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  • - Claire has a personal vendetta to settle

  • with this spoon.

  • - [Claire] Correct.

  • - There's no, she's not doing this for any particular

  • reason for the episode,

  • she's just doing--

  • - The spoon's gonna be gone now.

  • - How do I do it?

  • - I would go this way.

  • [upbeat music]

  • - No!

  • Ah!

  • Hey everyone, I'm Claire.

  • We're in the BA Test Kitchen

  • and today I'm making gourmet

  • Tater Tots.

  • This makes it look like I've already made them

  • and that's mine, and that's the original.

  • Because they're on identical plates.

  • - [Producer] That's a wrap.

  • - [chuckles] Right, I'm done.

  • I don't know of a single person

  • who doesn't unequivocally love Tater Tots.

  • Myself included.

  • It's a perfect food.

  • What is more delightful in the world

  • than a Tater Tot?

  • Of all the Gourmet Makes in history,

  • there's no difference in enjoyment

  • when I'm an adult as when I was a kid.

  • They're still incredible as ever.

  • First of all, potato.

  • One of the greatest foods in the world.

  • So versatile, so delicious.

  • So satisfying.

  • And then a Tater Tot might be

  • one of the finest expressions of potato.

  • People say Tater Tots to mean all different brands,

  • but technically Tater Tot is a trademark

  • of Ore-Ida Potato Company.

  • A Tater Tot is shredded potato.

  • I don't really know.

  • I don't know how they make them.

  • But they're somehow bound together and fried

  • in little tiny nuggets.

  • They're so good.

  • I mean, they look the same frozen.

  • So that kind of makes me feel like

  • in the Tater Tot factory, they're more par-fried.

  • But they also at the same time hold together so well.

  • They're also uniform.

  • They're just so good.

  • It's like the perfect amount of crispy outside,

  • crunchy soft kind of creamy inside.

  • They're just, I really wanna eat some.

  • Can I go get some ketchup?

  • I cannot eat these without Heinz ketchup.

  • I love ketchup so much.

  • They're perfect.

  • They're perfect.

  • It cannot be improved upon.

  • We should just, everyone take a plate and go home.

  • - What are you doing?

  • - [Claire] Tots.

  • Tater Tots.

  • Greatest food ever created.

  • - Yeah, agree.

  • - Like I could probably eat in one sitting

  • maybe like 45 Tater Tots.

  • They're so good.

  • - So fascinated.

  • It's like these weird pebbles

  • of seemingly like par-steamed potatoes

  • that then have almost like this slurry around them.

  • - I know.

  • Whatever the binding is is incredible.

  • What's more delightful than a fried potato?

  • - Nothing. - Nothing.

  • - You're gonna nail this in two days.

  • - Ooh, you think so?

  • - Yeah. - All right.

  • - Oh, Tater Tot casserole?

  • - What is the casserole, and then you just put

  • Tater Tots on top?

  • - I think it's traditionally beef, frozen mixed vegetables,

  • and cream of mushroom soup,

  • but then you top it with Tater Tots.

  • - Oh really?

  • - But we could do all scratch.

  • - If you make the filling.

  • - [Sohla] Yeah, I can do that.

  • - Is that a deal?

  • - Yeah. - Okay.

  • Ooh, I love this idea.

  • So you can see that there are distinct shreds of potato,

  • and a really thin, even, golden crust.

  • I think barrel is a good word to describe the shape.

  • They are kind of cylinders, but the cylinders

  • actually seem to have a little bit of dimension to them,

  • like there's sort of a flat side.

  • It's not a totally round cross-section,

  • if that makes sense.

  • I'm gonna clear this off because it's too annoying

  • to reach around these bags to eat them.

  • - You made these?

  • - No.

  • We started like five minutes ago.

  • - Oh, I don't know. - These are original.

  • The two plates is throwing every single person off.

  • - Here's what's so wonderful about Tots.

  • There's a whole world inside.

  • There's a lot of textural variants.

  • - Yes. - On the inside of the Tot.

  • You know I go look for Tots almost every day.

  • - Daily. - In the cafeteria.

  • - Mm-hmm.

  • Potatoes are fascinating.

  • - They're so cool.

  • So weird. - I know.

  • Tots.

  • I'm gonna take some measurements.

  • The length is three centimeters.

  • The diameter in one direction is 2.1 centimeters.

  • So we're just gonna call it two centimeters.

  • Um.

  • That's it.

  • That's the only dimensions, right?

  • I wanna try taking one apart

  • and separating out some of the pieces

  • to get an idea of particle size.

  • There's pieces like this that are a larger piece

  • and then there's also this size,

  • which is much, much smaller.

  • I feel like the pieces are shaggy

  • so that they're not smooth,

  • like if you were to look at this up close

  • it would have a very irregular texture.

  • You can sort of see that there's a coating.

  • The coating, it is a very sealed exterior.

  • Time for my favorite part, reading the ingredients.

  • Potatoes, vegetable oil blend, soybean and cottonseed,

  • salt, yellow corn flour, dextrose, sodium acid,

  • pyrophosphate, parenthesis to retain natural color

  • closed parenthesis, dehydrated onion,

  • sodium acid sulfate, natural flavor.

  • All right, there's a lot of interesting stuff there.

  • It's fascinating to me that there are things

  • that I've never heard of

  • that we haven't yet seen in Gourmet Makes.

  • We've never had any kind of compound

  • start with the prefix pyro.

  • It's to retain the color.

  • Potatoes, when you grate them,

  • I think it's an enzyme.

  • There's an enzyme in them that immediately makes them

  • start to turn brown, so makes sense that they're

  • putting something in here to prevent browning.

  • I would love to find out more about how they're made.

