Boxty, Irish potato pancakes
Half grated raw potato, half creamy mash, folded into a tangy buttermilk batter and fried slowly in butter until the edges crisp and the middle turns tender.
Boxty on the griddle, boxty in the pan. If you can't make boxty, you'll never get your man. So goes the old rhyme from Ireland's north midlands, where these potato pancakes have been a point of pride for two centuries. The secret is in the split: half grated raw potato, half smooth mash, so every cake carries both the earthy bite of the raw and the softness of the cooked. Buttermilk brings a gentle tang, butter does the frying, and a low flame does the rest. Serve them straight from the pan, with more butter melting on top, and take your time about it.
Method
Grate and wring the raw potato.
Peel the potatoes and grate them on the fine side of a box grater. Pile the gratings into a clean tea towel, gather the corners, and wring hard over a bowl until no more liquid comes out. Set the squeezed potato aside and keep the cloudy liquid.
Recover the starch.
Let the potato liquid stand for 5 minutes. A layer of white starch will settle at the bottom of the bowl. Pour off the water and scrape the starch back into the grated potato, where it will help bind the cakes.
Mix the batter.
Combine the grated potato and the mashed potato in a large bowl, breaking up any lumps of mash with a fork. Stir in the flour, salt, and baking soda, then add the buttermilk gradually until you have a thick batter that drops slowly from a spoon. Do not overwork it.
Fry low and slow in butter.
Melt a good knob of butter in a heavy frying pan over medium-low heat. Drop in the batter in generous spoonfuls and flatten each cake to about 1 cm thick. Fry for 4-5 minutes per side until deep golden and cooked through, adding more butter between batches.
Serve straight from the pan.
Eat the boxty hot, with cold butter melting over the top and a pinch of salt. They sit happily beside fried eggs, or on their own with strong tea. Any extras reheat well in a buttered pan the next morning.
Frequently asked questions
- Which potatoes should I use?
- Floury varieties. Rooster or Maris Piper in Ireland and the UK, Russets in the US. Waxy salad potatoes hold too much moisture and fry up dense and wet.
- Can I use leftover mashed potato?
- Yes, and you should. Cold, day-old mash is traditional and holds its structure better than fresh. If it was made with a lot of cream or butter, just add the buttermilk more cautiously.
- Why did my boxty turn out gummy in the middle?
- Almost always the heat was too high. The grated raw potato needs 4-5 slow minutes per side to cook through, so keep the flame at medium-low and the cakes no thicker than 1 cm.
- I have no buttermilk. What can I use?
- Stir 1 tbsp of lemon juice or white vinegar into 240 ml of regular milk and let it stand for 10 minutes. The acidity matters, because it wakes up the baking soda and gives the cakes their lift.
- Can I make the batter ahead?
- Not far ahead. Grated raw potato discolors within the hour, even mixed into batter. Fry the whole batch instead, then reheat the cooked cakes in a buttered pan, where they crisp up beautifully.
Rate this recipe
Join the Club to rate →
