Have you started thinking about your latkes for Chanukah this year??? I’m curious what new ideas you’ve come up with! While I’m still dreaming about my squash latkes with homemade apple butter from last year, I know that it’s time to start thinking about how to apply latkes to Thanksgivukkah this year. I can’t make just any old latke, right?!? I mean, let’s be honest with ourselves for a second…shredded potatoes and onions fried to perfection are never bad but it’s always fun to think outside the box and venture in to new flavor profiles. So here we are! Shredding fresh Brussels sprouts, cooking beef bacon, frying in chicken fat. I am seriously in my latke happy place.
I peeled Idaho potatoes and placed them in water until read to shred. The water prevents the potatoes from browning. You can even keep them in water overnight in the fridge.
You can shred the potatoes by hand with a cheese grater but I chose to shred mine in the food processor. I also added an onion to the food processor to mix with the potatoes. I placed the shredded potatoes and onion in a bowl and covered in water to soak for 20 minutes.
I added the Brussels sprouts to the food processor and grated them as well. You can also buy pre-shredded Brussels sprouts from supermarkets like Trader Joes.
I heated my cast iron skillet over medium-high heat and chopped up the beef bacon. When the pan was hot, I cooked the beef bacon for 4-5 minutes, until crispy. I removed the pan from the stove.
While the beef bacon was cooling, I placed the shredded potato mixture in a cheesecloth and squeezed out any excess water. You want the potatoes to be as dry as possible when you are making latkes. If you don’t have cheesecloth, you can press the potatoes through a mesh sieve to remove the liquid. I combined the Brussels sprouts, potato and onion mixture, eggs, potato starch, salt and pepper then added the cooked beef bacon.
I placed the cast iron skillet back on the stove over medium heat and added the shmaltz (you can use vegetable or canola oil as well) to the pan. When the shmaltz was hot, I made a test batch of the latkes. Using a 1/4 measuring cup, I scooped out the latke mixture and dropped it carefully in the hot shmaltz. I once read that the first latke always goes in the garbage since the oil is never hot enough or it’s too hot and you burn it, so think about that while you fry your latkes or make a batch of pancakes. After the test batch, I dropped three scoops of the latke mixture in the hot pan and cooked for 2 minutes on each side, flipping with a spatula, until browned on the outside but still green on the inside. You want to see that color!
I removed the latkes and placed them on a cutting board lined with paper towels to soak up the excess fat. You can also place the latkes on a wire cooling rack and let the excess fat drop down. Check out these beautiful green latkes!
And then it was time to eat! As I went searching around my kitchen for something to top the latkes, I decided that traditional apples were definitely the way to go. Instead of sweetened apple sauce, which would also be delicious, I quickly sliced a green apple, mixed it with cinnamon and sugar and roasted it in the oven at 450 degrees F. for 10 minutes. If you want to make the apples in advance, you can even blend them for a delicious homemade applesauce treat.
I piled them up and ate as many as I could before realizing that I should save some for my family!
 To see the recipe for Brussels Sprout Latkes on Joy of Kosher, click HERE.Â
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