  • We're gonna go over to the computer

  • and do a little bit of research.

  • Go long, Dan.

  • No, I'm just kidding.

  • No, no don't.

  • No don't.

  • I'm gonna hit the light.

  • - [Dan] Let's do it.

  • - [Man] Do it!

  • - [laughing] That's too close to the computer.

  • What if I hit the light?

  • No, don't!

  • I thought you were throwing it back at me.

  • What?

  • - [Man] Nice.

  • - [Claire] [laughing] Is the internet not working?

  • Oh.

  • - [Man] Oh, you need that.

  • - Wifi.

  • There we go.

  • Tater Tots, or just Tots, created in 1953

  • when Ora-Ida founders were trying to figure out

  • what to do with leftover slivers of cut up potatoes.

  • They chopped up the slivers, okay chopped,

  • added flour and seasoning, then pushed the mash

  • through holes and sliced off

  • pieces of the extruded mixture, thus Tots were born.

  • All right.

  • I mean, that pretty much tells me how it's made.

  • - [Announcer] Tater Tots have appeared on the menus

  • of some of the finest restaurants in the country.

  • - [Claire] Oh, look at those.

  • - [Announcer] Like Chef David Kinch's

  • three Michelin star-rated Manresa

  • in Los Gatos California. - Manresa.

  • - I'm making fancy Tater Tots.

  • Sometimes they're called pommes paillasson.

  • - Okay, so that's David Kinch, famous chef.

  • And that is the potato preparation

  • that I was gonna make.

  • He said pommes paillasson, I think

  • and I don't really know how to spell that

  • so I'll have to do some research.

  • But this is, this is good stuff right here.

  • Okay, paillasson that's what he's saying.

  • David Kinch, pommes paillasson.

  • So let's see this.

  • [upbeat music]

  • Sorry, that's really loud.

  • - The fancy name is pommes paillasson.

  • It'll remind you of Tater Tots.

  • For this I'm just using regular russet potatoes.

  • - [Dan] This feels like cheating.

  • - The next thing I'm gonna do

  • is grate the potatoes. - Oh well.

  • So he is poaching raw potato in duck fat.

  • And then the starches are coming out

  • so that they get that gummy texture.

  • - Pommes paillasson.

  • Tater Tots on steroids.

  • - Some people say that that was cheating,

  • but I don't think so.

  • I like the idea of approaching Tater Tots

  • using sort of a classic method

  • based on sound potato cookery.

  • If that works, I think it could be a really neat way

  • to recreate a classic Ora-Ida Tater Tot.

  • - [Dan] Are you gonna feel refreshed

  • when you get back from vacation?

  • - I'm going on vacation.

  • I'm hoping to come back not sleep deprived,

  • having read several books, having not looked at my phone

  • or computer for a week, and just

  • completely born again.

  • [upbeat music]

  • Vacation's so great.

  • I hadn't taken a vacation in so long.

  • You know, you have to really make it a priority,

  • a vacation, otherwise you'll never do it.

  • That was my problem.

  • I feel great.

  • I wanna go back.

  • Take me back.

  • I remember where we left off.

  • So I can kind of get started right away.

  • [upbeat music]

  • I'm gonna go for it, I think.

  • The whole way through.

  • David Kinch cooked his potatoes in duck fat.

  • I'm just gonna use oil.

  • The potatoes are in water

  • because that prevents oxidation

  • so they don't brown.

  • And Rhoda's helping me put together the shredder

  • on the food processor.

  • There we go.

  • I'm only using oversized kitchen tools today, I've decided.

  • Does it make me look very small

  • because it's so big?

  • So this is, you take the blade out

  • and it has this little connector piece

  • that goes down where the blade connects

  • and this disc spins, and it's a really super fast shredder.

  • By the way, I feel like I should say something

  • about potatoes, which are that potatoes are

  • one of my favorite foods,

  • and in fact, in my mind, one of the most amazing

  • ingredients you could possibly work with.

  • So I think after I shred them, I'm going to pulse them

  • with the blade in the food processor to break them up

  • a little bit and leave some larger,

  • and then get some into smaller, finer bits.

  • They're amazing.

  • And they're so delicious.

  • And they get crispy, and they're creamy,

  • and fluffy, you can puree them, you can fry them,

  • you can roast them.

  • They're so good.

  • I'm gonna put the potatoes directly into the oil

  • so they don't continue to oxidize.

  • Maybe a tiny bit of garlic

  • to make it a little more savory.

  • Okay, so I'm gonna go grab some rosemary

  • because it tastes so good.

  • I think that actually that particle size

  • looks pretty good.

  • I'm not really basing that on any

  • actual firsthand knowledge.

  • Okay, so I'm gonna get this on the burner.

  • French fried potatoes, roasted potatoes,

  • boiled potatoes, I love a boiled potato so much.

  • It doesn't look like much, but things are happening.

  • There's little kind of slow, fine bubbles happening

  • all around, and the texture of the potatoes is changing.

  • You can see that they're going translucent.

  • The French really do great things with potatoes.

  • They do pommes Boulanger.

  • that's a classic one.

  • And what I remember from the video

  • is that I do want to actually fully cook the potato.

  • I maybe just want it to have the tiniest hint

  • of that kind of raw starchy texture.

  • I kind of feel like maybe it's almost done.

  • There's roasted potatoes, there's boiled potatoes,

  • which I love, boiled potatoes,

  • parsley potatoes, just like peeled, boiled,

  • creamy potatoes, with butter and parsley and salt.

  • It's so good.

  • Baked potato, French fries.

  • I'm gonna check on the done-ness of the potatoes.

  • It is super gummy.

  • Considering there was no salt, tastes pretty good.

  • You can see how they are clumping together

  • because they are just so sticky.

