Achieve perfectly crispy potato pancakes: Tips to avoid grease

Potato pancakes have been immensely popular for years. Nothing is better than a plate of hot and crispy pancakes out of the pan. However, for many, frying them often means dealing with the troublesome issue of excessive oil absorption, which negatively affects their taste and lightness. So, what can be done to keep the pancakes from being greasy? Use these tricks.

Before we move on to frying the pancakes, we need to choose the right potatoes for their preparation. Type B potatoes, which are all-purpose, work best for this dish. These potatoes contain a lot of starch, making them ideal for pancakes. Also, remember to use older potatoes for pancakes. Young potatoes contain a lot of water, making them much harder to fry.

What type of fat should be used to fry potato pancakes? The type of fat plays an extremely important role during the frying of potato pancakes. Many people choose vegetable oil, but an alternative can be lard, which works better for frying at high temperatures. Frying pancakes in lard allows for a golden color and crispiness.

The frying temperature is also very important. Pancakes should be fried in well-heated oil, allowing for quick surface sealing and reducing oil absorption. The optimal thickness of the pancakes is another factor that affects effective frying — they should not be too thin, so they don't burn too quickly, nor too thick, so they aren’t raw inside.

What to do to prevent the pancakes from absorbing the oil? The following tips will help you fry perfect potato pancakes:

1. Grate the potatoes and squeeze out the water. This will make frying easier and prevent oil absorption.
2. Add a tablespoon of distilled vinegar to the batter and mix thoroughly. It won't affect the taste of the pancakes but will limit oil absorption.
3. Place the batter on well-heated oil. If the oil is too cold, the batter will start to absorb it.
4. You can also add alcohol to the batter. Like vinegar, it won't change the taste of the potato pancakes but will make them absorb less oil.

After frying, it's worth placing the pancakes on a paper towel to absorb the excess remaining oil. This simple trick will make potato pancakes less caloric while retaining their desired taste and texture.