The Tater Tot Topic

[Toliver]

Sorry to revive an old discussion but...

O.M.G.

Tater Tot Grilled Cheese Sandwich 

(YouTube Link)

https://youtu.be/XUDY01Mj2Us

 

 

[Smithy]

Sorry to revive an old discussion but...

O.M.G.

Tater Tot Grilled Cheese Sandwich 

(YouTube Link)

https://youtu.be/XUDY01Mj2Us

O.M.G. indeed! I don't know whether to thank you or slap you! It looks decadent, wonderful and all too irresistible.

[suzilightning]

        I just bought a bag of McCain's version and repacked them into the freezer in packs of 20 for personal use.

[Anna N]

I just bought a bag of McCain's version and repacked them into the freezer in packs of 20 for personal use.

In plain, brown paper bags I hope!

Edited to make sure my :-) showed up.

Edited September 22, 2015 by Anna N (log)

[suzilightning]

In plain, brown paper bags I hope!

 

Mais oui

 

OHHHHHHHHHHH...... I have some of the Velveeta and pico de gallo left and some coney sauce.  I see a heart attack on a plate later in the week....after I have a bunch of salads and finish the fruit I have.

Edited September 22, 2015 by suzilightning (log)

[ElsieDee]

I'm a fan of the potato, and tater tots are one of my favorite preparations. At home I bake them until they're very well done - usually flipping about halfway through the cooking time to ensure adequate crispiness. Favorite dipping options include Best Foods, Best Foods with a bit of Heinz ketchup, and homemade aioli.

 

A local small chain (though it's growing rather fast), called the Dog Haus, makes their tater tots in house - those are fried and pure deliciousness.

 

I enjoy tots for dinner, as a base for sauteed spinach and poached eggs; as a snack at any time during the day; and as a side for veggie burgers or veggie sausages. Years ago I had a friend make the mentioned-upthread "Tater Tot Casserole" - it didn't work for my preferences, as the bottom of the tater tots were soggy and dissolved into the casserole filling. However, I am thinking about (once fall arrives in southern California) making the "inners" for a vegetable pot pie (basically whatever vegetables strike my fancy at that moment, with a mushroom cream sauce) and ladeling that over some crispy tots.

[Toliver]

O.M.G. indeed! I don't know whether to thank you or slap you! It looks decadent, wonderful and all too irresistible.

Late at night, of course, I was thinking about this "sandwich" and thought it could be improved by adding bacon.

My mom will fry up a package of bacon at a time and what she doesn't use right away she puts in a ziplock-type freezer bag and freezes. Then when she needs some bacon for a sandwich or breakfast, she takes out how ever many slices she needs and nukes them to reheat...which would be perfect to add to this tater tot grilled cheese sandwich.

Mmm...grilled cheese bacon tater tots [/Homer Simpson] 

[suzilightning]

2 10 piece tot snack packs are in the oven right now.   The leftover Velveeta and Ro-tel cheese sauce is heating up.  Also have some chili sauce and ketchup on standby.

 

Oh. yeah.  romaine salad is ready too

[btbyrd]

Since no one's brought it up yet, Kenji has a great article on making tater tots from scratch.

[Anna N]

Since no one's brought it up yet, Kenji has a great article on making tater tots from scratch.

Added to my "must attempt list".

Edited to reword my response so as not to drag things off-topic

Edited September 23, 2015 by Anna N (log)

[Tri2Cook]

Since no one's brought it up yet, Kenji has a great article on making tater tots from scratch.

Interesting. I might have to try it too. Most homemade tot recipes I've seen want you to use mashed potatoes... which is in no way a tot.

[scubadoo97]

I recently watched an episode of DDD and the restaurant used real shredded potatoes and the end product looked really good. I wish I had been more attentive to write down the steps but deep frying is not something I do very often

[rotuts]

Cook's Country did an episode on home made Tots :

 

https://www.cookscountry.com/recipes/6794-crispy-potato-tots?ref=videos_related_content_1

 

it was Season 5

 

sometimes you can see shows on line some times not.

 

be vary careful on what you click on on their sites.

 

they'll never go away !

[Toliver]

A page with lots of GIFs (scroll down) illustrating the making of "Tater Tot & Bacon Grilled Cheese in a Waffle Iron".

[rotuts]

@Toliver   

 

stunning, absolutely stunning.  

 

A ) I knew I needed a new Kitchen Toy, it has to be a Grill-ey  Thinng-ey

 

I do have one from my father, but have never used it.

 

Soooo who has the Oster  Waffle Iron ?

 

BB&B for 20 % off ?

 

think how much good-ness the tater-tot-ey waffle would be with sausage ?

 

a lite Holland-daise on the top ?

 

Mimosa's?

[Smithy]

Oh, that waffle does look delicious.  It looks as though it uses pre-cooked bacon.  Yes? No? He doesn't specify, that I can see, but the timing ("until the cheese is melted") doesn't seem long enough to cook bacon.