  • In fact, much stickier than I imagined they would be.

  • - Are you gonna try and introduce another dip

  • to the equation?

  • - I hadn't thought about it actually.

  • - Oh, you know what is amazing?

  • There's this place in Philly called Chickie & Pete's.

  • - Uh-huh.

  • - And they do crab fries,

  • but they do it with a white cheese dipping sauce

  • that's like American cheese, cheddar,

  • and maybe Monterey Jack.

  • I don't want to speak for them.

  • - Okay.

  • - I don't know what their proprietary blend is.

  • - Okay.

  • - But it's so good.

  • - Will you look into it-- - I'll look into it.

  • - And tell me what's in it? - Yeah.

  • - Okay.

  • Thanks Delaney.

  • Okay, these are gonna continue to drain.

  • They've already released a fair amount of oil.

  • And in the meantime, I'm gonna pluck out

  • the garlic and stuff.

  • The garlic is just there for flavoring the oil.

  • It's not gonna be in the Tots.

  • - Claire.

  • - Oh, what's in it?

  • - In the 45 seconds since I've last seen you.

  • - Uh-huh.

  • - I've just read an article about how this person

  • went on a mission to find out what the cheese sauce was.

  • It's just American cheese and water to thin it out.

  • - What?

  • - Melted American cheese and water.

  • - Wow.

  • Love a recipe like that.

  • It's one ingredient.

  • Ooh, like look at it.

  • It's all just one big ball of sticky potato.

  • - [Dan] Looks like you made a big matzo ball.

  • [Claire laughs]

  • - Wow, I thought it was gonna be maybe a challenge

  • to get it to hold, but it's really so sticky.

  • I don't want to shock anyone with the amount of salt

  • that I'm gonna use, but I wanna be generous.

  • - Oh my god, that already looks like a Tater Tot.

  • I'm excited.

  • - I'm excited too.

  • - They got me some beef.

  • We're gonna make casserole.

  • - What kind of casserole?

  • - Tater Tot casserole.

  • - Oh my god, that kind of casserole.

  • - Yeah, yeah. - Yeah, yeah, yeah.

  • Okay.

  • Okay, cool. [Sohla laughs]

  • - You're gonna be ready before the beef.

  • This is gonna be a one day Gourmet Makes.

  • - Sohla, you're gonna jinx it.

  • - No, man. - Oh my god.

  • Well you can say it.

  • I can't say it.

  • - It's basically perfect already.

  • Dan, did you get a good look in here?

  • - Oh, thanks.

  • I'm gonna cut this into a grid

  • and then I'll have little rectangles.

  • I'll just have to wait and see what the texture's like

  • after they chill.

  • This is gonna go into the fridge.

  • Ooh.

  • Just shocked myself.

  • - So I'm working on my job

  • while also trying to make some Tater Tot casserole.

  • I've got some short ribs over here.

  • I'm gonna sear it in here

  • and then de-glaze with some beer.

  • It's gonna get a bunch of cremini mushrooms.

  • So these guys are gonna sear up, get nice and brown.

  • Traditionally, Tater Tot casserole

  • is cream of mushroom soup and ground beef,

  • so we're stepping it up a little.

  • It's gourmet Tater Tot casserole.

  • - The mixture is cool,

  • I would say it's cooled.

  • It's super firm.

  • One thing that I'm not totally pleased about

  • is the color, because the inside of a Tot

  • is pretty bright white, and these potatoes

  • have started to take on a gray tone.

  • I kind of thought after coming out of the oil,

  • they would all be so coated

  • that they weren't gonna further oxidize,

  • but it seems like they are.

  • Really never seen anything like it.

  • It's really neat.

  • It kind of has like a wobble,

  • and it's really solid.

  • Like, it springs back.

  • I'm wondering if I'm gonna have a hard time forming it,

  • but let's see.

  • I'm gonna cut it into a grid,

  • roughly Tater Tot size.

  • It seems like I'll get a pretty even number

  • out of all of these.

  • Now that I've cut it into portions,

  • I'll weigh each portion, and then I'll have

  • an easier time forming them, because it'll all be uniform.

  • [jazzy drumming music]

  • Just feel like there's gotta be a quicker way

  • to get these into nice, even cylinders.

  • It's still not quite long enough.

  • - [Gaby] What is that?

  • - What? - That's potato?

  • - It's potato.

  • - The color's--

  • - [Claire] Yeah, I know.

  • - It's not really enticing.

  • I wonder what they put those to keep them.

  • - Oh, it's sodium acid pyrophosphate.

  • - Sure, I have some in my pocket.

  • Why don't you use it?

  • - Yeah.

  • Every kitchen has some of that.

  • - I'm sure they're delicious.

  • - Look, I'm just gonna get through this test,

  • I'll deal with the color later.

  • I need a form.

  • This is annoying.

  • I don't want to do this anymore.

  • I don't know what I'm looking for.

  • I'm just trying to see what we have

  • to spark some kind of an idea.

  • I'm hungry.

  • I think it's time for lunch.

  • Do we have funnels? - Funnels?

  • - [Claire] Yeah.

  • - I do.

  • - [Claire] I won't destroy it.

  • - Okay.

  • [gasps]

  • - Can I-- - Yes, yes, yes.

  • - Can I hold onto it for a second?

  • - But don't destroy it, right?

  • - No, I promise. - Right?

  • - I promise. - Okay.

  • - I think that's a good size.

  • The only thing is I wish it was more cylindrical.

  • It's kind of tapered.

  • I also do kind of want to destroy it

  • even though I just told Gaby I wouldn't.

  • - [Gaby] What about a cookie cutter?

  • - Yes.

  • Why didn't I think about that?

  • - [Gaby] I don't know, because you want to make it.

