how to get (and retain) that crispy exterior without a deep fryer. To make matters worse, whenever I’d search for a potato pancake recipe, there are invariably ingredients like eggs and/or milk, combined with flour, that give the whole thing a more, well, “pancakey” texture than I would like. So either I would have to come up with a better search term than potato pancake, or devise a way to make something myself that would suit my preferences.
I was also trying to come up with a way to make a crisp surface for a Spanish tortilla, so that once it was cooked I could invert it and have a crunchy potato shell. I’m still working on getting that to work exactly as I intended, since the custard invariably softens the whole thing, but it was while tinkering with that, that I figured out how to make a potato pancake so crispy, it will retain a brittle crunch even once it’s cooled and sat on the counter until tomorrow morning for breakfast.
Shannon likens these to giant waffle-cut potato chips. Depending on how thin of a layer you arrange the shredded potato in, you will end up with something very much like a potato chip, or slightly chewier, like an actual potato pancake. The trick is simply to remove as much moisture from the potatoes as possible before frying them, so the potatoes crisp up instead of steam. When you add in eggs, milk or whatever other liquid, this just doesn’t happen.
- 1 pound russet potatoes, peeled and shredded
- Vegetable oil for frying
- Salt to taste
- Place all of the shredded potato into a large, clean dish towel or piece of cheesecloth. Squeeze out as much of the liquid as possible. The liquid is surprisingly unappetizing and plentiful! Discard.
- Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium heat with enough vegetable oil to coat the bottom in a thin layer. Even though you’re using a non-stick skillet, it is essential to use a reasonable quantity of oil to fry the potatoes.
- Take a portion of the shredded potatoes and add to the oil, pressing flat with a spatula. You can make several smaller pancakes or one large pancake to cut afterward. Let the potatoes fry completely undisturbed until the edges become a deep golden brown, then carefully flip and continue to fry until crisped on the other side.
- While the potatoes are still hot, add a generous pinch of salt to season them. Serve immediately, or allow to cool. They remain crisp for at least 24 hours, though they’ve never lasted longer in the house to determine whether or not longer is viable.
Sometimes I like to add a pinch of smoked paprika and sugar and fry these in garlic oil, for a sort of barbecue potato chip flavor. They’re nice as a canape base, which is the closest I’ve came to achieving the Spanish tortilla effect I was looking for. All in due time.