Homemade Tater Tots

Homemade Tater Tots

Ingredients:

ingredients:
4 large russet potatoes
1/2 cup milk
2 Tablespoons butter
1/4 cup sour cream
kosher salt
pepper

breading ingredients:
1-1/2 cups flour
kosher salt
pepper
paprika
3 eggs
2 Tablespoons milk
1-1/2 cups panko
oil for frying

Instructions:

Set a pot of water to start boiling. Peel and wash the potatoes. Cut them into cubes and put them in the heating pot of water. Once it starts to boil, let them cook for 12-15 minutes until soft.

Drain the potatoes and transfer to the bowl of an electric mixer. Now you can mash these by hand or for a more ‘tater-tot-y’ mealy texture, use a ricer. But a mixer does well for me.

Add the milk, butter and sour cream to the potatoes. Mix until just combined. Don’t go overboard or you will just get a gummy mess.

Set a skillet filled about 3/4 of the way with oil, on medium high. Now I could have busted out my deep fryer for this (I will next time) but I wanted to see how a shallow fry would work for these. It was just fine.

Now set up your frying line. In one dish put the flour, salt, pepper and paprika. Stir to combine. The second dish whisk the eggs with the milk. The third dish set up the panko.

Using a small scoop make a small sized ball of potato and form it into a tater tot (i.e. marshmallow-ish but smaller) shape. Dredge it in the flour first, making sure you tap off all the excess. This is the KEY to making any kind of fry coating stick. (That’s what O.G. told me was her secret anyway).

Then dip it into the egg mixture, again not too heavy on the egg. Then finally the panko.

Set the little Tots into their oil bath. Once it starts browning, turn it to brown the other side. Don’t fool with these suckers, the more you flip them and turn them THEY WILL RETALIATE. By popping at you (god I hate hot oil) and even busting open to the pure mashed potato center. Phooey. You do not want that. Do your best to keep them in tip top Tot form.

Once browned let them drain and cool on a wire rack.