Potato Chop

These potato chops taste amazing. The potatoes become crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. They can be eaten as a main dish or appetizer. This recipe makes a lot but they can be frozen before or after frying. If you freeze or refrigerate after frying, it is best to use the oven to reheat so they stay crispy on the outside. The recipe can be halved if you don't want to make so much.


​Makes about 40 - 50 potato chops

Potato Mash
5 Lbs. Idaho or Russet potatoes
2 Eggs Beaten
5 Tbsp. cornstarch
1 Tbsp. salt

Meat filling
2 Lbs. lean ground beef
1 large onion chopped fine
1 cup parsley leaves, chopped fine
1 Tbsp. salt
2 tsp. Baharat/middle eastern spice blend
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil

2 cups or more of vegetable oil for frying.

Potato Mash Prep
Peel potatoes and cut into even pieces. I cut small ones in half and large ones in thirds. Put the potatoes and enough water to cover in a pot and boil until they are tender on outside but still a little firm on the inside (about 20 minutes)
Remove potatoes from pot. When the potatoes are cool enough to handle, put them through a potato ricer or a meat grinder.
Add cornstarch, beaten eggs, and salt to the potato mixture and mash with hands until well mixed.
Put the potato mixture in the fridge for an hour. This is an important step that should not be skipped.

Meat Filling
Heat the 2 tablespoons oil on stove over medium heat, add onions and sauté for a couple minutes until soft. Add ground beef, salt and baharat and sauté until meat has browned well. Drain excess fat.
Mix the chopped parsley with the ground beef. Allow to cool.

Assembly
Rub some oil in your hands so the potato mixture does not stick to them. Using the potato mixture, make a ball about the size of a golf ball in your hand (just under a ¼ cup). Push your thumb in the middle of the ball but don’t push all the way through and gently repeat going in a circle until the ball looks like a nest. Place 1 tablespoon of the meat filling in the nest shape. Bring the top of the nest up and seal. Flatten the ball with both palms,so that it is disc shaped. Rotate the disc and flatten again until it is the desired shape. Patch up with potato mixture if necessary. See our quick video to see how to assemble. Place on a tray. Repeat.
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Frying
Put enough oil in a pan so that the potato chops will be covered over halfway. Heat oil on high until it is very hot and sizzling. Slide in one potato chop at a time. Do not overcrowd. When you can see the sides of the potato chop are brown, flip over with a large spoon. When the other side is brown, remove with a slotted spoon and set in a plate or tray with paper towel to absorb oil.