My potato kugel tastes revolting-- help!

DVOM

Thu, Mar 08 2018, 4:08 pm

My potato kugel always flops, dry and crumbly or oily and greasy.

We don't make pesach, so I particularly enjoy having company for the shabbosing in the lead up to the chag to help out those who are making yomtov. Our company this week is a family with a bunch of little kid; when I asked the mom about food preferences, she said they LOOOOOOVE potato kugel and can eat it for every meal Crying

Time to tackle potato kugel. I've peeled up a bag of potatos. Can anyone post a good recipe with very explicit instructions? Bear in mind that potato kugel and I have a very bad track record...

Mommyg8

Thu, Mar 08 2018, 4:19 pm

DVOM wrote:

We're on a tight budget. I don't have the heart to spend fifteen dollars on a dish that I can make for 2.

Ok, this is the secret to a great potato kugel: it's HOW it's made.

Here's a good basic recipe:

5 lbs. potatoes
2 large onions
6 eggs
1/2 cup oil
salt and pepper to taste

Grate the onions FIRST, and then the potatoes (whichever way you grate them). This keeps the batter white. Also, don't leave the grated potatoes once they're grated. Heat the oven to 425 or 450 degrees, put some oil on the bottom of the pan, and heat. Once the oil is heated, put in the batter and cook for 1-1/2 hours. If you want it really yummy, take it out after 15 minutes and pour some more oil on top to give it a nice crust. Lots of oil is essential!

Last edited by Mommyg8 on Thu, Mar 08 2018, 4:30 pm; edited 1 time in total

tichellady

Thu, Mar 08 2018, 4:23 pm

I got this recipe from a Chabad website and like it

4 large potatoes peeled and cubed
1 onion cubed
½ cup oil
4 Eggs
1 ½ teaspoons salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Grease baking dish and place in over for 5 minutes. Soak potatoes and onion in cold water. Combine all ingredients including drained potatoes and onions in blender and mix until smooth. Take baking dish out of the oven and immediately pour mixture into the hot dish and bake at 450 degrees for 1/2 hour. Reduce to 350 degrees and bake for an additional 1/2 hour. May need to bake longer, check and see if done toyour liking

Zehava

Thu, Mar 08 2018, 4:27 pm

I don’t grate the potatoes way too much work and I like them better blended anyway. Here’s what I do. This yields a half cake size adjust accordingly.
Three potatoes
2 eggs
Oil up to a third of the blender
Around a teaspoon of salt I don’t measure
Half onion optional depends on my mood.
Blend for a minute
Bake on 450 for an hour then on 350 for another hour.
Always comes out delicious

crust

Thu, Mar 08 2018, 4:27 pm

9×13 pan

10 big Idaho potatoes
10 eggs
1 cup oil
1 Table salt
1/4 t. White pepper
1/4 cup seltzer (optional. It makes the kugel more fluffy)

Set your oven to 550
In a mixing bowl mix the eggs, oil and spices.
Prepare the 9×13 pan lined with a baking paper.
Peel the potatoes, wash and grind them as quickly as possible in food processor.
(The nice white color of the kugel depends in how quickly the processed potatoes get into the hot oven.)

Combine the potaoes with the egg mixture and then add the seltzer.
Pour into pan.
Bake on 550 for 20 minutes.
Bake on 450 for another 45 minutes or untill it looks done.

Enjoy the kugel and your guest!

thunderstorm

Thu, Mar 08 2018, 4:28 pm

This is my recipe and my kids follow it and their kugel comes out great too.
1. 1 five lb bag potatoes peeled
2. I use one egg for every two potatoes which basically comes out to seven eggs per 5 lb bag
3. 14 caps (I use the cap of the oil bottle) of canola oil
4. 1 medium onion
5. Salt and pepper to taste
Preheat oven to 450

In a mixing bowl add eggs and oil and whisk with fork or hand wins to combine.
In food processor using kugel blade or shredding blade process half of the onion with six potatoes add next half of onion and the rest of the potatoes.
Immediately pour all contents into the eggs oil mixture add salt and pepper to your taste . Mix well with a mixing spoon or fork.
Pour contents into a greased 9x13 disposable pan and put into preheated oven immediately. Bake for about one hour on 450 , you can lower oven to 400 after half hr. Once kugel top is dark and crispy remove from oven.
You can make this Thursday. Refrigerate after and cover and warm up on 250 in oven on Friday for a few hours.