  • - I want to make it hard?

  • - [Gaby] You wanted to make it real, yes.

  • [jazzy music]

  • I just thought of something.

  • - [Claire] What?

  • - [Gaby] An apple corer.

  • - Gaby, you're so smart.

  • - [Gaby] Sometimes.

  • - No, all the time.

  • Truly.

  • I'm gonna test if this is the right size.

  • It's a little bit narrow,

  • but I think it's gonna work.

  • I think this is like kind of perfect.

  • So I'm gonna go back to the pieces that I already formed.

  • I wish that I had some kind of piston

  • to push it through.

  • Gaby, where'd you put the other one?

  • Okay, thank you.

  • I wanted to, I have, this is,

  • I need to destroy this.

  • [jazzy music]

  • Oh no, I don't think it's gonna work.

  • Just bend it back and pretend like nothing ever happened.

  • No one say anything.

  • It's fine.

  • - [Gaby] Did it work?

  • - No, it's okay.

  • Don't tell anyone.

  • Oh, I have an idea.

  • I already used this once today.

  • Let me just see if I can do this

  • without sawing off a piece.

  • No, I can't quite.

  • I need the saw.

  • Gaby, do we have a handsaw?

  • - Oh wait, we have all this new equipment we got!

  • Oh my god, Claire you weren't here.

  • Come!

  • Ta-da! - Whoa!

  • - [Gaby] One day every brand sent us so much stuff.

  • - Wow. - We can build a house.

  • - If anyone's watching who's in the tool industry,

  • we need new tools.

  • Look at this thing.

  • This thing's older than Claire.

  • Look at this battery.

  • They don't even make this thing anymore.

  • - Why isn't this going on?

  • I broke it.

  • [sighs]

  • What's happening here.

  • A-ha.

  • Okay.

  • Oh, hi.

  • - What up?

  • - Delaney, I need your help.

  • - Well, I need your help.

  • - Really?

  • With what? - Yeah.

  • Well, I was just gonna ask you

  • what you thought of this.

  • - Oh my god, that sounds fun.

  • I'll try it.

  • - [Dan] Yeah, definitely get intoxicated

  • before using the saw.

  • [Claire laughing]

  • - Perfect.

  • - It's a shandy.

  • - Oh, it's basically water.

  • Okay, it's delightful.

  • I want more lime.

  • - Okay, cool.

  • - Wait, don't go anywhere.

  • - I'm not, I'm just gonna put it over here.

  • - Okay.

  • So I'm gonna tighten this,

  • and then clamp.

  • Just keep going.

  • - There has to be a better way to do that.

  • - I'm a lefty, by the way.

  • Oh my god, this is gonna be so easy.

  • Okay.

  • Ah!

  • Ah!

  • That was so fun and easy.

  • - It's so fun.

  • Let's just cut some more (beeping right?

  • - I think this is like my thing now.

  • Now that I tightened this, how do I get it off?

  • - You just spin it the other way.

  • - I know, but it's like really--

  • - You got it.

  • - I got it, I got it. - There's a rhyme about it.

  • - No, I know but here's the thing.

  • I've said this many times.

  • It goes in a circle.

  • There's no left or right.

  • It's clockwise counterclockwise.

  • [laughing] Thank you.

  • - Righty tighty, lefty loosey.

  • - I know.

  • I never understood that, to be honest.

  • - What do you mean?

  • It's like the best thing ever.

  • - [laughing] I don't-- - Righty tighty.

  • - I don't want this on the camera.

  • - Spin it right. - But wait--

  • - If I'm turning this to my left,

  • that's your right.

  • - But start from there.

  • Start from there.

  • - Right, which is your left,

  • but I'm saying no one would ever start

  • from the bottom.

  • - But I'm saying that I would.

  • - You know, Claire.

  • You do a lot of things that other people might not do.

  • - So you form them in here, right?

  • - Okay.

  • - And you give it like a little

  • tamp, tamp, tamp.

  • And then.

  • It's brilliant.

  • - Brilliant is subjective in this situation.

  • - But you agree.

  • - Yes.

  • - Right.

  • [jazzy music]

  • This gets loaded into,

  • press, press, press,

  • and then I'm gonna just keep forming,

  • one at a time, in a little bit

  • of an assembly line.

  • - Oh my god, that worked out perfect!

  • - I know!

  • - What?

  • [jazzy music]

  • - The oil's at 340.

  • I'm gonna do have of this batch, no coating.

  • Just gonna drop these guys in.

  • Aye-aye-aye, they're all sticking to the bottom.

  • Oh, they stuck so bad.

  • Are they all just falling apart now?

  • Oh my god, they're sticking to each other.

  • They're sticking to the spoon.

  • These have completely fused together

  • into one Frankentot.

  • Okay, problem number one.

  • They are so sticky that they stick

  • to the bottom of the pot, and they stick to each other.

  • So that's not great.

  • Two, they are getting kind of grayer by the minute.

  • That's not super appealing.

  • Three is getting kind of craggy.

  • And then it's getting really nice crispy bits,

  • but they're just kind of like not getting

  • as uniformly golden.

  • Although I guess Tater Tots themselves

  • aren't super uniform either.

  • But that's why I feel like I'm gonna need

  • some kind of a coating.

  • I think it will help to seal the potato.

  • The potato gets really crispy,

  • but it retains some of that gumminess in the Tot

  • that's not totally appealing.

  • One positive thing is that it has distinct bits

  • which you can see.

  • They just need to be less gummy.

  • I'm wondering if I worked the mixture too much.

  • So I'm gonna take a little potato starch

  • and dust some of the Tots in the potato starch

  • to kind of seal everything.

  • I'm not quite sure how much to add.

