Wingin’ It: Latkes with Spicy Apple Sauce as the Bills take on the Jets

You like football. You like food. So do we! So much so, in fact, that we smash the two together to bring you a Buffalo Bills-inspired recipe each week. Whether it’s a take on an opponents’ fave or some real mad scientist **** coming your way, Wingin’ It is the spot to watch. This week we’re prepping for the New York Jets!

In my annual plea for assistance coming up with ideas, jj24 tossed out a lot of food puns based on player names. Playing along, DefinitelyNotStephCurry came up with “Star Latke-le-leis.” Sure I’ve gone to the Jewish culinary well a couple times already for the Big Apple, but it’s a deep well and these sounded good. Traditionally served with a smattering of options (or alone), I elected to go the apple sauce route. It all, of course, gets a Wingin’ It reboot.

Latkes with Spicy Apple Sauce

Serves: 3 - 4
Active Time: 30 min
Total Time: 60 min

Ingredients

2 large potatoes
4 leeks (white parts only, see below)
2 Tbsp melted butter, unsalted
2 eggs, beaten
¹⁄₂ cup bread crumbs, matzo is traditional
1 tsp black pepper
2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
Vegetable oil for frying

2 Tbsp unsalted butter
12 oz. unsweetened apple sauce
4 Tbsp brown sugar
2 Tbsp hot sauce

1. Thoroughly wash potatoes and leeks, then shred into a strainer.
2. Squeeze the **** out of the potato/leek mixture over a large mixing bowl, trying to get as much liquid out of the mass as possible. Set aside bowl of liquid.
3. After 2-3 min, pour off water from the bowl, leaving potato starch at the bottom (see below).
4. Place potato/leek mixture between paper towels or a clean kitchen towel and squeeze dry.
5. Transfer potato/leek mixture into large mixing bowl with starch. Add ingredients from melted butter through baking powder into bowl, mix thoroughly.
6. Preheat oven to 225ºF. Add about one-quarter inch oil to bottom of large sauté pan and heat on HIGH.
7. Squeeze a palmful of mixture into a tight ball and place carefully into oil; flatten immediately with a spatula. Repeat until pan is full.
8. Cook on HIGH, flipping as needed until both sides are medium to dark brown.
9. Remove from oil onto paper towels, allowing oil to drain for 3-4 min. Transfer to baking sheet in oven to stay warm. Repeat until all mixture is used.
10. Prepare apple sauce topping; add butter, apple sauce, brown sugar, and hot sauce to medium sauce pan on MED.
11. Cook until thickened to desired consistency, stirring frequently. Serve together with finished latkes

Wingin’ It Tips and Prep Gallery

Grid View

There’s nothing complex technique-wise this week so just a few quick thoughts. The first picture shows the amount of leeks I used. They can vary in size so this is a good visual to help guide you. Additionally, leeks are a pain in the butt to shred by hand, which is what I did. You’ll likely end up with some waste that doesn’t get shredded. If you’re using a food processor, you might want to use 3-3.5 leeks rather than four.

The next picture is the mixing bowl with the liquid squeezed from the potato/leek mixture. It looks pretty gross. The GIF is me pouring out the liquid. The sludge at the bottom is potato starch, which can help bind and improve how these cook.

When it comes to cooking I aimed for a dark brown. This isn’t quite burnt, but it’s flirting with it. At this stage, the exterior can “shatter” when you bite, kind of like extra crispy bacon. You can certainly aim for a lighter shade based on preference.