Cook's Country

-"Cook's Country" is about more than just getting dinner on the table.

We're also fascinated by the people and stories behind the dishes.

We go inside kitchens in every corner of the country to learn how real people cook, and we look back through time to see how history influences the way we eat today.

We bring that inspiration back to our test kitchen so we can share it with you.

This is "Cook's Country."

Today on "Cook's Country," Bridget makes Julia a Midwestern classic, Tater Tot hotdish, I tell the backstory of hotdish, Adam explores the wacky world of corn strippers, and Ashley makes Wisconsin butter burgers.

That's all right here on "Cook's Country."

-Tater Tot hotdish is a classic casserole loved throughout Minnesota and other Midwestern and mountain states.

It's served at large family gatherings and church suppers.

And, Bridget, I know you've talked to me about this dish before.

You love Tater Tot hotdish.

-I love this casserole with all my heart.

I love casseroles in general.

This one does feature a very special ingredient, as you mentioned, Tater Tots.

What's not to love?

They're crispy.

They're seasoned.

Got to love them.

And I think this is kind of like a shepherd's pie with Tater Tots.

-Oh!

That's a good way to put it.

-There we go.

-Now I'm in.

-We are gonna breathe some life into this casserole.

Now, we're not reaching for a can of "cream of" soup.

-Oh, do a lot of recipes call for that?

-Absolutely, and there's no shame there, because it's full of flavor.

But we're going to create our own cream of mushroom soup base.

Alright, so I have a pound of white button mushrooms.

I've already prepared most of them, but I have three left to do here.

We're just going to cut these into quarter-inch slices.

-So already that's way more mushrooms than you'd find in several cans of mushroom soup.

-Who knows how many mushrooms are in there?

But again, no shame.

And, you know, think about the cream of mushroom soups.

They were often used as gravies and sauce bases anyway, so makes sense.

-Yeah.

-Alright, so this is going to go directly into my Dutch oven here.

Again, it was a pound of mushrooms, and I'll go ahead and pull out the rest of these.

I'm going to load this up with tons of savory flavors.

So another fresh ingredient -- I have one onion that I've chopped.

-Now, I want to point out, there was no fat in that pan.

That was an empty pan.

-Yeah.

The fat's going to come here in a minute.

Don't you worry.

A tablespoon of fresh minced thyme.

Four cloves of garlic that I've minced.

I've got 1 1/2 teaspoons of table salt and 1 1/2 teaspoons of black pepper.

Alright.

You mentioned no fat.

We've got the fat right over there.

-Aha!

-Yes.

So this is 1 1/2 pounds of 85% lean ground beef.

I'm going to add this right in here.

Now, we're not looking for -- Isn't that gorgeous?

-That's unusual.

I've never seen a pot just loaded up when the pot is absolutely straight-from-the-pantry cold.

-That's exactly right.

The beef is going to start to render some of its fat and cook the other vegetables.

But we're not looking for any kind of browning here.

What we're looking for -- and I am going to turn this to medium-high, and I'm going to go in there and break up the meat a little bit here with my spoon while this is happening.

But we're going to cook this until the water that's given off by the beef and the mushrooms is pretty much evaporated.

Now, that's going to take about 25 minutes.

-Well, it looks like you're breaking all the rules right now, so I'm very interested.

-Oh, yeah, I'm a rule breaker.

But again, 25 minutes.

-Hotdish is a humble one-dish meal you'll find at church suppers and family get-togethers throughout the Upper Midwest.

It's a combination of protein, starch, canned vegetables, and cream of mushroom soup topped with Tater Tots or chips.

It may not look or sound like much, but to those who grew up eating it, hotdish is not a food, but a memory.

The Great Depression made hotdish a staple in the Midwest.

It was a simple and tasty way to stretch ingredients and feed a big family.

The word "hotdish" first appeared in a cookbook published by the Grace Lutheran Ladies Aid in 1930.

Hotdish has become such an iconic meal that Minnesota politicians hold an annual competition to see who can make the best version.

In 2019, the state's rich immigrant culture was represented in the entries.

First place went to a Hmong-inspired hotdish.

And second-place honors went to a Somali-influenced hotdish.

-Wow.

That went from looking very weird to absolutely delicious.

-25 minutes, and you can see what happens.

All of that liquid is driven off.

You can see there's pretty much nothing in the bottom.

So we're going to add the thickener for this -- 3 tablespoons of all-purpose flour.

Just sprinkle it over the mixture here, and I'll stir this in.

And we're going to cook this flour just for a minute, partially so that it can be absorbed by the liquid that's still in there and the fat, but also so that it loses any of that raw flavor.

-So essentially, the flour's just mixing with the fat and making a roux.

