Potato kugel HELP | Imamother

amother

Lemonchiffon

Thu, Feb 15 2024, 2:22 pm

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

been searching for good potatoes all season.

have been very unsuccessful.

amother

Diamond

Thu, Feb 15 2024, 3:10 pm

amother Catmint wrote:

For those mothers who add a cup of water to a potato kugel recipe, what is the point of doing that?

Water adds so much moist and FLUFFINESS.

My recipe is

Preheat oven to 500

11 idaho potaotes (Or 12 if its small)
10 eggs
1 1/2 c oil
2 c water
1 1/2 tbs salt
black pepper

I blend eggs, oil, water, salt and pepper in braun mixer.
Pour into a 9X13 LINED WITH PARCHMENT PAPER.
I then grate 6 potatoes with kugel blade, then 5 with stringy blade. So it gets that balance.
Pour into egg mixture and mix well.

Bake on 500 for 1 hour and 30min.

End results is a fluffy high kugel. Tastes divine.

For even better results:

Double cover and overnight (or overday) on 225 for hours.......

amother

↑ Sage ↓

Thu, Feb 15 2024, 4:13 pm

amother OP wrote:

I feel like shouting this !

Listen up everyone.
All your time invested In Replying paid off.

We have some really clear winners.
None are stiff and hard.
None are gummy.

Not all are white. But does that change the taste?

Some are better tasting than others.
I will wait for the adults to come home and chime in.

I am sooo soo excited!!

Thank you to every single Ima who took the time to respond and care to help a family out.

I’ll keep the reviews coming.

Op you could've made money on this experience through mishpacha. They do a weekly thing with recipes experimented through different methods.

Or maybe just invite us all to test all that kugel.

↑ mom2mysouls ↓

Thu, Feb 15 2024, 4:20 pm

amother OP wrote:

Sure
Here’s 1-

5 potatoes
5 eggs
1 plastic cup of oil
1 tbs salt
1 cup seltzer

Mix the eggs oil salt seltzer.
Add grated potatoes
Bake on 400 for 1 hour lower to 350 for another 1.5 hrs.

Avocado oil works very well. I happen to like the taste even better.

I use only 1/2 cup oil for more potatoes than your recipe. I also like to add black pepper, but everyone has their own preferences!

I think there's gotta be 10,000 versions of potato kugel, chicken soup, and cholent.

amother

↑ Floralwhite

Thu, Feb 15 2024, 4:23 pm

amother Diamond wrote:

Wow this must be a VERY wet kugel.
I use no water, only 8 eggs and only 1 cup oil and my kugel is moist.

amother

↑ OP ↓

Thu, Feb 15 2024, 4:29 pm

mom2mysouls wrote:

Agree. But what I learnt is that method matters more than recipe.

amother

Blueberry ↓

Thu, Feb 15 2024, 4:46 pm

Ok, we like our potato kugel this way (with sugar!!)

8 LG eggs
1T salt
2 T sugar
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1 c. Oil
1-2 large onions (vidalia? Costco sized)
5 lbs potatoes, I prefer yellow/Yukon

Preheat oven to 375.

Crack and check eggs, pour into food processor with S blade in.Add salt, sugar, pepper, garlic powder, oil and blend for a few seconds so it's mixed. Pour into your very large mixing bowl.

Peel and cut the onions and process on S blade. Pour into wet mixture and stir.

Change out the S blade for the fine shredding disk.

Spray pans with Pam. (Eg one 9x13 or 3 rounds)

Prepare a bowl with cold water.
Quickly peel potatoes and drop into water so they don't change colors. As soon as you finish peeling them all, process them in fine shredding.
Immediately afterwards add to the mixture and stir it all together.

Ladle the mixture into pan(s) you will use.
Bake until tops are browned.

Yum!

amother

↑ OP ↓

Thu, Feb 15 2024, 4:47 pm

Here’s my very exciting update.

Every recipe I tried worked!

I now believe that the recipe isn’t what matters as much as technique.

Preheating the oven is a must.

Starting out the kugel at a high temperature 450-500 got a beautiful crust.

Lowered to 350 and continued to bake for another 1.5-2 hrs

With 2 kugels I poured some water and covered and continued to bake. It def sinks the kugel a tiny bit but gives it that overnight wet taste.

I still have 1 kugel on 225 for a few more hours.

Apparently working quickly (in my case quicker) seemed to have helped get that perfect kugel. However I can’t explain why that helps!

There is a difference in taste and texture depending on the amount of liquid added.

Finally…. And here’s the wild part!
I sent my neighbors some to taste , and asked for 100% honest feedback.
I was told that I’m now accepted into the Hungarian clan.

Can you please all get up and clap? I’m not sure you know how hard it is to join those ranks.

All jokes aside, one neighbor asked for another slice since her daughter loved it.
And another neighbor asked for another 2 slices because her husband thought it was delicious.

I can’t wait to try it all again next week.
I still have some methods I didn’t try (like diff type of potatoes, etc)

So far none of my kids or husband asked me to refrain from making more kugel. I call that a win win win.

We do have quite a bit of leftover , which is to be expected. I’ll see which one rewarms best.

Ladies!!! THANK YOU!!!
Truly, from the depth of my heart I thank you for your time and help you invested here.

↑ scintilla ↓

Thu, Feb 15 2024, 4:49 pm

amother OP wrote:

Mamash warms the heart!! And thickens the arteries!! Sounds like a success all around.

I prefer fresh kugel, so feel free to send some my way, but if you have Hungarian neighbors asking for more it sounds like you did very well.

So which will you be repeating?

amother

↑ OP ↓

Thu, Feb 15 2024, 4:50 pm

amother Blueberry wrote:

Sugar????
Do I have to make yet another kugel!?

Please tell me if it’s worth trying this one out.
Because I might just have to!

Especially that it’s accompanied with perfect instructions.

↑ scintilla

Thu, Feb 15 2024, 4:50 pm

amother OP wrote:

Thank you for being such a great sport!

Do you want a potato kugel recipe?? I can’t actually share some real kugel to help alleviate the shabbos cooking rush. Very Happy

I can’t believe I wrote those words. But I did!

I am quite loyal to my recipe but I would love to hear which you enjoyed the most! I'm tempted to try something new next week but you also don't mess with perfection so I'll have to decide...

amother

↑ OP ↓

Thu, Feb 15 2024, 4:52 pm

scintilla wrote:

Next week I’ll be repeating and adding and then narrow it down.

amother

↑ Blueberry ↓

Thu, Feb 15 2024, 4:57 pm

amother OP wrote:

Sugar????
Do I have to make yet another kugel!?

Please tell me if it’s worth trying this one out.
Because I might just have to!

Especially that it’s accompanied with perfect instructions.

I know, sugar sounds crazy, but years ago I got a recipe with sugar that we liked, and I've been tweaking the rest of the ingredients the past year or so, and this is what we like!

It's a little of a different taste than standard potato Kugel, but we love it.