ypsi~dixit

Turns out a tater tot is deucedly difficult to describe!

Who can come up with the best description?

Entrepreneurial souls out there: who knew there was an ENTIRE CONTINENT that has never tasted the joy that is a Tater Tot! Sounds like a market to me. I myself am tempted to move to that lush tropical paradise, which has a year-round growing season, incidentally, and open up a tater tot factory.

I could be the Australian Tater Tot Mogul!

Wow. I wonder if you can make your own tater tots at home. It adds another level of complication to the recipe! They're, like, deep fried mashed potatoes, sort of. Or tiny little hashed browns? Assuming that hashed browns exist in Australia...

Is it hash or hashed?

Ta da!

The green (string) bean answer is easy. Slice normal green beans (string beans) the long way along the seam:

http://whatscookingamerica.net/Q-A/GreenBeans3.htm

For Bob's sake don't use plain potatoes to replace the tots! If you can get the equivalent of frozen "hash brown" pototoes, that might work. Otherwise, I'd probably make homemade hashbrowns and use those.

How I make hashbrows:
* Slice potatoes on a mandolin into very thin strips (if you've seen hash browns, you know what I mean. Almost liks short strings, but not quite as thin as a string)
* soak the sliced potatoes in cold water for 20 minutes
* spin the potatoes in a salad spinner and then pat dry (or at least strain and pat dry)
* heat up an iron skillet on medium and add butter and/or butter & oil to coat (a regular skillet or saute pan can work; you get a better brown if its not "non-stick")
* Put in the potatoes evenly and DON'T TOUCH until the bottom layer is nice and brown (to preference)
* Flip potatoes (in sections is easier) and repeat

For this application, I would probably apply some pressure early in cooking to the potatoes to get them to mash together a little more, to be more tater-tot-like. After cooking, I'd probably chop into biggish (~1") chunks to approximate tater-totness...

Mmm. Those homemade tater tots sound delicious! I might have to make them when the weather cools down (fried potatoes are cold weather food, IMO)

Scott: Mmm. Those home-made hash browns sound delicious!

I also like to make latkes in fall and winter--but I don't salad-spin the bits, but wring them in an old (clean!) T-shirt.

Hot, oily latkes with a huge cool creamy glob of sour cream (no applesauce! ick!)....oh, yum.

I guess you could also make latkes and then cut them into, oh, 9 pieces or so and then re-fry the unfried edges, to make Pseudo Tater Tots.

Lynne: Hash or hashed? Prescriptively speaking, it's "hashed"; which is a participial adjective describing the browns.

As a descriptivist, I say it's "hash browns," since that is what I think most people actually say.

I don't think there's too much effort afoot, in truck stops across the nation, to enunciate that "-ed."

I could be wrong. We need to hear from the trucker contingent on that score.

i'd like to know how they get tator tots into those little barrel shapes. they are very much like hash(ed) browns, but like a barrel~ but still soft in the inside. bizarre.
i'm sure there's an old Mister Rogers episode out there where he visits a tator tot factory and you get to see the whole production line from start to finish with sweet Fred explaining it all.

forgot to mention: as a waitress in a very greasy spoon for over 7 years, I NEVER heard a soul say hashED browns. no ED, ever.
my favorite customer question: "Can you tell me what's in a ham and cheese omelette?"
oh so glad i found a new job...

What if you took a plastic egg carton and forced the shredded potatoes into the sections, then deep fried them? Getting them sticky enough to STAY in that shape, tho, would be the trick. I have egg & flour in my latke recipe (I think you're on the right track there, Laura). I bet if you increased the flour, or even used potato starch, you might be able to achieve the classic barrel shape, sorta.

Srah: Thank you for the recipe!
Hmm...but how do you "shred" cooked potatoes? I can see mashing them, or ricing them (I don't have a ricer).
Boy, these sound good--easy, too. I think I'll try to make some this weekend.

They will not be cylindrical, though. I guess if you really wanted the li'l logs, you could force the mashed cooked taters through a frosting cone with about a 1-inch-wide opening in the cone. Make two or three long "log" along a cookie sheet, freeze slightly, then cut into logs and deep fry.

Amanda: i'm sure there's an old Mister Rogers episode out there where he visits a tator tot factory and you get to see the whole production line from start to finish with sweet Fred explaining it all.

That's the most heartwarming and funny thing I've read this week--I had to smile. Thanks. I can just picture that.

Amanda: OK, it's settled: "hash browns."

The omelette question is a winner.

Tater tots are really just a low-end version of a potato croquette (there are lots of recipes out there for these, here is one from Australia). You can make them in the tater tot shape by rolling in a ball in your hands and then rolling the ball into a more rectangular shape. Or you could probably roll it into a whole log and then slice it, but that would probably be harder. Oh, and for the beans you can use just canned green beans or regular fresh or frozen green beans cooked for a long time (like boiled for a half hour). Hotdish beans can't have any squeak to them when you bite them!

My guess is the manufacturers of tater tots extrude their parcooked potatoe mixture through a round die and slice them to a uniform size... Sounds like it's time for a grinder experiment! :)

Hm. According to the Wikipedia tater tot entry, they ARE known in Australia and are called "potato gems."

to all fellow food lovers, in case you are still reading this: thanks to you all for your contributions, helpful hints and intricate knowledge of gourmet food. Tomorrow is Hotdish Day - we'll be on the veranda, brazier going, in our winter jumpers, braving something like 15 degrees (Celcius) and tucking into this heart- and soul warming food. Thank you!

Tante Erica, it is so nice to see you got all the tips from kind readers. Would you please let folks know how your Hotdish Experiment turned out? Photos would be a plus. :)

Smakelijk eten!