The Shir Hadash Men’s Club has an annual Latke and Comedy dinner; members are asked to bring six or more latkes, and the club also orders sandwiches. It’s a fun event, even if it’s not diet-safe.
The last time we had the event in person was 2019; I brought Trader Joe’s frozen latkes which I had heated in the oven. They were pretty blah, if I do say so myself.
But that was before the pandemic, before I did much cooking, and before I owned an All-Clad skillet. So I decided to bring Trader Joe’s frozen latkes again, but this time, I’d pan-fry them!
They fit perfectly in my 12-inch skillet.
I followed the directions faithfully, but the latkes lost their integrity when I turned them.
I brought them anyway. They did not win the popularity contest.
I’m hoping to do better next year – advice welcome!
David-
Frozen latkes??? You should be ashamed. Also, the critical problem is you don’t have enough oil to deep fry (about 1-2 inches). As you can see what too little oil caused. I just made about 150 latkes (10 pounds each of potatoes and onions, about 3 cups of matzo meal, dozen eggs, nutmeg, onion powder, salt and pepper) and about 3/4 gallon of canola or vegetable oil. (It’s in my cookbook.)
It does take some effort, but it beats the heck out of frozen…
Be well.
What can I say? I’m lazy *and* shameless when it comes to making just a few latkes!
I did wonder if I had enough oil, but the box said “enough to cover the bottom” (and I did add more partway through the process).
We’re going to make latkes from scratch tomorrow or Sunday, so not all is lost.
I always follow the Food Network Latke recipe. They are Alyson’s favorites. For once a year (or…usually we make them twice, both with homemade applesauce), why not make them from scratch? Not too bad, if you use the Food Processor shredder. I use the big holes for the potatoes and the little holes for the onion.