These tots are dedicated to the ones I love! Put a bowl of the spicy tater tots in the middle of your Super Bowl party and let the game begin!
Everyone knows that I am famous for my "Dude Food" so, I cooked up these copycat Cajun Tater Tots with my nephews in mind. The recipe is inspired by a very popular appetizer on the menu at McMenamins Restaurant in Forest Grove, Oregon and are a favorite of my nephews who live up North.
It doesn't really matter how many baskets of these tots we order, they disappear in a flash so, cook up a mountain of them to serve at your Super Bowl party or any other time your "dudes" come over.
Here is how to do it:
Add black pepper, cayenne and rosemary to a cajun seasoning mix.
Infuse the butter and oil with onion and garlic by heating the oil and butter together and adding the garlic and onion. Bring the butter mixture to a boil and turn off the heat. Let it sit to allow the flavors of the garlic and onion to flavor the oil. Remove the garlic and onion slices from the oil and discard (or use powdered garlic and onion for an even faster snack).
Add the seasoning mix to the infused butter.
Work in batches to coat the frozen tots in the seasoned butter.
Here's a tip from culinary school:
Pour a portion of the butter into a large bowl BEFORE you add some of the tots. Swirl the butter to coat the sides of the bowl. Then, toss the tots to coat them.
NOTE: I toss with the bowl uncovered at someone ELSE'S house. At my house, I cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap. Just sayin'.
Pour any remaining butter mixture over the tots and mix well.
Place tots in a single layer on a sheet pan and bake according to package instructions.
This is a great recipe to serve at large gatherings were you want people to hang around and have fun together. It is fast, easy and inexpensive so... bake a mountain of them!
—posted by Sandy
- 5 teaspoons Cajun seasoning (Paul Prudhomme was used)
- 1 heaping teaspoon black pepper
- 1 heaping teaspoon dried rosemary
- ¾ teaspoon cayenne
- ½ teaspoon salt, more for finishing
- 6 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 4 cloves garlic, sliced (or 1 teaspoon garlic powder)
- ¼ onion, sliced (or ½ teaspoon dried onion powder)
- 1 package (32 ounces) Ore Ida Tater Tots
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
- Combine all spices in a small bowl and set aside.
- Pour oil in a small saute or frying pan. Add butter and heat over medium heat until the oil/butter mixture begins to boil around the edges. Stir to combine.
- If using fresh onion and garlic, add the slices to the oil and return to a boil.
- Remove pan from heat and set aside to allow the flavors to "infuse" into the oil mixture.
- Combine the spice mix with the oil/butter mixture and stir well.
- Working in batches, toss the tater tots in a bowl with the spice sauce by pouring ⅓ of the sauce into a large bowl and swirl to coat the sides of the bowl. Add ⅓ of the tater tots to the bowl. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and toss the tater tots to coat with sauce.
- Place tater tots on a baking sheet.
- Repeat until all of the tater tots are covered and on the baking sheet.
- Bake at 425 degrees for 25 to 35 minutes or until very crispy.
- Remove from the oven and immediately sprinkle with additional salt to taste.
- Serve hot.
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jenputting
instead of tossing in a bowl because I didn't want to wash it...I took the lazy route...I added the tots to a big freezer bag & dumped the goodies over...then left some air in the bag when I sealed it & then shook it like a maraca 🙂
looks good so far....seemed to mix well...will find out in a bit when I throw them in the oven!
thanks for sharing this great recipe!
Sandy
Brilliant idea! I hate doing dishes, too!
Hannah Fritz
I was worried these might be too spicy, with the added cayenne and black pepper and all. In the end though, I think the spice level was good. However, they were inedibly salty. They also didn't remind of McMenamin's tots in any way. I'm assuming this is due to the specific cajun spice that I used, but I'm not sure. I think I will stick to just sprinkling tots with the spices the old fashioned way, rather than tossing them in additional butter too.
Vic
Can they go in an air fryer?
Sandy
Hi Vic! I think they will be great in the air fryer. If you try it, let me know how you like them.