-Exactly.

So now we need to deglaze the pot, turn this all into a creamy, lovely sauce.

And to do that, we're using 1 1/2 cups of chicken broth here for some savory flavor, of course, and an equal amount of whole milk.

So 1 1/2 cups of whole milk, that's the "cream of."

So I just want to use my wooden spoon to kind of gather up all that fond that was starting to develop in the bottom of the pot.

And we want to bring this up to a simmer.

We're going to let it cook for about 3 minutes.

The mixture's going to thicken just ever so slightly.

-So it's going to look less soupy, more saucy.

-That's exactly right, you saucy minx.

-That's looking better.

Now it's looking like gravy.

-Yeah, it does.

It looks like a mushroom or a beef gravy.

Oh!

-Mm-hmm.

-It's just starting to thicken a little bit.

We're not looking for this to be super thickened from the flour, but I'm going to turn off the heat here and I'm going to add 1 1/2 cups of grated Parmesan cheese.

And it's also going to help to tighten up this mixture just a bit.

-So that's what makes the cheesy part of this casserole.

I like it.

-Look at that.

Alright, and that is all that we want to do with the stovetop.

-That's nice and easy.

-Very easy.

Now, I am going to need your help.

-Sure.

-If you could be the guide.

-You got it.

-I need to pour this into a 9x13-inch baking dish.

-Okay.

-If you could guide it right into the pot there.

-Got it.

-So just like shepherd's pie, it's not a looker as you're making it.

-It smells delicious, though.

-Yes, it does.

But it's not a Tater Tot hotdish.

I'm going to fix that right now.

I've got to head to the freezer.

-Okay.

-You like this?

[ Both laugh ] -What else you got in there?

-I did not bring Popsicles.

Maybe next time.

But look, it's color.

And these are called vegetables.

-Vegetables?

-That's right.

-Got it.

-Alright.

So I've got a cup of frozen peas here, and we want to leave them frozen.

And I'm just gonna sprinkle these on top.

Like you said, that just looked like cream of mushroom soup.

Now we're adding a little bit of freshness -- wink, wink -- but color.

-Well, again, I like the convenience factor here.

-Yeah, it's very easy to put together.

-Mm-hmm.

-Now, you don't want to use other vegetables that have a higher water content because they will make the base of this just a little too soupy.

And this is all about concentrating the flavors.

Alright, and a cup of frozen corn.

Same thing -- leave it frozen till the last minute.

Look how pretty that is.

-[ Chuckles ] -Alright.

And the very best from both Oregon and Idaho -- Tater Tots.

Alright.

-The crowning glory of this casserole.

-That's exactly right.

So we're going to just place these on top, but you don't want to push them down into the mixture.

And I'm going to get us going here.

So you just want to arrange them right on top.

And again, just like the peas and the carrots, these are still frozen.

Alright, so if you wouldn't mind helping me, we're going with nine across and nine down.

-Alright.

It's like doing a puzzle with someone.

Do you like to puzzle with people?

-100%.

-Do you?

-Yes.

Yeah.

Ooh, I like this.

-You win.

-You got it.

Jenga.

-[ Chuckles ] -That looks Tot-tastic.

-[ Laughs ] -This is going to go into the oven, and a very hot one at that.

This is going in at 450 degrees, so big blast of heat, because, of course, we want all the mixture to bubble, but we want some serious browning on the top of the Tater Tots.

Nobody wants blond, soggy Tater Tots.

-No, you want them good and crisp.

-So again, 450.

And we're gonna put this on the upper middle rack.

That way some of that heat is gonna bounce off the ceiling of the oven and get right on top of the Tater Tots.

It's going to bake for about 35 minutes, maybe up to 38.

Ohh!

-[ Laughs ] -You mind getting the door for me?

-Sure thing.

[ Laughing ] Oh.

-Can we take a moment here?

-That looks really good.

-I mean, look at it bubbling in there.

-Ooh.

-Yeah.

And it's all nice and crispy brown.

That was just about 35 minutes.

This is done.

I'm guarding these hot handles here because this has to cool off, obviously, before we eat it.

Because I like you, I'm not going to tuck in there right away.

-Thank you.

-That's going to take probably about 15 minutes.

-That's not bad.

-15 minutes.

-I love it.

-I think you deserve some Tater Tot hotdish.

-I can't wait to try it.

You've talked about this several times with such love.

-And this -- I'm giving you the coveted corner piece.

-Ooh!

-Gets all the crispiest bits of the Tater Tots.

-You really do like me.

-I really do like you.

I'll bring in a couple more of these here.

-I can't wait to try this.

Alright, I'm going to dig down in there.

I want to get the filling.