  • I might have to drop them in one at a time

  • and keep them moving until they're set on the outside.

  • - [Dan] Can I say something without you getting offended?

  • - [Claire] What?

  • - There was an unpleasant aftertaste

  • in the one I had.

  • - What's the aftertaste?

  • - [Dan] My tongue feels dry.

  • - [Man] Yeah, I need a lot of water.

  • - [Dan] I think I'm dying.

  • [all laughing]

  • - Did I poison you guys?

  • Did I mean to?

  • Maybe not.

  • Maybe I did.

  • So I'm just kind of agitating it.

  • Really hoping that it doesn't fall apart.

  • Actually it does seem to be much less sticky.

  • Oh, they stuck together.

  • [giggles]

  • Oh no.

  • I'm gonna take this guy out.

  • This was the first one I added.

  • You can see that the surface itself

  • is rather pale, and that the ends are super golden.

  • This seems like an improvement if they're less sticky

  • and they're holding their shape.

  • They look like perfect little cylinders.

  • This guy looks great.

  • Look at the Tots!

  • They're so cute.

  • They held together extremely well.

  • The surface stayed smooth.

  • They seem very crispy.

  • Mm.

  • I think I'm really on the right track

  • with the potato starch on the outside.

  • The two main issues now are color and texture

  • of the potato and the interior.

  • And I have some thoughts about that.

  • Wait, I'm so worried about this aftertaste.

  • - [Dan] Yeah, you gotta taste one of these.

  • - The crew ate the first batch,

  • and apparently there was a lot of talk

  • about having an issue with dry mouth afterwards.

  • And I'm a little freaked out by it.

  • I mean, I just ate one and we'll see.

  • I think it's that I worked that potato mixture so much.

  • There's just so much starch that was released

  • from the potatoes that, like,

  • that starch in your mouth is,

  • I don't really know what's happening,

  • but I think it's giving everyone

  • that very uncomfortable dry mouth effect.

  • Here's my plan.

  • Because I want a mixture that has a fluffier

  • potato texture, and not so much gumminess,

  • I'm gonna do the same thing, but only with half

  • the amount of potatoes, and then substitute in

  • the other half with like a boiled, grated potato

  • to get some of that fluffy texture in

  • and hopefully get a best of both worlds mix.

  • I don't know if I have to poke holes if I'm boiling,

  • but I'll just poke a couple.

  • These potatoes are done.

  • They're basically fully cooked all the way through.

  • These are gonna go into the fridge overnight,

  • and then in the morning, I'm going to grate them

  • and do that whole oil poaching step again

  • with fresh potatoes.

  • I have a relatively high level of confidence

  • that the next batch, given the learning from today,

  • will be successful.

  • [upbeat jazzy music]

  • I guess the first thing I'll do is grate the potato

  • that I cooked yesterday that's in the fridge

  • and is cold.

  • No, no.

  • Not while I'm holding coffee.

  • Okay.

  • All right.

  • [jazzy music]

  • These are the potatoes I boiled yesterday until tender,

  • and they chilled overnight.

  • They're very firm, even though they're cooked

  • all the way through.

  • Oops.

  • Looks like grated cheese.

  • The shreds yesterday were kind of translucent

  • and these are opaque, and you can see

  • they're really fluffy.

  • I'm gonna do the same thing I did yesterday

  • which is just pulse the shreds.

  • And I'm going to keep this mixture separate

  • from the poached mixture, and then I'll add them together

  • to kind of get the consistency that I want.

  • I will set this aside.

  • Now I'm gonna move onto the poached, shredded potato,

  • and I have oil there from yesterday that was strained.

  • I'm gonna add more oil to it,

  • and also add aromatics.

  • Oh, Dan.

  • Oh my god, Dan.

  • No, it fell on the floor.

  • It rolled under it.

  • Can I have another one.

  • Thank you.

  • I love peeling potato.

  • Ow!

  • I have not touched one thing in this kitchen

  • over the last two days that has not shocked me.

  • That's so annoying.

  • There's some weird current.

  • Ow!

  • [groans]

  • [all laughing]

  • God, everything's metal.

  • The goal here is to reduce enzymatic browning

  • that happens when you cut raw potato.

  • And so I'm going to add ice cubes and white vinegar,

  • because colder water and acidulated water

  • will help prevent that from happening.

  • All right, so these shreds are gonna immediately

  • go back in the water,

  • because they'll start browning immediately.

  • I'm gonna transfer about half of this mixture

  • to the food processor.

  • And the next step will be

  • wringing out the potato and transferring it

  • to the oil immediately.

  • And this is a method for making potato latkes.

  • I don't know why I didn't do this yesterday.

  • But you squeeze out as much of the moisture

  • from the potatoes as possible,

  • and it just increases crispiness

  • and improves texture also.

  • And then you'll see,

  • so I have much, much drier pieces.

  • And now directly into the oil.

  • So theoretically it should not brown.

  • Before I get these on the stove,

  • I'm gonna do one quick step,

  • which is pour off a lot of this water

  • and then strain it to get any potato bits out,

  • and then I'm gonna let this mixture sit and settle

  • because there's a ton of starch in this bowl,

  • and then when it comes time to mix the potato mixture

  • for the filing, I'm gonna add the starch back in.

  • That will help bind everything.

  • I decided that I should look up the actual recipe

  • of pommes paillasson that I watched the video

  • of David Kinch demonstrating.

  • And I'm glad I did, because it had some important

  • information I ignored the first time.

  • The first piece of information is that the oil

  • should be right around 200 Fahrenheit,

  • so you can see, I've kept it within a couple degrees

  • on either side of 200.

  • The other piece of information was that

  • the potato should be fully cooked almost to the point

  • of falling apart.

  • I fell short of that end point yesterday.

