Mashed Potato Pancakes | How Sweet It Is

Mashed Potato Pancakes.

November 23, 2010

Or… What In Tarnation Do I Do With All Those Mashed Potatoes On Friday?

Or even… Boring Recipes That Turn Out To Be Something Amazing.

(I like the second one better.)

There are a few meals my mom made that screamed “comfort food”. Certain meals that I can remember sitting down at the table to eat on cold, crisp nights. One of them was pot roast with egg noodles, mashed potatoes and gravy. Another was egg sandwiches with fried, chipped ham. And one of my favorites were these mashed potato pancakes.

She made these on nights when my dad wasn’t home for dinner because it was never really something he would go for. I can still remember exactly how delicious they smelled frying away on the stovetop.

Yesterday I asked her how she made them. I was fairly certain she didn’t just form plain old mashed potatoes into a patty.

Well, she almost did. She added a sprinkling of flour, then formed them into patties. And I chirped, “then you just fried them in butter, right?”

She laughed. Her next words were music to my ears. “Um, no… I fried them in bacon grease.”

Hey, at least you all know where I come from.

Would you believe that up until five years ago, I thought these were the only potato pancakes that existed? In fact, the first time I ordered potato pancakes at a restaurant and was served the latke version, I was disappointed. Those sure are tasty, but they are nothing like these. However, discovering the latkes were a relief… because I really couldn’t figure out how one ate applesauce or sour cream on a potato pancake like the ones here.

These just taste like home. The outsides are crispy and the insides fluffy. You can add toppings or dipping sauces. You can add tasty treats mixed throughout the pancakes. They make a fun side dish when mashed potatoes are getting old.

Mashed Potato Pancakes

serves 2

2 cups mashed potatoes

3 tablespoons flour

2 tablespoons bacon grease, butter or olive oil

Sprinkle flour on mashed potatoes, add in any mix-in’s and form into patties that are about 1 inch thick.

Heat a skillet on medium high heat. Add your fat of choice and let it heat for 30 seconds. Add patties and let brown on each side, about 3-4 minutes per side.