Tater Tots are not low-carb

"Doug Freyburger" wrote in message
om...
ClabberHead 4.01 wrote:

I've been working on making a tater tot substitute using cauliflower.

Fauxtatoes are low carb, so why not use them to make Fauxtater tots.

Here's what I've got so far that's working pretty well. I'm taking
1
lb of frozen cauliflower and steaming it, then putting it in a food
processor, and grinding it up just enough to have small pieces. This
gives
the "tater tots" just the right texture. I add seasoning. I then stir
in 2
eggs to help bind it together, and putting spoonfuls in an ice cube tray
and
freezing them. I figured if they're frozen, they should hold together
better when deep frying. This works pretty good, but even if I fry then
till they are almost black, it's still a little too mushy and soft for a
tater tot. They taste very good though. I just need to also work on a
good
seasoning blend, but that's not anything anyone else can help me with.
It's
just something I have to taste for myself until I get it just right.

Perhaps not to steam the cauliflower, just thaw it, or even use fresh.

Check. The spuds in tater tots aren't cooked until they go in the oil,
so don't steam the cauliflower before it goes in the oil.

Thanks, that will definitely be one of the variations in my next batch
--
ClabberHead 4.01
aka
Iron Chef Atkins
248.5/193.0/185.0 Low-Carb since 5/1/03
Al-Team #"e" to 27 decimal places (2.71828182845904523536028747...)
"Think about how stupid the average person is, then remember half of them
are stupider than that!" - George Carlin

"Doug Freyburger" wrote

Check. The spuds in tater tots aren't cooked until they go in the oil,
so don't steam the cauliflower before it goes in the oil.

The only thing is, I think cauliflower has a higher water content than
potatoes. That may be part of the problem. Maybe it would be better to cook
the cauliflower and drain it really well before frying, and/or mixing in
some ingredients to soak up additional liquid (others have already suggested
some decent-sounding additions).

HG

"Doug Freyburger" wrote

Check. The spuds in tater tots aren't cooked until they go in the oil,
so don't steam the cauliflower before it goes in the oil.

The only thing is, I think cauliflower has a higher water content than
potatoes. That may be part of the problem. Maybe it would be better to cook
the cauliflower and drain it really well before frying, and/or mixing in
some ingredients to soak up additional liquid (others have already suggested
some decent-sounding additions).

HG

Hannah Gruen wrote:
Doug Freyburger wrote:

The spuds in tater tots aren't cooked until they go in the oil,
so don't steam the cauliflower before it goes in the oil.

The only thing is, I think cauliflower has a higher water content than
potatoes. That may be part of the problem. Maybe it would be better to cook
the cauliflower and drain it really well before frying

The problem is cooking cauliflower softens it and that makes the
remaining water more accessible. It's too easy to end up with
sludge by cooking it first.

and/or mixing in some ingredients to soak up additional liquid
(others have already suggested some decent-sounding additions).

Agreed. Extra ingredients to draw out the water, extra ingredients
to form a barrier to keep the water from coming out (pork rind
breading perhaps)?

My line of thought is that hotter oil cooks faster and that will
cause the cooking to happen faster than the water can come out.
Or hotter oil will form a crispier outside so even if the water
escapes during the cooking the result is still crispy. I wonder
how hot the oil would have to be ... I've only had fautatoes as
mashed without attempting a crispy outside.

Hannah Gruen wrote:
Doug Freyburger wrote:

The spuds in tater tots aren't cooked until they go in the oil,
so don't steam the cauliflower before it goes in the oil.

The only thing is, I think cauliflower has a higher water content than
potatoes. That may be part of the problem. Maybe it would be better to cook
the cauliflower and drain it really well before frying

The problem is cooking cauliflower softens it and that makes the
remaining water more accessible. It's too easy to end up with
sludge by cooking it first.

and/or mixing in some ingredients to soak up additional liquid
(others have already suggested some decent-sounding additions).

Agreed. Extra ingredients to draw out the water, extra ingredients
to form a barrier to keep the water from coming out (pork rind
breading perhaps)?

My line of thought is that hotter oil cooks faster and that will
cause the cooking to happen faster than the water can come out.
Or hotter oil will form a crispier outside so even if the water
escapes during the cooking the result is still crispy. I wonder
how hot the oil would have to be ... I've only had fautatoes as
mashed without attempting a crispy outside.