  • So I'm just gonna give these a taste.

  • These have been in here for a little while.

  • I feel like they're fully cooked.

  • Now I'm gonna get these out of the oil.

  • I think it looks less gray than yesterday.

  • So now I'm gonna season them generously,

  • and this one is poached in oil

  • and then this one is grated boiled potato

  • and I'm going to eyeball it until I get something

  • that looks like a good mix that still binds to itself,

  • and I can also add some of this potato starch

  • to the mixture as well.

  • I'm kind of starting with something

  • that looks a little 50-50.

  • This is like basically a slurry,

  • a starch slurry.

  • I actually get a lot of the rosemary garlic.

  • It's pretty tasty.

  • All right, back into the fridge

  • until this is actually nice and cold

  • and has a chance to just set.

  • I'm going to turn my oil on and get up to 350,

  • and then I'm going to form maybe three or four Tots.

  • Oh my god, I love them.

  • Throw them into the oil,

  • see what happens.

  • I feel like they're done.

  • - [Alex] They do look a little ghostly on the outsid.e

  • - Oh, just say good things.

  • - They look like beautiful ghosts.

  • - They look like little beautiful nuggets.

  • Look at how similar they are in size.

  • Don't they look good?

  • - Pretty damn close.

  • - Hot. - Hot.

  • I actually really taste rosemary.

  • - It's like a lot of rosemary.

  • - Too salty?

  • - I don't know about too salty,

  • but the rosemary is pretty overpowering.

  • - Overpowering?

  • - I don't know if, It's a lot.

  • - Delaney.

  • That's not the answer I was looking for.

  • This was one of those--

  • - It really tastes like rosemary.

  • - You nailed it, don't change anything.

  • That's more of what I was going for.

  • - What's in there?

  • - Garlic and rosemary.

  • Too much?

  • No!

  • You guys.

  • - [Alex] It's too much rosemary.

  • - No!

  • [emotional piano music]

  • I actually get a lot of the rosemary garlic.

  • It's pretty tasty.

  • - [Sohla] You're millimeters away from perfection!

  • - [Alex] You're on the doorstep.

  • - [Sohla] You can't stop now.

  • - But I just really,

  • I really don't want to re-poach the potatoes.

  • It takes so long.

  • - Perfection takes as long as it takes.

  • - Edit it all out.

  • - Could we lie to people, say you did it again.

  • [giggling]

  • Is there like anything else going on there?

  • - Why, what do you want?

  • You want--

  • - No, there's a flavor, an aftertaste,

  • that I don't enjoy.

  • - [Claire] Actually, can I just say something?

  • - I--

  • - [Claire] Oh.

  • - Was gonna say something else about that, too.

  • But maybe I won't.

  • - What is the aftertaste? - What, no you can't.

  • Wait, now you have to-- - It's like almost fishy?

  • [emotional piano music]

  • - What is that from?

  • - [Alex] What is the fishiness?

  • - [Sohla] Oh, it's the fryer oil.

  • - Oh it's, it's--

  • - [Alex] It might be the oil.

  • - Yeah, it's canola.

  • - [Sohla] Canola gets weird.

  • - [Alex] Yeah.

  • - All right.

  • And I'm reusing it from yesterday.

  • - That's what it is.

  • - Okay.

  • I'll switch, I'll do fresh oil.

  • Delaney, I just want,

  • I want you to make that cheese sauce.

  • - Yes!

  • - [Claire] Sauce you told me about yesterday.

  • - I don't know if I have time to do it today, though.

  • - I think you have time.

  • - If American cheese is in the test kitchen,

  • I will absolutely make it.

  • - Okay.

  • - [Sohla] I'll prepare my casserole base.

  • - Oh, right.

  • Oh damn, okay.

  • I forgot about that.

  • I can't believe I forgot.

  • - Tater Tot casserole!

  • Claire! - I know.

  • - I've been working on it-- - I'm sorry.

  • - For days!

  • - But Sohla, can you tell me how many I'm gonna need?

  • - What is that? - It's however--

  • - I don't think I agree with him about the rosemary.

  • I have an idea though.

  • If I get shocked by this, I'll be really upset.

  • Ah.

  • God.

  • Damn it.

  • Only the oil poached has the rosemary flavor

  • added to it, so my idea is just to add

  • more of the boiled potato,

  • which has that fluffier, nicer texture anyway.

  • And my hope is just that it continues to bind

  • and be formable.

  • [jazzy drumming music]

  • I also refreshed the oil over there.

  • So far it seems to be holding together well.

  • I feel a little relieved.

  • I'm just gonna form them until

  • the oil is ready, I guess.

  • And I'm going to do a lighter coating of potato starch.

  • Oh, well.

  • I thought I was going to.

  • Take them out.

  • - [Dan] Best ones yet?

  • - So here are the Tots.

  • I think that this is the best batch yet.

  • Also, one thing we haven't remarked upon,

  • they're not gray, which is good.

  • I feel very good about this.

  • I feel good about

  • one, the density,

  • sort of how tightly packed

  • the potato particles are.

  • Two, the presence of discrete potato bits,

  • three, the different sizes of the discrete

  • bits of potato bits,

  • and four, the amount of coating

  • on the outside of the Tot.

  • Mm, very tender.

  • In my mind, it's not the least bit overpoweringly rosemary.

  • In fact, I don't think you would know it was there.

  • Oh, Sohla.

  • You don't get a lot of the rosemary.

  • Better, right?

  • - It's a Tot.

  • - What happened is what usually happens,

  • which is, I'm glad that I made it again.

  • Thank you for pushing me to do that.

  • I think this is the final version.

  • I'm happy with basically every aspect of it.

