# Tater Tots - best way to cook **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 11, 2011, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tater-tots-best-way-to-cook/574316 "2011-03-11T18:36:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![joyfool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@joyfool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joyfool)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2011, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tater-tots-best-way-to-cook/574316/21 "2011-03-13T14:05:25Z")
We used to have a Big Daddy fryer, so those little guys would go in there. Now we just bake them in the oven. ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2011, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tater-tots-best-way-to-cook/574316/22 "2011-03-13T14:12:25Z")
> [@flickster](#): > > I voted other, as in - OMG, is that the best you can do? Tater Tots? > > Why don’t you throw some fish stcks and corn dogs on the menu as well :dubious: Mmmm. Well, OK, if you’re going to twist my arm… ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2011, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tater-tots-best-way-to-cook/574316/23 "2011-03-13T14:24:54Z")
Mmmm…tater tots. I prefer them deep fried, but I don’t deep fry much at home, so the oven it is - always a few minutes longer than the bag says. When I was in my early 20’s and finally living on my own, I had a nearly religious experience in the frozen foods section of the grocery store. I’m pushing the cart down the aisle, dutifully gathering my bags of frozen veggies, when suddenly the Tater Tots caught my eye. And I realized, at that very moment, that…I can have Tater Tots whenever I want! I mean, they’re just sitting there! Waiting for me to buy them! And take them home and eat them! No more begging Mom, or waiting for them to come up in the cafeteria’s rotation, or finding the 0.002% of restaurants which offer them on the menu! I can eat Tater Tots ANY NIGHT OF THE WEEK because I’M A GROWN UP WHO CAN MAKE MY OWN FOOD IN MY OWN KITCHEN!!! …It was a heady moment. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Waenara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/50afbb/32.png) [@Waenara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Waenara)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2011, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tater-tots-best-way-to-cook/574316/24 "2011-03-13T14:38:57Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > I can eat Tater Tots ANY NIGHT OF THE WEEK because I’M A GROWN UP WHO CAN MAKE MY OWN FOOD IN MY OWN KITCHEN!!! > …It was a heady moment. 😃 As usual, [xkcd has a cartoon](http://xkcd.com/418/) that relates to every possible topic. 😃 I think my first “I can cook what I want whenever I want” epiphany involved, not tater-tots, but those frozen hashbrown patties that are kind of like the ones they have at McDonalds (similar to [this](http://recipequeen.twinterviewing.com/recipes/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/hashbrown.jpg)). ---
**Author:** ![flodnak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/838e76/32.png) [@flodnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flodnak)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2011, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tater-tots-best-way-to-cook/574316/25 "2011-03-13T14:43:27Z")
Get them at Sonic 😃 ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2011, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tater-tots-best-way-to-cook/574316/26 "2011-03-13T14:45:06Z")
> [@flodnak](#): > > Get them at Sonic 😃 We have no Sonics for 100 miles. Yet we have Sonic commercials to taunt us. Bad Sonic! ---
**Author:** ![Ludy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Ludy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludy)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2011, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tater-tots-best-way-to-cook/574316/27 "2011-03-13T14:55:02Z")
I’ve never lived in a house that had a deep fryer, and even if I did, it seems like a huge hassle. I just toss 'em in the oven. ---
**Author:** ![Jaledin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Jaledin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jaledin)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2011, 8:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tater-tots-best-way-to-cook/574316/28 "2011-03-14T08:56:28Z")
Report back: I bought a bunch of bags of Ore-Ida Tots and deep-fried them. I probably ate two or three pounds before the night was through. Not that good, IMO. I had to jack the heat way up on the flame to get it back down to ca350F when the tots entered, but even then it took forever and them things were greasy. Then again, I did eat like a few pounds of them. Ketchup would have been nice, if I’d had it. I’ll stick with baking them or shallow-frying them. My gut felt distended by then end of the night, but I woke up hungry. And, yes, I weighed my excreta, like I always do, so it wasn’t that. ---
**Author:** ![Shark\_Sandwich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f04885/32.png) [@Shark\_Sandwich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shark_Sandwich)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2011, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tater-tots-best-way-to-cook/574316/29 "2011-03-14T13:59:26Z")
Put them in a big bowl, and then toss them in olive oil. Bake 5 minutes longer than the package says and they’ll be crispy. When I do is cook as stated above, and then pull them out, toss 'em in Franks hot wing sauce (or Crystal, or Tabasco), and bake for another 5 minutes. Dip in blue cheese or ranch. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2011, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tater-tots-best-way-to-cook/574316/30 "2011-03-14T14:08:01Z")
> [@Jaledin](#): > > Report back: I bought a bunch of bags of Ore-Ida Tots and deep-fried them. I probably ate two or three pounds before the night was through. Not that good, IMO. I had to jack the heat way up on the flame to get it back down to ca350F when the tots entered, but even then it took forever and them things were greasy. > > Then again, I did eat like a few pounds of them. Ketchup would have been nice, if I’d had it. I’ll stick with baking them or shallow-frying them. My gut felt distended by then end of the night, but I woke up hungry. And, yes, I weighed my excreta, like I always do, so it wasn’t that. They were greasy because you overloaded your oil, as evidenced by needing to jack the heat way up. If you use a really big fryer of oil, you can get a whole serving in at once, but for home frying in a cup or three of oil, more than five or six tots will overload it and cool the oil too much. Another reason why, although deep frying (correctly) is the superior method for taste and texture, it’s generally not worth doing at home. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tater-tots-best-way-to-cook/574316.md?page=1)