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Whenever we want to know about the history of a dish, we call food historian and author Gil Marks. When we asked him about Yapchik, we were surprised to hear that it wasn’t a venerable, traditional food that had been enjoyed back in Eastern Europe. Instead, it was a modern-day invention, first becoming popular in the U.S. in the last decade. Then, I had a second call to make. To learn some Yapchik secrets, I contacted one caterer I know whose version is especially good. With his tips, I perfected our recipe. So even if it’s not totally traditional—I bet it soon will be.)
Inspired by Cook Kosher member csg
1 pound boneless flanken
1/2 teaspoon Gefen Paprika
salt, to taste
coarse Gefen Black Pepper, to taste
3 tablespoons oil
5 pounds yellow-skinned potatoes (such as Yukon Gold), peeled and cut into chunks
2 onions
1 zucchini, peeled
8 eggs
1 tablespoon salt
1/8 teaspoon coarse Gefen Black Pepper
1/2 cup oil
Season flanken with paprika, salt to taste, and pepper to taste.
Heat three tablespoons oil in a sauté pan over medium heat. Add flanken and sear for three minutes on each side. Lower heat, cover, and cook 30 to 40 minutes, until meat is soft. The flanken will release its own cooking juices so there is no need to add other liquid. Remove from heat and let cool.
When cool, chop flanken into small pieces. Reserve the pan juices (there should be about half a cup of liquid in the pan).
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Using the grating blade of the food processor, grate potatoes, onions, and zucchini.
In a large bowl, beat eggs with a fork. Add potato mixture and season with salt and pepper. Add oil; stir until all ingredients are combined.
Pour half the potato mixture into one nine- by 13-inch baking pan or two nine- by six-inch loaf pans. Spread meat over potato mixture. Pour reserved pan juices over meat. Top with remaining potato mixture.
Bake, uncovered, for 30 to 40 minutes until potatoes are golden. Cover tightly and reduce heat to 200 degrees Fahrenheit. Bake a minimum of six hours, up to overnight.
Reproduced from Passover Made Easy by Leah Schapira and Victoria Dwek with permission from the copyright holders ArtScroll/Mesorah Publications, LTD.
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3 day Yom Tov For this year would you recommend baking at 350 be for Yom Tov then refrigerating until Friday and putting in the oven on Friday? Can I leave oven a bit higher- say 250?
Hi,
If I make this in a crock pot for shabbos, I’m assuming I put it straight in without using any foil pans? Would that come out more mushy?
I would cook on high before shabbos and then on low until the day meal – Would that be letting it cooking for too long?
Yes, you can definitely cook it straight in a crockpot for that long. Yapchik tastes best the longer it cooks 🙂
Can I make this in a croc pot? I’m not sure the difference between slow cooker and croc pot…
A crock pot is a type of slow cooker. Usually the term “crock pot” is used for that which comes with a ceramic pot that is inserted into a metal base. And the term “slow cooker” is used for that which is a pot that is put on top of a griddle like base.
Yes, slow cooker and crock pot is the thing, Crockpot is just a brand 🙂
Can you freeze this?
Yes!
Came out amazing, thank you! (I made it in a slow cooker)
I note that you wrote that Yapchik is a recently invented or contrived food dish. I am sorry to be the one to correct you. My mother, a Holocaust Survivor from Lodz, Poland, made this dish when I was a child throughout the 1960s and right up until her death in 1995. She definitely spoke of it as a common dish that was prepared during her childhood in pre-war Poland. Although she referred to it as Cholent or Choolent. I have since learned that what my mother really made was a Yaptsok or Yapchik. I actually heard it referred to as a “Yaptsok” by a Polish Jew when I was about 8 years old. In any case, my point is that this is a dish that is probably more than 100 years old, and is far from a recent concoction/recipe, given that my mother was born in 1920.
I’ve made this several times and it’s been very well-received by all. Easy to make, too.
Thank you for sharing this recipe!