Reiberdatschi

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Box grater or food processor with coarse grating disc
• •Clean kitchen towel
• •Heavy frying pan or cast-iron skillet
• •Cooling rack or paper towels

Instructions

1. 1

   Grate the potatoes

   Grate the potatoes and onion on the coarse side of a box grater into a bowl. The onion goes in with the potato because it slows browning and seasons the batter from the beginning. Work steadily, not lazily; raw potato darkens when it sits.

   Use floury potatoes if you can. They release starch cleanly and fry with a drier edge; waxy potatoes hold together but stay glassy and soft in the middle.
2. 2

   Squeeze it dry

   Tip the grated potato and onion into a clean kitchen towel and squeeze hard over a bowl until the stream slows to drops. This is the step that decides the dish. Wet potato steams in the pan before it browns, and a steamed pancake has no lace at the edge.

3. 3

   Save the starch

   Let the squeezed potato water stand for five minutes, then pour off the brown liquid and keep the white starch settled at the bottom. Scrape that starch back into the grated potato with the eggs, extra potato starch if needed, nutmeg, pepper, and salt. Weggeworfen wird nichts, especially not the binder sitting in your own bowl.

4. 4

   Heat the fat

   Heat two tablespoons of Butterschmalz in a heavy frying pan over medium-high heat until a shred of potato sizzles at once. Use clarified butter because the milk solids are gone, so it takes the heat without burning bitter before the potatoes crisp.

5. 5

   Fry small pancakes

   Drop in heaped tablespoons of batter and press each one thin, about 8 to 10cm wide. Keep space between them. If they touch, the pan cools and the edges soften instead of turning crisp. Fry 3 to 4 minutes per side, until deep gold with brown freckles and lacy edges.

6. 6

   Drain and serve

   Lift the Reiberdatschi onto a rack or paper, salt them lightly while the surface is still glossy with fat, and serve them straight away. A warm oven keeps them for a few minutes, not for half an hour. Crisp potato has a short temper.

Chef Tips

• •Grate raw potato, not cooked. Cooked-potato cakes are a different dish; Reiberdatschi need the raw starch to bind and the raw shreds to fry into a lacy edge.
• •Don't salt early. Salt pulls water from the potato, so mix it in just before frying and keep the bowl moving toward the pan.
• •Butterschmalz is worth using here. Oil works, lard works, but clarified butter gives the Bavarian taste without the burning you get from ordinary butter.
• •For a side dish, serve them with sauerkraut or beside smoked pork. For the market version, give them Apfelmus, apple sauce. Both belong. The argument is older than your pan.

Advance Preparation

• •Do not grate the potatoes hours ahead; they darken and throw water. Peel them up to 2 hours ahead and keep them covered in cold water, then dry before grating.
• •Cooked Reiberdatschi can be reheated in a 200C oven on a rack for 8 to 10 minutes. They won't be quite pan-fresh, but they will be crisp again, which is the point.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 225g)