The trouble with Latkes....

[millygirl]

Is I usually eat them faster than I can produce them!!!! OMG, they are delicious. I need an intervention.

[Sal Vanilla]

Lipped cookie sheet (sheet pan) with one of your racks from the oven set atop it. Use paper towels to absorb, keep in oven to keep warm.

You don't need no stinking cookie sheet!

Nice hook with "The trouble with latkes..." I could not fathom such a thing and I had to know what it could be!

[hill food]

Sal: "You don't need no stinking cookie sheet!"

that really needs to be said in the best Jacques Pepin accent you can muster. and do they ever have a chance to sit that long? I have yet to witness that even in clueless houses.

brown paper would work better, as some brands of paper towel can release fiber (fine for cleaning a counter, not draining your food) for uninformed readers, use the mealiest, ugliest potatoes you can find (you want the starchy) and accept the first batch is just going to be wrong. so make that one small.

[millygirl]

Update:

It's almost 24 hours later, and my house stinks.

Yesterday we were basking in the smells of freshly made latkes. Mr. Millygirl walked in from work and immediately said 'wow, something smells good".

And now, almost 24 hours later, the house wreaks.

That is the trouble with latkes, esp. once they're all devoured.

[Scagnetti]

<<And now, almost 24 hours later, the house wreaks.>>
This is EXACTLY the reason I don't make them anymore. My place smells awful for a long time and I loves me some latkes!

[Rmis32]

Last year I used a different method to remove excess oil. Into my latkes,I stuck a wick, lit it and lo and behold, it burned for eight days.

[scubadoo97]

funny

[davmar77]

BAZINGA!

my wife recently made some apple/cranberry sauce. goes great on latkes.

[brooklynkoshereater]

i must've fried up about a hundred tonight and they're just about all gone (mostly my fault). but let's be honest - they're really only good when they're fresh, hot, and crispy - a day later and the magic is gone.

[SIMIHOUND]

Our Bube's put them on an opened brown paper bag to absorb the oil. Nowadays many markets don't use these bag any more. A Freilach Hanukkah everyone.

[monopod]

I have to disagree - pop leftover latkes into the toaster over for a few minutes and they re-crisp perfectly.

[iheartcooking]

I guess I know what I'm doing this weekend!
Does anyone know-- can they sit on parchment paper on a cookie sheet instead of a cooling rack? I can't afford the latter at the moment. I read that paper towels are the worst!

[millygirl]

I used paper towels with no problems whatsoever. I not read a recipe that does not call for paper towel to absorb the oil. In what way are they the worst?

[iheartcooking]

i read on a few posts that they cause the latkes to steam and get soggy

[scubadoo97]

Paper towels should help to wick away excess oil. The rack allows the food to drain and dry without sitting in it's own oil. Parchment paper or a cookie sheet will do nothing to absorb surface oil.

[bakersdelight]

crumpled up brown paper bags work well in a pinch.

[E_M]

Me, too.