K is for… Kugelis!
Today my post is about Kugelis because…an author has to eat and this is a yummy treat. Probably everyone reading this post just said, “What the heck is Kugelis?” Kugelis is basically a potato cake (though savory, not sweet) that Lithuanians eat, especially at celebrations.
Making Kugelis is a bit labor intensive, which is probably why I only get to enjoy it when I head to Chicago for a holiday and visit with my Lithuanian relatives.
This is the potato grater my mom owns. It weighs a million pounds but does the job. It’s literally a wood box with a motor inside that runs a spinning grating wheel. We often joke that some guy made it in his garage and probably made a fortune off of them because they make save so much time and effort.
Simple machine…plug it in, plop the potato chunks in the top, flip the switch on, and push the potatoes down with the press (wooden stick part). To clean, open the latch on the clear window in front, remove parts and wash well, then spray with Pam to keep lubricated.
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| Here is a picture of what a baked Kugelis looks like. You can freeze the cooked pieces and fry them up when you are ready to eat them. It’s best with a brown gravy and a dollop of sour cream. |
Kugelis:
10lbs Yukon Gold Potatoes
8 or more eggs
12oz Carnation Milk
1 tsp salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
8oz Sour Cream
1/2c. Cooking Oil (heat the oil)
1/2 soft French Bread (or 4 pieces of white bread) crumbled
1 Medium Yellow Onion Chopped fine & sauted
1 package of Center Cut Bacon chopped real small & fried
2 Sticks of Butter
Directions:
Use Crisco to grease 2 large casserole pans (13×11) then wrap the bottom of each pan (outside of pan) with foil to prevent burning.
Preheat oven to 425F
Crumble bread into large bowl
Cut your onion and bacon
Fry bacon and onion (fry onion in the bacon grease)
Melt butter
Add onion, butter, bacon, & bacon grease to the bowl of bread.
Have a large bowl of water ready to put peeled potatoes in. This next part needs to go fast or the potatoes will turn colors…and not a pretty color. The Yukon Gold potatoes buy you a little time on the color issue though. Peel the potatoes and cut into quarters and plop them in the water till ready to grate. When finished peeling, grate them in the machine (should be the consistency of applesauce).
Combine potatoes with all other ingredients then pour into the 2 greased pans and bake at 425F for 15-20 minutes.
Reduce heat and bake at 350F for 2 hours
Serve with Sour Cream and Brown Gravy.
Here is the nutritional value (roughly):
Give it a try…Kugelis is the Breakfast of Champions! (At least in Lithuania!)
