Move over bacon, the Tater Tot is back! Actually this trend has been going strong for quite some time now, and chef created versions of the childhood favorite have had a presence on innovative restaurant menus for several years. Our shout out to the crunchy carby nibble today is our enthusiastic vote to keep the dream alive. Long live the tot!

We present to you our Tater Tot 101 class, which will answer all burning questions: What are they and how did they originate and come to be?

Firstly we want to admit that we have resorted to the freezer on occasion when pressed for time. Please don’t tell our organic gluten free paleo friends from boot camp. (When this happens it’s typically Trader Joe’s frozen gnocchi with gorgonzola or tarte alsace, which are both quite tasty by the way.) But occasionally it can also be complete junk because, hey if you are falling off the real food wagon, why not go all the way with the downward spiral? And though our guilty frozen pleasures don’t usually include these, we have tried them, and apparently America loves them. The Ore Ida frozen tator tot (parent company H.J. Heinz) has been a staple in grocery stores since 1953. 59 years! Here’s how they began. Oregon brothers and founders of Ore Ida, Golden and Nephi Grigg, created tator tots as a way to sell leftover potato bits from their french fry products. Their money saving idea blossomed, and the rest is history. Max Wetzel, associate marketing director for Ore Ida, says “Americans eat an estimated 3.5 billion Tater Tots every year”.

What’s inside the red bag? The Ore Ida classic version Tater Tot ingredients are: “POTATOES, VEGETABLE OIL (SUNFLOWER, COTTONSEED, SOYBEAN, AND/OR CANOLA), SALT, YELLOW CORN FLOUR, ONIONS, DEXTROSE, DISODIUM DIHYDROGEN PYROPHOSPHATE, NATURAL FLAVORING.”

Ouch right? But imagine creating the beloved comforting tot with real potatoes, at home, kicked up a notch gourmet style. Perhaps for breakfast as an egg side, or as a steak alternative to a baked or mashed, or a late night snack after cocktails. Here are a few tasty chef recipes to try, feel free to adapt them to your taste. Enjoy loves!

Chef Mark Zeitouni’s Tator Tots

(Winner of grand prize award at the Idaho Potato Commission’s “Side Dish Challenge” at the South Beach Wine and Food Festival’s burger bash)
Chef Mark is executive chef at the Lido Restaurant & Bayside Grill at The Standard Spa and Hotel, Miami Beach

Serves 4.

Ingredients:
2 large Idaho® Russet Potatoes, washed thoroughly
2 shallots, peeled
6 parsley sprigs, picked and roughly chopped
4 scallions, green part only, chopped
Pinch white pepper, finely ground
Pinch sea salt, finely ground
Vegetable oil for frying

Chef’s Note: Carefully read the directions and complete the processes from start to finish without letting the potatoes get cold. It is the warm starch from the barely cooked potatoes that holds the tater tots together.

1. Preheat oven to 350° F. Place potatoes on baking pan and cook for 20 minutes or until when squeezed the potatoes barely “give.” Remove from oven and set baking pan on top of oven to keep warm for another 20 minutes. (This will allow the center of the potatoes to barely cook so they will not turn brown after shredding. The goal is to have the potatoes barely cooked but not to the point that they turn to mashed potatoes when grated.)
2. Peel the potato skin back using a butter knife or similar. Try not to remove any of the flesh underneath the skin as it will help bind the tater tots.
3. Using either a shredder attachment on a food processor or a hand grater, shred the potatoes into a bowl. Then press the shallots through the shredder attachment or if doing by hand, finely dice.
4. Add the shallots and the remaining ingredients to the bowl and mix thoroughly. The mixture should still be warm and sticky to the touch. At this point, the potatoes can either be pressed into a cookie sheet to a 1-inch thickness or hand formed into balls of the same 1-inch thickness. Wet your hands or rolling pin so the starch will not stick. Once formed allow to cool.
5. Press onto a cookie sheet and cut into 1-inch by 1-inch squares.
6. Heat deep fryer or sauté pan with half inch of vegetable oil to medium high heat and carefully place the tater tots in the oil. Turn the potatoes so all sides are cooked evenly to golden brown. Season lightly with a pinch of sea salt and serve.