Mommyg8

Thu, Mar 08 2018, 4:29 pm

Crust, I'm trying your recipe this week. It looks much better than mine! (More oil and more eggs).

Would you say 10 large potatoes = one five pound bag?

Oh, wait - no onions?

DVOM

Thu, Mar 08 2018, 4:36 pm

Mommyg8 wrote:

Thanks everyone for your responses!

You strike me as a woman who has probably made a lot of kugel in her life, plus, I'm not afraid of oil Very Happy

... I'm going with yours!

Does the kugal cook the whole time on such a high heat, or do you lower it?

crust

Thu, Mar 08 2018, 4:41 pm

Mommyg8 wrote:

Crust, I'm trying your recipe this week. It looks much better than mine! (More oil and more eggs).

Would you say 10 large potatoes = one five pound bag?

Oh, wait - no onions?

I don't add onions. Mine is a potatoe kugel.
Yes 10 potatoes equals a 5 pd bag but you never get the texture and color from the bag potatoes. They turn green too fast.

Rule of thumb is 1 egg per potatoe.
If I make a big roaster with 22 potatoes I'll only add 18-20 eggs.

Last edited by crust on Thu, Mar 08 2018, 4:43 pm; edited 1 time in total

Mommyg8

Thu, Mar 08 2018, 4:41 pm

DVOM wrote:

Thanks everyone for your responses!

You strike me as a woman who has probably made a lot of kugel in her life, plus, I'm not afraid of oil Very Happy

... I'm going with yours!

Does the kugal cook the whole time on such a high heat, or do you lower it?

Yes, I leave it at the same temperature. I bake it at 425, but my friend swears by baking it 450 or even 500 - I'm not brave enough for that!

crust

Thu, Mar 08 2018, 4:44 pm

Mommyg8 wrote:

Yes, I leave it at the same temperature. I bake it at 425, but my friend swears by baking it 450 or even 500 - I'm not brave enough for that!

I sometimes bake it in 550 for 50 minutes and its so crispy!

Mommyg8

Thu, Mar 08 2018, 4:45 pm

crust wrote:

crust, if you add an onion, it won't turn green, it will stay pure white! I use the 5 lb. bag.

Blessing1

Thu, Mar 08 2018, 4:55 pm

8 eggs, wisk & add salt & pepper
8 potatoes 4 shredded 4 grated
1/2 onion
Heat oil in 450 oven, mix potatoes & eggs. Add 1/2 cup seltzer & heated oil.
Mix well. Pour into lined 9x13 pan, bake 450 for 1 hour than lower to 350 another hour.

crust

Thu, Mar 08 2018, 5:00 pm

Mommyg8 wrote:

crust, if you add an onion, it won't turn green, it will stay pure white! I use the 5 lb. bag.

I have a sil that adds onions and her kugels are always green.
Of course when you see a single kugel it can look white but when you have two kugels at a vachnacht you see the difference immediately.
White color in kugel is only a result of how fast it gets into the hot temperature.

I used to add onion but it makes the taste so different. Its not bad but it loses the organic (and universal) kugel taste.

(The kugel you buy in take out or the ones that are served at catered simchas mostly don't have oinions.)

DVOM

Thu, Mar 08 2018, 5:08 pm

Kugel's in the oven! I'll keep y'all posted...

Its Thursday afternoon, and all you mama's out there must be so busy getting ready for Shabbos and Pesach... My own house is totally on wheels this afternoon. It was really kind of you all to post your recipes! Thank you! So many yummy recipes to try!

Mommyg8

Thu, Mar 08 2018, 5:41 pm

crust wrote:

Are you SURE they don't have onions?

I think I will try your recipe. Thanks for posting!