[Deryn]

I have to admit that tater tot 'sandwich' does look delectable. Just wish I could still eat stuff like that - a little knowledge (about calories, salt, nitrates, fat, my age, etc.) is sometimes a rotten thing.

 

I have several waffle irons (and yes, an Oster is one of them - cheap but works just fine) - and am always trying to see what I can make in them that isn't too guilt-making. Unfortunately, they wilt salad!

 

I adore tater tots - so I refuse to buy them any more or I 'would' eat them. But perhaps if I were to try some kind of version that didn't use store-bought tater tots (home-shredded potato with spices and a sprinkle of good oil might give me a similar result), and which used a better cheese, maybe added a few fresh tomato slices, and just a hint of bacon, I could get the experience of the aforementioned sandwich without as much of a 'hangover'.  

 

I am pretty sure you are right, Smithy - that has to be pre-cooked bacon (though I guess one could pre-cook one's own and not rely on a boxed grocery store version).

[blue_dolphin]

I never had tots until last week when I bought some for a recipe.  My, they are quite good. 

I have to acknowledge the great minds in this topic for my brunch tots today:

 

Filled with sour cream, topped with salmon roe and served with scrambled eggs. 

[rotuts]

@blue_dolphin 

 

Oh Yea !

 

esp very crispy

 

generics are so close to brand name ,

 

It doesnt matter too much once crispy

 

and seasonings adjusted.

 

Ill try to remember next time at TJ's  for my less than 8 min

 

Lightning Round  

 

Grab  Grab  Grab

 

out in 8 min .  

 

No Seniors Run Over , Nor damaged.

 

My goal.

[kayb]

On 5/27/2016 at 11:31 AM, Toliver said:

A page with lots of GIFs (scroll down) illustrating the making of "Tater Tot & Bacon Grilled Cheese in a Waffle Iron".

 

God help me. I may have to make this tomorrow.

[rotuts]

@kayb 

 

looking forward to your pics

 

I have that same waffle iron. n 

 

my father used it a few times , then it came here   I never used it

 

but I know where it is

 

Im thinking , for me , Tot's grilled Ham and Cheese 

 

good quality ' boiled ham ' , deli or not 

 

and good quality swiss , that would melt.

 

wow.    I know Ill be dreaming about the possibilities for sure.

[Kim Shook]

This is the first time I've seen @Toliver's old post about the waffle iron tot thingy.  I only have a regular waffle iron.  Looks like I my need a Belgian waffle iron.  They ought to make an iron that does both!

[FeChef]

I hate tater tots. so small they usually turn out greasy and dry. I prefer to grate my own par boiled potatoes and make potato cakes or hash browns.

[kayb]

Truth be told, I am thinking of using some frozen hash browns, letting them thaw and perhaps mixing in an egg to help them bind. Latke waffles, if you will.

 

I have an el cheapo Belgian waffle iron I bought for 10 bucks at a Big Lots discount store 10 years ago. It makes one serving-sized waffle at a time, so it's not a quick and easy effort for a crowd, but I take them up onto a rack in the oven turned to warm. It's done yeoman's service. I make yeasted waffles when I have a horde of family staying over, and I will forever be grateful to @Kim Shook for the idea of making cornbread in a waffle iron, which is a wonderful thing.

 

I also have a quesadilla maker, which I scored for something like $15 at Aldi a year or so back. I'm contemplating whether one could scatter a thin layer of hash browns, add the ham, then the cheese, then a bit more ham, and a final layer of hash browns, and cook it that way. May have to experiment.

 

[Kim Shook]

58 minutes ago, kayb said:

Truth be told, I am thinking of using some frozen hash browns, letting them thaw and perhaps mixing in an egg to help them bind. Latke waffles, if you will.

 

I have an el cheapo Belgian waffle iron I bought for 10 bucks at a Big Lots discount store 10 years ago. It makes one serving-sized waffle at a time, so it's not a quick and easy effort for a crowd, but I take them up onto a rack in the oven turned to warm. It's done yeoman's service. I make yeasted waffles when I have a horde of family staying over, and I will forever be grateful to @Kim Shook for the idea of making cornbread in a waffle iron, which is a wonderful thing.

 

I also have a quesadilla maker, which I scored for something like $15 at Aldi a year or so back. I'm contemplating whether one could scatter a thin layer of hash browns, add the ham, then the cheese, then a bit more ham, and a final layer of hash browns, and cook it that way. May have to experiment.

 

I will keep an eye out at Big Lots, Aldi, Lidl, etc. for a Belgian waffle maker.  

 

I have tried the hashbrowns on my regular waffle maker.  I did it back in 2016 and these were my thoughts: "Not sure I’m enthralled like everyone else seems to be.  They got too dark no matter what I did.  It doesn’t come out in a nice, one piece ‘waffle’ really – much looser than that.  And in the end, you have a hard-to-clean waffle iron to wash instead of a simple-to-clean sauté pan."  I only tried it once, though - YMMV.