Potato pancakes

Read through the recipe and gather the equipment. Use the ingredient lines to prepare and measure everything. Set the wire rack on the baking sheet and lay the towel beside the medium bowl. Everything is measured and the rack is ready before you shred the potatoes.

Beat the eggs, 3/4 tsp fine salt and the black pepper with a fork in the large bowl. The eggs are evenly beaten with no streaks of white.

Shred the potatoes and onion into the medium bowl on the large holes of the box grater or with the food processor shredding disk. Alternate a potato with a chunk of onion and toss as you go so the onion juice coats the potato. The potato and onion shreds are evenly mixed.

Twist the shreds hard in the towel over the medium bowl until they barely drip, then move the dry shreds into the egg bowl. Let the squeezed liquid stand until a pale, chalky layer of starch settles on the bottom, about 3 to 5 minutes.

Toss about 1/3 cup all-purpose flour into the shreds and eggs with a fork until coated. Pour the liquid slowly off the settled starch, then mix all of the starch into the shreds. Stop when you have shaggy, damp shreds that clump when squeezed, not a wet batter.

Pour about 1 1/2 cups canola oil into a 12-inch skillet, enough to reach about 1/4 inch (6 mm) deep. Heat it over medium-high heat until it shimmers and a dropped shred sizzles hard right away, about 350°F (175°C) on an instant-read thermometer.

Fry a test pancake: drop about 1/4 cup of the mixture into the oil and flatten it to about 1/2 inch (1 cm) thick. Fry over medium-high heat, flipping once, until deep golden brown with crisp edges, about 3 to 4 minutes per side. The center should reach 160°F (71°C) on an instant-read thermometer. Drain it on the wire rack, then taste it. Aim for a well-salted pancake, crisp outside and tender inside with no raw crunch. If it tastes flat, stir fine salt to taste into the mixture.

Stir the mixture, then fry 4 or 5 pancakes at a time, spaced apart, over medium-high heat until deep golden with crisp, lacy edges, about 3 to 4 minutes per side. Move them to the wire rack in one layer and sprinkle them with fine salt to taste while hot. Between batches, add oil from the reserved about 1/2 cup canola oil to keep it about 1/4 inch (6 mm) deep, lift out stray burnt shreds with the slotted spoon, and wait until a shred sizzles hard again.

Divide the pancakes into 4 servings as soon as the final batch is done. Serve the sour cream and applesauce on the side and sprinkle the chives over the top. To reheat leftovers, crisp them on a rack in a hot oven until they sizzle and reach 165°F (74°C) on an instant-read thermometer. The pancakes are portioned with their toppings.