  • I'm gonna just keep forming and frying in batches

  • until I've made some critical mass of Tater Tots.

  • - What's your plan?

  • You're doing a full bag?

  • - I'm gonna go with as many as it takes

  • until I finish today.

  • [jazzy music]

  • Thanks to Sohla's help and encouraging words

  • we actually portioned and formed the full potato mixture.

  • This guy was hidden behind the thermometer.

  • Got a little dark.

  • Took on a little bit of color,

  • took it pretty far.

  • I'm gonna put these in the freezer, uncovered,

  • and then before I leave tonight I will cover them

  • because I don't want to trap any amount of steam

  • that's left in these, because it will create

  • a soggy texture.

  • I don't believe in making homemade ketchup

  • because Heinz is perfect.

  • But I will make a homemade mayo

  • even though there's lots of great store-bought mayo also.

  • Delaney's gonna do cheese sauce.

  • I can do a buffalo sauce.

  • [jazzy music]

  • But I'm just making kind of a traditional mayonnaise

  • with egg yolk, oil,

  • and then I'll add a little garlic and lemon

  • to season it.

  • It is absolutely delicious.

  • We'll come back tomorrow.

  • I feel like it'll be smooth sailing

  • from here on out.

  • I made like a lot of Tater Tots.

  • So I would consider this successful.

  • [jazzy music]

  • Oh my god, casserole.

  • I forgot about casserole.

  • Sohla?

  • Casserole.

  • Is it happening?

  • - Yeah.

  • - How much time do you need?

  • - I'm ready. - You're ready?

  • All right, so Sohla's gonna do casserole.

  • I'm going to cook the remaining Tater Tots two ways,

  • one baked, one deep fried,

  • and then we're gonna dip and taste,

  • and then we go home,

  • because today's Friday.

  • Right?

  • - [Dan] No.

  • - I might make a little buffalo dipping sauce

  • which is just Frank's Red Hot,

  • and butter.

  • Oh, I knew that was coming.

  • Okay.

  • Maybe I'll work on the one-handed catch going forward.

  • You know?

  • Advanced skills.

  • [jazzy drumming music]

  • I have one stick of butter which is a half cup,

  • a half cup of Frank's.

  • To my knowledge, buffalo sauce is just

  • those two things mixed together,

  • so that's what I'm gonna do.

  • Oh, it smells so good.

  • - Does it smell so good?

  • - Oh, you got a haircut!

  • - This morning. - Wow.

  • - Literally like half an hour ago.

  • - You look great.

  • You got a job to do.

  • - I know, I'm gonna make my cheese sauce.

  • - [Claire] Okay, great.

  • - It's just white American cheese.

  • Cutting it into roughly inch and a half

  • by inch and a half cubes.

  • We're gonna start with eight ounces

  • and see if the water to cheese ratio works.

  • The water looks, let's put it one way, gross.

  • Ah, it's getting pretty white.

  • Old cheese water.

  • It smells like cheese.

  • That's all that it smells like

  • - [Claire] That looks so good.

  • - It looks really good.

  • - [Claire] Good consistency.

  • - [Alex] And the consistency now is nice, yeah.

  • - [Claire] Yeah.

  • - [Alex] Needs a little bit of salt,

  • little bit of garlic.

  • - Oh my god, it looks so good.

  • - [Sohla] You can taste it.

  • - All right, can I-- - Oh yeah.

  • - Can I grab this?

  • Okay.

  • - [Alex] That is so good, Sohla.

  • - [Claire] When did Sohla even make this?

  • - I don't know.

  • Sohla hasn't slept in 18 days.

  • - Yeah, seriously.

  • All right, so I'm gonna fill this guy.

  • So this is Sohla's short rib and mushroom casserole

  • a la stroganoff.

  • Can we get a bag of Tots?

  • Delaney, he's gonna throw it at you.

  • We'll do the skillet with Ora-Ida,

  • and we're gonna do the baking dish with homemade.

  • My vision is neat rows.

  • Oh well.

  • - Wow.

  • Really nice work.

  • I really like how this one,

  • it's like a full collaboration.

  • - Yeah.

  • I did just as much work as Claire.

  • - Excellent.

  • Now I'm gonna deep fry, and we're gonna taste

  • just the Tots on their own.

  • [jazzy drumming music]

  • They look great.

  • They look like they got super crispy.

  • And now I'm gonna pour out my dipping sauces.

  • I'm gonna start with ketchup.

  • Then buffalo.

  • Aioli.

  • Delaney, you ready there with the cheese?

  • Oh, that looks so good.

  • - What's in it?

  • - Water and American cheese.

  • - You really are a Philly guy, aren't you?

  • - Little bit of garlic powder, little bit of salt.

  • - The garlic powder makes it gourmet.

  • - Yeah. - Yeah.

  • - All right, ready guys?

  • I'm gonna try it with aioli.

  • - Cool.

  • - Are you gonna do cheese sauce?

  • - Yeah, I feel like--

  • - Okay. - Can I do aioli as well?

  • - Yeah, we can do both.

  • I mean, we can try multiple.

  • - Claire, those.

  • Those are very good.

  • - They're really soft on the inside.

  • - [Andy] I like that they don't fall apart

  • like typical Tater Tots.

  • - [Claire] What a lovely interior.

  • Fluffy, right?

  • And not dense, like not so compact.

  • - I'm not even gonna try it, I'm sorry.

  • - American cheese is not my thing.

  • [laughing]

  • But it's really good.

  • But like, I only want to eat one of it.

  • - The ketchup is so good.

  • - I know, I love the ketchup.

  • - Sue.

  • - You wanna try a Tater Tot?

  • - Ooh! - Yeah, okay.

  • Classic. - Yup.

  • - Oh.

  • Yeah, Claire.

