Description
Traditional Irish potato pancakes known as Boxty combine cold mashed potatoes and grated raw potatoes with flour, buttermilk, and seasonings to create crispy, golden pancakes perfect for breakfast or any meal. This recipe highlights step-by-step preparation, including chilling mashed potatoes and careful frying for the perfect texture.
Ingredients
Scale
Potatoes
- 2 cups cold mashed potatoes
- 2 cups grated raw potatoes
Dry Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
Wet Ingredients
- 1 1/2 to 2 cups buttermilk, plus more as needed
For Frying
- Butter, bacon grease, or lard for frying (vegan: use oil)
Optional Add-ins
- Chopped green onions/scallions
- Shredded white cheddar cheese
Instructions
- Prepare the potatoes. Boil, drain, and mash the potatoes. Chill the mashed potatoes until cold or overnight to develop better texture and flavor.
- Mix dry ingredients. In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and salt. Set this mixture aside for later use.
- Prepare the grated potatoes. Grate the raw potatoes and place them on a clean cotton kitchen towel. Wring out as much liquid as possible from the grated potatoes to avoid a soggy batter.
- Combine the batter. In a large mixing bowl, combine the cold mashed potatoes, grated potatoes, and the dry flour mixture. Add 1 1/2 cups of buttermilk and stir to combine. If the mixture is too thick or dry, add more buttermilk until you reach a thick pancake batter consistency.
- Heat the pan. Warm butter, bacon grease, lard, or oil in a heavy pan over medium-high heat, adjusting as needed to cook evenly without burning.
- Form and fry pancakes. Scoop the potato mixture into the pan to form individual patties. Press each patty down to flatten. Fry the boxty until the bottom is nicely browned, then flip and brown the other side. Be careful to cook slowly enough so the inside cooks before the outside gets too dark.
- Keep warm and serve. Transfer cooked boxty to a warm oven while frying the remaining pancakes. Serve immediately while hot for best texture and flavor.
Notes
- The traditional method involves collecting the liquid squeezed from grated potatoes, allowing the starch to settle for 30 minutes, then re-adding the starch to the batter for a crisper texture.
- If you skip the starch settling step, reduce buttermilk slightly to maintain the correct batter consistency.
- Use starchy potatoes like russets for best results.
- Optional ingredients such as chopped scallions or shredded cheddar can be added to the batter for extra flavor.
- Adjust frying heat carefully to cook through without burning.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 pancake
- Calories: 210 kcal
- Sugar: 2 g
- Sodium: 320 mg
- Fat: 8 g
- Saturated Fat: 3 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 4 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 30 g
- Fiber: 3 g
- Protein: 5 g
- Cholesterol: 20 mg
