Fried Mashed Potato Balls

FRIED MASHED POTATO BALLS WITH WILD RICE AND HOLIDAY DIPPING SAUCES

This is something I never dreamt I would do. Fry mashed potatoes. I know, I know. I’m always down for carbs, and for the holidays coming up, it’s time to change things around.

The secret to perfecting these balls of perfection is to make them the day before, chill, keep the skins on, and an ice cream scoop is your best friend.

I add wild rice in this mixture, roasted garlic cloves, sweet and hot Cleveland Pickles, and roll them around in crushed panko. There’s no lack of flavor here! And to top it off, I have provided 3 holiday dipping sauces below top pop these bad boys in.

There are three sauces I’ve whipped up: horse radish dill cream, brown gravy and honey beer mustard.

I’m partial to the honey mixed with beer mustard sauce, by Great Lakes. It’s absolutely delicious.

FRIED MASHED POTATO BALLS WITH WILD RICE AND HOLIDAY DIPPING SAUCES RECIPES

SAUCES (First two sauces, simply mix ingredients)

Horseradish Dill Cream Ingredients

• 1/2 cup greek yogurt

• 2 tablespoons horseradish

• 2 tablespoons minced green onion

• 1 tablespoon minced fresh dill

• 1 tsp black pepper

Honey Beer Mustard Ingredients

• 1/2 cup Beer Mustard ( I use Great Lakes brand)

• 3 tablespoons honey

Brown Gravy Ingredients

• 1 cup beef stock

• 1 cup chicken stock

• 1 teaspoon Better Than Beef Bouillon

• 1 teaspoon onion powder

• 1 teaspoon garlic powder

• 2 teaspoons Worcestershire Sauce

• 1 teaspoon Kitchen Bouquet Browning sauce

• 1/4 cup cold water mixed with 3 tablespoons corn starch

Instructions for Brown Gravy

In a deep sauce pan, add chicken and beef broth, beef bouillon, garlic and onion powder with Worcestershire sauce. Stir to combine.

If you want a darker color, I use the Kitchen Bouquet. Stir in.

Combine the water and corn starch and set aside for the boil.

Bring the gravy to a boil, whisk In corn starch mixture. Continue whisking to ensure blending. Let it gently simmer until thickness desired is achieved.

Remove from heat and swirl in a tablespoon of butter before the dipping begins!

Mashed Potato Ball Ingredients

• 5-6 medium red potatoes, quartered, boiled for 20 minutes or until tender to fork

• 1 cup cooked wild rice (cook along side the boiling potatoes but store in fridge separately)

• 1/2 cup sweet and hot pickles, diced

• 1/2 cup heaving cream, or oat milk

• 4 roasted garlic cloves (roast a bulb by cutting tops off, adding a glug or two of olive oil, season with salt and pepper, and roast at 400 for 45 minutes)

• 1 tablespoon black pepper and sea salt

• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

• 1 teaspoon fresh thyme, chopped

• 1/4 stick of butter

Frying Batter Ingredients

• bowl of 2 eggs, beaten lightly

• bowl of 1 cup of flour, mixed with 1 teaspoon cayenne, black pepper and salt

• bowl of 1/2 box panko, crushed to make finer

Instructions

As I mentioned earlier, it’s best to make the mashed potatoes and the wild rice the day before you fry.

Boil the potatoes WITH skins on, drain water, and mix with the remainder of the ingredients for mashed potatoes. Cover and set aside in fridge over night.

Remove bowl of mashed potatoes and wild rice from fridge, and combine, mix well with a folding motion.

Using an ice cream scoop, pack the mashed potato mixture in, and then mold into a perfect ball in hands, and place in a large plate, or sprayed baking tray, so that you can easily transfer to the frying station bowls later.

We made about 14 balls. Give or take for you.

Once all balls are formed, it’s time to batter for the fry, so fill a 3-5qt pot with vegetable oil, but only to where it will cover the balls when frying, you don’t want a hot oil fire with too much oil, and too hot. I believe we only poured about 3 inches deep worth of oil. Set to medium high, and perfect frying temperature to achieve is 350°F.

While the oil is heating, start your rolling process in the batter stations. First bowl is the seasoned flour. Second is the beaten eggs, and third is the crushed panko.

Gently roll every ball (I did 2 at a time to make it quicker) in the flour to coat thoroughly, then the egg, then cover entireIy in the panko, lightly patting to cover the whole surface of the spheres.

We fried 4 at a time, and the temperature of the oil makes a huge difference in the time it takes to achieve golden brown. We had the oil around 350°F, so it took only about 2 minutes, slightly moving them around to make sure the whole surface was being fried and continuously moving to evenly cook.

Set aside each round of balls on a paper towel covered plate, and then they are ready for display and dipping!