In this video, learn how to make Chef John's Potato Chip Latkes, a crispy, golden twist on the classic Hanukkah favorite. Using crushed potato chips for added crunch and flavor, this easy recipe creates latkes that are perfect for holiday gatherings or any time you crave a savory treat. Serve them as an appetizer or side dish, and watch them disappear in no time!
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LifestyleTranscript
00:00Hello, this is Chef John from FoodWishes.com with potato chip latkes.
00:08That's right, this video was supposed to be a fun hack for an easy no work method to make
00:12potato pancakes.
00:14But what this actually became is a video recipe for how to make the best potato pancakes I've
00:19ever had.
00:20And I know that does sound crazy, but it is 100% true.
00:24And to get started, the first thing we'll need to do is crush up some potato chips.
00:29And what I recommend here is the classic kettle style chip, which contains no seasoning other
00:33than sea salt.
00:34And while you can, of course, crush up any potato chip you want, the kind I used were
00:39perfect, so I would go with that.
00:42And by the way, there might be better ways to exfoliate your hands, but this has to be
00:45the most delicious way.
00:48But anyway, we're going to need one cup of potato chips, crushed up just like this, which
00:52is fairly fine.
00:54And once those are set, we will add one large egg to a bowl, along with some whole milk,
01:00as well as a little splash of cold fresh water.
01:03We will also need some all-purpose flour, a little bit of baking powder, no not baking
01:08soda, baking powder, as well as a touch of salt, some freshly ground black pepper, and
01:15of course, a few shakes of cayenne, and then we'll finish up with about a tablespoon of
01:19minced onion.
01:20Okay, anything will work, and I ended up using the light parts of a scallion.
01:25And then what we'll do is give this a thorough and thoughtful whisking, until we have everything
01:29evenly combined, at which point we'll add in our crushed potato chips, along with a
01:35couple more shakes of cayenne, because I either forgot I added it earlier, or I wanted a little
01:40more.
01:41And which one was it?
01:43Well, I'd rather not say.
01:46And that's it.
01:47We'll take a spoon and give this a mix.
01:48And yes, this mixture is going to be very loose, and very liquidy, and way too wet to
01:53make latkes with, but that's okay, because what we're going to do after this is mixed,
01:58is wrap it up, and pop it in the fridge for 30 to 60 minutes, and during that time the
02:03starches are going to soak up the liquid, and as you can see as we unwrap this and give
02:07it a stir, things will have thickened up substantially, and if everything goes according to plan,
02:13we should be looking at something that looks like a traditional potato pancake batter.
02:17And once that is ready to use, we will head to the stove, and we'll divide that into
02:21four equal, somewhat round portions, on top of some vegetable oil that we have set over
02:26medium heat, and yes, of course you can use the fat of your choice, and by the way, don't
02:32waste too much time trying to fine-tune the shape.
02:35Okay, personally, I do not trust a perfectly round potato pancake, so for these just kind
02:40of round is fine, and what we'll do is let those fry on medium for about 4 minutes, or
02:46until the bottom is nicely browned before we flip them over, and you know what, I really
02:50should have peaked, since these look pretty good, but I would prefer them to be a little
02:54bit browner.
02:56So as you'll see, once this second side browns, I'm going to flip them back over to get a
03:00little more color on that first side, and you should always feel free to do the same.
03:05I mean, you are after all the Lenore Ryan of your potato chip latke frying, and by the
03:10way, Lenore was a chef at Ryan's Cafe, where I used to work, who did an amazing brunch,
03:15and served an amazing potato pancake, and I have a feeling she would have loved these.
03:21So once that side browned for about 3 or 4 minutes, I flipped them back over, and yes,
03:26that right there is the exact amount of browning I think we want.
03:29So after flipping, I let those go for another minute or so, until I was completely thrilled
03:34with how both sides looked, and that's it.
03:36Once done, we'll remove those to a paper towel to drain a little bit, before we go ahead
03:40and plate those up any way we want.
03:43And the way I think you really, really want to do these, is top first with a nice spoon
03:48of applesauce, followed by a nice dollop of sour cream, or creme fraiche, or even plain
03:54yogurt is really nice with these.
03:57And that's it, after double dolloping the tops, I went ahead and finished up with some
04:01freshly snipped chives, which of course went places I didn't want them to go.
04:06So after scattering, I moved some around, and took way too many pictures, before I grabbed
04:11a fork to go in for the official taste, and that my friends, like I said in the intro,
04:16was the best bite of potato pancake I've ever had.
04:20These have the exact same texture as a classic latke, but with a more pronounced, more intense
04:25potato flavor, which makes sense because we use nice fried crispy potatoes to make these
04:30with, so I was confident these were going to taste amazing, but what I didn't anticipate
04:36was how incredibly perfect the texture was going to be, which I will admit took a couple
04:40test batches, but I did eventually figure out the right amount of liquid, and I'm so
04:45happy, and I think you're going to be so happy I did.
04:49And of course, you go ahead and serve your latkes any way you want, but for me, you cannot
04:53beat the combination of applesauce, sour cream, and chive, right, that really does make for
04:58a literally perfect pairing, but no matter how you serve yours, this is way, way more
05:04than just a time-saving hack, and whether you make these for Hanukkah, or just to serve
05:09at your next brunch, they really were the best I've ever had, which is why I really
05:13do hope you give these a try soon.
05:16So please follow the links below for the ingredient amounts, a printable written recipe, and much
05:21more info as usual, and as always, enjoy!