Traditional Boxty
Bacstaí·(bock-stee)
The Morning Fry & The Daily Bake
In the rural stretches of the Irish midlands, boxty isn't just a potato pancake; it’s an edible piece of history born of agricultural necessity. The secret to a proper, honest boxty lies in a magical textural contrast: the lacy, crispy edges of raw grated potato colliding with the pillowy, comforting softness of leftover mash. Don't rush it, and don't skip the ancestral trick of wringing out the raw potato to capture its pure starch—it's what makes the whole beautiful thing work.
Before you start
Cook your mashed potatoes the day before.
Boxty is fundamentally a dish of economy; make an extra pound of mashed potatoes for Sunday dinner so you have cold, firm leftovers ready to bind the batter for a Tuesday night fry.
Ingredients
- Russet or Idaho potatoes1 lb
- leftover mashed potatoes1 lb
- all-purpose flour1 cup
- baking soda1 tsp
- kosher salt1 tsp
- buttermilk3/4 cup
- Irish butter3 tbsp
- canola oil1 tbsp
Method
- 01
Wring the liquid from the raw potatoes.
Grate the raw, unpeeled potatoes into a clean, woven dish towel set over a large bowl, then twist the towel tightly to wring every possible drop of liquid out of the potatoes.
- 02
Extract the grandmother's secret.
Set the dry grated potatoes aside and leave the bowl of extracted liquid completely undisturbed for 20 to 30 minutes so the heavy, pure white potato starch can cement itself to the bottom, then carefully pour off and discard the brownish water.
- 03
Mix the boxty batter.
Scrape up the precious white starch left in the bowl, add the dry grated potatoes and cold mashed potatoes, then sift in the flour, baking soda, and salt before stirring in the buttermilk to form a thick, scoopable batter.
- 04
Drop the batter into a hot, buttery skillet.
Melt a tablespoon of butter with a splash of oil in a heavy cast-iron skillet over medium-low heat, then drop quarter-cup mounds of batter into the pan, gently pressing them down to form half-inch thick cakes.
- 05
Exercise patience to achieve the perfect golden crust.
Let the cakes sizzle gently for 4 to 5 minutes per side until deeply browned and crisp; if you rush the heat, the outside will burn while the raw potato inside remains starchy and gray.
Notes
Avoid waxy potatoes at all costs.
Red skin or Yukon Gold potatoes lack the requisite starch to bind this batter and will yield a heavy, gummy pancake instead of a light, crisp boxty. Stick to cheap, reliable Russets.
Hack the buttermilk if you're out.
If you don't have buttermilk on hand, mix one cup of whole milk with a tablespoon of white vinegar and let it sit for five minutes to achieve the right acidic tang needed to activate the baking soda.
From Cook Irish-American Food.