  • - Tater Tot.

  • - Like Ore-Ida.

  • - Oh my god, Amiel's here?

  • This is the best day ever.

  • Amiel.

  • - We made Tater Tots for out Valentine's Day.

  • Oh, these look perfect!

  • - When you say you made Tater Tots,

  • what do you mean?

  • - Well, we like purchased them.

  • Oh.

  • Nailed it.

  • - Thank you.

  • Do you want any of the dipping sauces?

  • - Of course I want the dipping sauces.

  • - Claire, also they're looking pretty close over here.

  • - Okay, let's pull those.

  • Oh my god.

  • - [Alex] Oh, mama!

  • - [Amiel] I cannot believe this.

  • - [Claire] Sohla made the filling.

  • We can't take credit.

  • - [Sohla] That's like, you gotta decorate with ketchup.

  • - [Claire] Oh man.

  • - [Amiel] The shape of these is so perfect and so uniform.

  • - [Claire] Sohla, I think you should do the honors.

  • - [Sohla] Oh boy, how's that?

  • - This looks and smells

  • so good. - So good.

  • - Unbelievable.

  • Is it insanely hot still?

  • - No.

  • The filling is delicious.

  • - Mm! - Mm.

  • - We did it!

  • Mm.

  • - Mm. - Mm!

  • - I'm gonna have some ketchup.

  • - This I feel like is an appropriate serving size.

  • - Yeah.

  • [all laughing]

  • - It's very rich.

  • Very delicious.

  • Ah.

  • Thanks Sohla, you really.

  • Let's collab on every single other Gourmet Makes after this.

  • Would anyone like to try?

  • Casserole. - The Tots?

  • Oh. - The casserole?

  • Oh my god.

  • - Pretty good, right?

  • - So good.

  • - It's really good.

  • - This one was fun.

  • I should just work with Sohla on every single project.

  • - You're done!

  • - It's like beef stroganoff meets shepherd's pie.

  • - Uh-huh. - Yeah.

  • - Meets Tater Tots.

  • I'm gonna steal one. - Cheese sauce, this is aioli?

  • - [Claire] Yeah.

  • - Hell yeah.

  • - I like how brown these guys.

  • - Alex, thanks for your help on this.

  • - Hey, you're welcome.

  • - It was fun, right?

  • - It was a lot of fun.

  • - Tater Tots was a really fun episode.

  • I like working with a raw ingredient like potato.

  • Potatoes are amazing.

  • I love potatoes.

  • This is a summary of the last four days.

  • It's nice when skills in Gourmet Makes

  • are kind of generalizable

  • and have applications outside of just the episode.

  • I wouldn't necessarily sit there

  • and form these Tater Tots again,

  • but I would definitely make Sohla's Tater Tot casserole

  • again for sure.

  • It's delicious.

  • [jazzy music]

  • Here's how you make gourmet Tater Tots.

  • Scrub and prick two medium russet potatoes all over.

  • Cook in a large pot of boiling water

  • just until firm but tender.

  • Remove the potatoes from the water

  • and let cool completely in the refrigerator.

  • Peel the potatoes and pass through the large shredding disc

  • of the food processor.

  • Working in batches, pulse the shredded potato

  • with the blade of the food processor

  • to break up the shreds.

  • Transfer the mixture to a large bowl

  • and set aside.

  • Peel two medium russet potatoes and hold in a large bowl

  • of ice water spiked with two tablespoons

  • of distilled white vinegar.

  • Working one potato at a time,

  • shred in the food processor

  • and transfer the shredded potato

  • back into the bowl of acidulated water.

  • Switch to the blade, and working in batches

  • pulse the raw shredded potato to break up the shreds.

  • Transfer back to the water.

  • Using a spider, transfer the raw potato

  • in small batches to a clean kitchen towel.

  • Fold up the ends and wring out the potato

  • as firmly as possible to squeeze out the water

  • transfer the dry shreds to a large saucepan

  • filled halfway with vegetable oil.

  • Add a few garlic cloves and a sprig of rosemary

  • to the oil and set the saucepan over medium low heat.

  • Cook the potatoes at 200 degrees Fahrenheit

  • stirring often until the shreds are tender

  • and almost falling apart,

  • then drain immediately and allow all the excess oil

  • to drip off.

  • Pluck out the garlic and rosemary and discard.

  • Scatter the shreds on a lined baking sheet,

  • cover loosely, and chill until cold.

  • When the poached potato is cold, make a 50-50 mixture

  • of the poached and boiled shredded potato.

  • Pour of the acidulated water until all that's left

  • is the thick potato starch that's settled to the bottom

  • and add the starch back to the potato mixture.

  • Season the mixture with salt.

  • Divide the mixture into six gram portions.

  • Pack the portions into the end of an apple corer

  • and use the handle of a large wooden spoon

  • to pack the mixture firmly into the corer

  • to form a neat, smooth, tight barrel.

  • Press out the potato barrel onto a lined baking sheet

  • and repeat until you've formed all the portions

  • into Tot shapes.

  • Places the Tots inside a large sieve

  • and dust with potato starch, moving the Tots around

  • so they're evenly coated

  • and dusting off the excess.

  • Fry the Tots in 350 degree vegetable oil

  • until deep golden brown and crispy,

  • then drain on paper towels and season with salt.

  • Freeze solid and fry again until crispy

  • then serve with aioli and ketchup.

  • Gallop potatoes, potato gratin, twice baked.

  • There's just, I can't believe I didn't talk about this

  • on day one, that I just love potato.

  • There's also so many varieties of potato.

  • There's purple potato.

  • There's fingerling, red skin.

  • - [Dan] We did that.

  • - We already talked about this?

- Claire has a personal vendetta to settle

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