Potato kugel HELP | Imamother

bsy

Fri, Feb 16 2024, 6:22 am

My favorite kind of kugel is the one I make.
I saute a large onion or 2 smaller ones in a generous amount of oil.
Peel 5 to 6 big potatoes and 1 squash.
In food processor with the s blade, mix 4 eggs, 2 tsp kosher salt (more if you like salty) and some black pepper.
Pour into 9x13.
Next blend an onion and 2 potatoes in the food processor with the s blade. Not to the point of totally liquid. Just until chopped.
Add to the egg mixture in the pan.
Then switch the blade to the shredding blade. Put in the remaining 3 potatoes and squash. Mix everything well in the pan.
Then add the sauteed onions with the hot oil and mix well.
Bake on whatever temperature you like until golden brown. I do 400 for about 1 hour and 20-30 minutes.

Last edited by bsy on Fri, Feb 16 2024, 10:51 am; edited 1 time in total

sara1232

Fri, Feb 16 2024, 6:40 am

amother OP wrote:

We need to settle this one.
Which potatoes are best ??
Idaho or Yukon?

All you potato kugel moms, please voice your passionate opinions.

I got my answer on the oil , plain neutral ones. (Although someone gently suggested light olive oil, but I’ll refrain from being attracted to that comment since neutral oils are cheaper.) OTOH we do have viamic c as part of the kugel ingredients so perhaps the light olive oil would compliment the vitamin c health part.
See , I told you kugel is the most complicated Jewish food.

I find yukon gives the kugel a nicer color. I'm not enough of a maven to know the taste difference tho lol.

schoolbus

Fri, Feb 16 2024, 6:58 am

I didn’t read the whole thread so not sure if someone mentioned these

My trick to THE PERFECT POTATO KUGEL is cooking up the oil before so that your kugel batter will sizzle when you add it in. It makes the kugel stay a beautiful color and it makes it always without fail be delicious soft and fluffy never dried out or rubbery
Also the trick for overnight kugel even in just 2-3hours is covering the pan extremely tight with 2 layers of heavy duty aluminum foil or 3-4 layers of regular foil

amother

Heather

Fri, Feb 16 2024, 7:04 am

amother Trillium wrote:

I think someone was pulling your leg about the salt. Table salt, kosher salt, and sea salt are all just salt. Same chemical formula. The difference is that table salt has trace minerals removed and can have anti-caking agents and iodine added.

Table salt is actually processed at high heat. Much higher than the cooking temperature in a home kitchen. So to say that table salt can't hold up to high heat is preposterous because it has already been heated (and held up to the heat) during processing.

Table salt is saltier than other salts, something about that is grounded smaller so it’s more concentrated, it makes sense if you think about it because your getting more actual salt in your tsp rather than coarse grains with space in between

amother

Trillium

Fri, Feb 16 2024, 7:15 am

amother Heather wrote:

It's not that it's saltier. The shape of the salt crystal affects how much you can fit in when measuring by volume. So you are going to get different amounts when measuring a coarse grain salt vs fine grain salt. If you are measuring by weight, or using finely ground sea salt, the results will be fairly similar.

amother

Plum

Fri, Feb 16 2024, 7:50 am

amother OP wrote:

I need help!
I am a fantastic cook and an accomplished baker. I bake challahs and countless of sourdough breads weekly. Plus intricate cakes and desserts. I cook gourmet meals daily.

BUT making potato kugel will be the end of me. I can not make a good potato kugel if my life depended on it.
It’s either gummy or runny or just green and gross.
If I do think I finally got it I find oil everywhere (luckily I always bake it on top of a large sheet pan)
I never know when it’s done and when it’s overdone.
Plus I find the work messy and time consuming and just not worth it.

I spoke to many chassidish women (don’t jump at me, they brand themselves as potato kugel gurus ) and they all have tricks and “the best recipe” but it always fails!!

Can someone please teach me every single thing there is to know about potato kugel?
Unfortunately for me, my husband and son ask for kugel weekly. I try offering perfectly cooked and seared steak instead, but they want (insert curse word) potato kugel!!

