[rpooley]

Hi all, I appreciate these threads but they often go off the rails.  This question is for someone that had already made this.

I used a simple leftover mash potatoes, ratio of the potatoes to choux pastry was about half and half.  I read some people recommend 2/3 to 1/3 in favor of one component or the other.  The oil was about 380 to start and then down to an average of 320-340 during cooking.

I put the formed balls directly into the oil, the mixture was already cold, no flouring.  Used a small scoop.

About half the pommes disintegrated into delicious little crispy threads while the others held together nicely.  The ones that held together were stellar.

I'm going to try forming them into balls with floured hands and then chilling again to see if I can get more to stay together but any tips from people that have tried this would be appreciated.

Please don't give ideas for using up leftover mashed potatoes.

Thanks

 

[welldonechef]

Well, your temp us a little high to start. 350°F is a good ramp to start. When you are scooping them, do thy go directly into the oil, or are they sitting.

Also, consistency of potatoes is important too. How are your potatoes mixed with the choux paste? Warmed, put through a tamis?

If they are falling apart it suggests to me that there is too much action from the initial fry, or that the potato mixture isn't smooth enough.

Also, I'm sure you don't overcrowd, but to ensure consistency I found using a fry basket and making in smaller batches helped me out immensely.

 

[kuan]

My guess is your mash potatoes are a bit loose.

 

[cheflayne]

My guess is your mash potatoes are a bit loose.

I agree with kuan. I assume that you had milk or cream in the mashers which would make them a bit loose for dauphine, but you can put the mashers in the oven to dry them up a bit. When you pull them out of the oven, mix in some egg yolk, then mix them with the choux. 380 should be fine for the oil.

 

[rpooley]

The potatoes were on the drier side and even refrigerated overnight, not the classic French creamy consistency.  Mashed smoothly.  Dropped directly into the oil.

I only fried them about 4 at a time.  The first ones turned out perfectly and it seems I only had trouble later, which would suggest to me that the cooler oil was not forming a hard shell quickly enough to seal in the contents and that repeated cracking and expansion of the mixture resulted in repeated sloughing of the crispy shell.

I'm wondering if the recipes with the higher potato ratio aren't more on target because choux expands so dramatically.

I plan to form them into balls after scooping for uniform size, rolling with floured hands and then re-chilling to see if that helps.

If worse comes to worse, it is destined for small, baked potato souffles.......

 

[rpooley]

I forgot to mention the scoop was #50 and I was only kicking around for a weeknight dinner.  The family still loved the crispy bits.

 

[cheflayne]

I'm wondering if the recipes with the higher potato ratio aren't more on target because choux expands so dramatically.

I usually go 3/1 ratio (potato/choux).

 

[someday]

I think your speculation of too cold oil between batches is spot on. Fryers, especially home fryers, have more recovery time needed to get back up to temp. Just wait a bit longer between batches. Also, don't let your batter get too warm or your mix can get loose.