The Most Important Tips You Need To Avoid Soggy Potato Pancakes

Potato pancakes are a great way to elevate the humble spud if you're tired of conventional preparations like fries and mashed potatoes. The key to this tasty side dish is a crispy, crunchy outer texture, which perfectly accompanies the soft interior. If you find that your potato pancakes often come out too soggy, a lack of heat is the most likely culprit. Both the skillet and the oil you're frying your pancakes in must be the right temperature to ensure the best possible texture. To determine whether the temperature is right, add a few potato pieces to the oil and watch for the sizzle. As McCormick executive chef Hadar Cohen Aviram told First For Women, "The oil should be hot but not fuming."

By the same token, be mindful of how many pancakes you add to the hot skillet at the same time. Even if the temperature is hot enough, overloading the pan with potatoes will quickly reduce the heat and leave subsequent batches hopelessly soggy. Along with heat, the moisture content of your raw potatoes is another important crunch factor to consider.

The more moisture a food contains, the more issues you'll experience with sogginess when cooking. And because potatoes have a high concentration of water, you'll need to reduce it if you want to enjoy a crispy finished product. After shredding the potatoes to the consistency of hash browns, deposit them into a clean, dry towel or cloth. If you're making a lot of potato pancakes at one time, you may need to perform this task in batches to ensure the best outcome.

With the shredded potatoes in the cloth, begin squeezing them over your sink to do away with excess moisture. Squeeze as hard as you can, and don't hesitate to do a few rounds of squeezes to ensure you remove as much moisture as possible. Once all the shredded potatoes are thoroughly squeezed as dry as you can get them, you can add them to the hot oil as you normally would.

In the event that you'll be preparing potato pancakes a bit before you plan on actually serving them, there's a simple trick you can use to keep them crisp and crunchy until mealtime rolls around. Once the pancakes are finished frying, remove them from the pan and place them on a wire rack. A wire rack that attaches to a baking sheet is your best bet, as the sheet will catch any errant grease and prevent your oven from becoming a smoky mess while you prepare your meal. Next, place the wire rack with the potato pancakes in the oven and set it to a low temperature.

Wire racks are an integral tool for achieving crispy food, as they allow food to efficiently expel moisture, preventing sogginess. However, you must keep an eye on the pancakes in the oven to ensure they don't get dried out by the time you're ready to serve them. With these easy yet effective tips, you'll never need to worry about soggy potatoes ruining a meal ever again.