Thank you

Im rolling at this post because I have the exact same problem!
I cook, I bake, I do sourdough. but the secret to a good kugel evades me.
I am following!!

amother

Lily

Fri, Feb 16 2024, 8:18 am

I have no time to read through all these pages but in case no one put this out there yet-
THIS is the PERFECT potato kugel recipe:

5 lb potatoes
One onion
7 eggs
1 Tablespoon Salt
(if you like a salty kugel make it slightly heaping)
Pepper to taste
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup boiling water

Heat oil in a 9 X 13 while you make the batter.
Grate onion first, then potatoes
Add onion and potatoes to beaten eggs and salt
Add boiling water
Add most of hot oil, leave a little in the pan (be careful it can splatter when you pour it on the batter)

Bake at 450 for 1 hour then 350 for 1 1/2 hours.

If you want to overnight it, bake at 450 for 1 hour, then pour 1/2 cup hot water over it, cover very tightly and leave it overnight at 220.

The original recipe was for yukon gold but I don’t usually have those and it comes out great.

amother

Fri, Feb 16 2024, 9:33 am

bsy wrote:

Sautéd onions? Now that’s a new one on here.

I see you also add a squash, which I’m planning to try next week.

Thank you for sharing your recipe and tips.

amother

Fri, Feb 16 2024, 9:35 am

amother Lily wrote:

1 or 2 other posters mentioned heating up the oil.
I guess I now that to try this method too.
And the boiling water.

Thank you for sharing.

amother

Fri, Feb 16 2024, 9:39 am

schoolbus wrote:

Yes next week I’m trying the heating up the oil.

I didn’t realize it needs to be covered super tightly.

My family really is enjoying the overnight kugel I tried.

amother

Fri, Feb 16 2024, 10:42 am

Just a quick update for those who aren’t sick of hearing about my kugel saga.

The overnight version was a huge hit.
Apparently there’s something special about that super baked wet kugel.

However, it’s 2 different things.
Like I’d make 1 for Thursday that’s just fresh, and then continue to overnight one for Friday/sbabbos.

Question…
Do I need to make 2 different kugels? Or whatever is left after Thursday supper can then be covered and overnighted or it doesn’t work this way?

For the foreseeable future I will still be making more than 2 kugels since I’m trying it all out.

Another update.
As many many of you mentioned, there’s nothing like fresh kugel. The leftover rewarmed slices were good. But not the same.
Still no one complained.

I even got an “I love you” note stuck onto my phone from one of my sons. He clarified that it’s because of the abundance of delicious kugels I made and not “just because”
I’ll take it gladly.

Gut shabbos everyone.
Thank you for sticking around and cheering me on and helping a lost mama out.
We are a wonderful nation, taking our potato kugels so seriously.

Coming up next week.
The best cholent recipe and hidden TRICKS.
I sort of suck at that too. But I promise that’s where it ends. From there on out I’m a balabusta. As you can recall, I felt the intense need to share that part about myself on my very first post.

❤️

Einikel

Fri, Feb 16 2024, 10:48 am

amother OP wrote:

You can definitely use the same kugel. I do that every week.
Fresh Thursday, overnight for Friday/Shabbos.

amother

Lily

Fri, Feb 16 2024, 10:53 am

amother OP wrote:

I love the way you write and I’m sure you’re a balabusta!
To answer your question, you don’t have to make two separate kugels if you want one overnight and one regular. The recipe I gave you is perfect for both. I would use two pans though. You don’t want to serve fresh kugel and then turn the half empty pan into overnight. It might work but it won’t be as good. You want the kugel to fill the whole pan with no big gaps anywhere.
Something else I’ve noticed is that kugel texture gets ruined from being in the fridge. If you want to make it in advance, let it cool off for a few minutes, cover very tightly and freeze. Remove from freezer, pick up the foil and pour a half cup of water on top then recover and put directly in oven preheated to 425. Bake covered for an hour then uncovered for 20 minutes if you want to crisp up the top. Just as good as fresh.