Lobster Tater Tots
From Executive Chef Tim Scott of (RIP) Marshall Fields

• 3 Idaho potatoes, peeled and uniformly diced
• 4 tbsp. butter
• 2 tbsp. heavy cream
• 4 slices bacon, cooked and finely chopped
• 1/4 cup chives, thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup of cooked lobster meat, finely chopped
• Kosher salt to taste
• Freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 1 cup flour, for dusting
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 c. panko bread crumbs
• Canola oil for frying

Place potatoes in a large pot, cover with water, place over high heat and bring to a boil; cook until tender. Drain water and transfer potatoes to a food mill or ricer. Press potatoes through food mill or ricer and into a large bowl. Add butter, cream, bacon, chives and lobster. Mix well, season with salt and pepper to taste and refrigerate until cool and firm, about an hour.

Once mixture has cooled, roll out into 3/4-inch-thick logs and cut into 1 1/2-inch lengths. In a small bowl, whisk together eggs with 1/4cup cold water. Roll each Tater Tot in flour, dip into egg wash and roll in bread crumbs (this step can be done ahead of time and Tater Tots can be refrigerated or frozen until ready to cook). Preheat oven to 200 degrees. In a deep frying pan over medium-high heat, add canola oil until it is 1/2-inch deep and heat oil. Add Tater Tots and cook, turning occasionally, until they are brown on all sides, about 3 minutes. Serve immediately, or transfer cooked Tater Tots to a parchment-lined baking sheet and reserve in warm oven until ready to serve.

And, be still our hearts. Chef Michael Symon ups the tot ante with a crabmeat version and a bacon version ♥

Crab Tater Tots
Live to Cook by Chef Michael Symon, of Lola restaurant in Cleveland, and Roast in Detroit

Ingredients

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 large egg
1 cup mashed potatoes
Canola oil, for deep-frying
1/2 pound lump crab meat
Panko bread crumbs, for breading
Kosher salt

Directions

In a small saucepan, combine the butter with 1/4 cup water over high heat. When the water comes to a simmer and the butter is melted, add the flour. Reduce the heat to medium and stir until the resulting paste pulls away from the sides of the pan, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from the heat. Allow to cool for 5 minutes. Add the egg to the pan and stir vigorously until the egg is incorporated into the flour mixture. Stir in the mashed potatoes and let cool.

Pour enough oil into a medium pot so that the oil comes 3 inches up the sides. Heat the oil to 350 degrees F.

While the oil heats, gently fold the crab into the potato mixture; the lumpier the batter, the better. Using two soup spoons, shape the mixture into quenelles, or 2-inch footballs. (You should end up with about 35.) Roll in the panko. Deep-fry, working in batches and turning once, until crisp, brown, and heated through, 2 to 3 minutes. Drain on paper towels and season with salt.

Chef Michael Symon’s Bacon Tater Tots
Chef Michael Symon, of Lola restaurant in Cleveland, and Roast in Detroit

Serves 6

Ingredients
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 large egg
1 cup mashed potatoes
canola oil, for deep-frying
1/2 pound bacon ♥
panko bread crumbs, for breading
kosher salt

Directions

In a small saucepan, combine the butter with 1/4 cup water over high heat. When the water comes to a simmer and the butter is melted, add the flour. Reduce the heat to medium and stir until the resulting paste pulls away from the sides of the pan, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from the heat. Allow to cool for 5 minutes. Add the egg to the pan and stir vigorously until the egg is incorporated into the flour mixture. Stir in the mashed potatoes and let cool.

Pour enough oil into a medium pot so that the oil comes 3 inches up the sides. Heat the oil to 350 degrees F.

While the oil heats, gently fold the bacon into the potato mixture; the lumpier the batter, the better. Using two soup spoons, shape the mixture into quenelles, or 2-inch footballs. (You should end up with about 35.) Roll in the panko. Deep-fry, working in batches and turning once, until crisp, brown, and heated through, 2 to 3 minutes. Drain on paper towels and season with salt.