-Make sure you get some of that meaty mushroom goodness.

-Mm-hmm.

Mmm!

That's delicious.

-It's like beef and mushroom gravy.

-Yes!

-Yes.

-It has a very stewy flavor.

-Mm.

It does, yes.

-Yeah.

-Now you got to get it with a Tot.

-Oh, yeah.

-Oh, you're going for it, girl.

-The whole thing.

I got half a Tot.

Mmm!

-I love Tater Tots.

-It's such a nice crispy topping, but it tastes like potatoes, obviously.

Bridget, this is delicious.

-You sold?

-Mm-hmm.

-You a hotdish girl?

-I'm a fan of this.

Thank you for making this for me.

-It was my complete Tot pleasure.

-[ Laughs ] So if you want to make this classic casserole, switch out the canned soup for fresh mushrooms, onion, and thyme.

Add Parmesan for a deep savory flavor and cook the casserole on the upper middle rack to brown and crisp the Tots.

From "Cook's Country," Minnesota's favorite casserole, Tater Tot hotdish.

-Mmm.

-Corn strippers have just one job -- to remove corn kernels efficiently from the cob.

But the question is, Adam, do they really work?

-Well, Julia, that is an interesting question.

You know, cutting the kernels off of a corncob can be messy 'cause they fly everywhere.

-Mm-hmm.

-It's also a bit of a guessing game.

-Yeah.

-You never know quite how deep to go in with the knife.

Sometimes you get some of that fibrous stuff at the bottom or just the tips of the kernels.

So these corn strippers are meant to make it easier and hopefully a little bit neater.

We tested seven models.

-Mm-hmm.

-The price range was $7.50 to $23.

-Hmm.

-And guess what we did with them.

[ Both laugh ] We took the kernels off of corncobs, both raw and cooked.

Let's start with this wooden one here.

-That looks familiar.

I grew up with these around.

-You know, get rid of it.

This joins the motley crew of items tested at "Cook's Country" over the years that earned zero stars... -There's not many.

-...in any category.

Yeah, testers said that this was inefficient, messy, and dangerous.

It's out of here.

Get rid of it.

-Yikes.

-The second type is this group of four.

You can see this is shaped a bit like a Y-shaped vegetable peeler.

-Mm-hmm.

-And it's got a curved blade that you're supposed to run down the cob to cut off the kernels.

-I've never used one of these.

I'm kind of excited.

Ooh.

Uh-oh.

-[ Laughs ] -Okay.

Oh, you know what?

-Yeah.

No.

-Some are a little deep.

Some are a little shallow.

-Testers found exactly the same thing.

-Oh, okay.

-The blade was sharp.

It was fairly efficient.

Obviously, it does nothing about the mess factor, and it also doesn't make it any more foolproof, 'cause you just don't know how deep to go.

-Right.

-Another type was this one.

You can see this has a circular blade inside of a circular plastic housing.

And the idea is that you hold the corn in one hand... -Mm-hmm.

-...hold this in the other hand, rotate them in opposite directions... -Ah!

-...and work the stripper down the cob.

-That looks like a wrist workout.

-And that is exactly what the testers felt.

After three or four cobs of corn, their wrists hurt.

[ Both laugh ] This one did fine on cobs that were consistently sized, but if they were too narrow, it tended to slide over the ends of the kernels, left too much of the kernel attached to the cob.

That leaves this guy here.

And you have one of those right there.

-Alright.

-Why don't you give that a try?

-Alright.

-There you go.

That's the -- -The cutting edge.

-That's the blade.

-Alright.

Oh.

That's pretty easy.

It's pretty intuitive, too.

-Not hard to use.

-No.

-So that's it.

The stripped cob is in that metal part.

You put in the yellow plunger to push it out.

And look at how clean it is.

-Ooh.

-That did a really nice job removing the kernels.

-Well, I do appreciate how tidy this is.

I mean, there's not corn all over the place.

And it was pretty easy.

If you had a lot of corn to do, I could see myself liking that.

-This is the winner, Julia.

This is the RSVP International Deluxe Corn Stripper.

It's $23.

You know, it does a good job.

It contains the mess.

All of the kernels are inside this cylinder.

It gets most of the kernels off of the cob nice and clean.

You can -- Once you get used to it, you can really whip through a lot of corn in this.

The disadvantage is that there are a lot of parts to clean.

But as I said, if you're going through a lot of corn, this can save you time.

-Alright.

Thanks, Adam.

-You're welcome.

-There you have it.

If you're in the market for a corn stripper that actually works, check out the RSVP International Deluxe Corn Stripper at $23.

-Today I'm making buckeye candies.

Start with creamy peanut butter, but don't use the natural kind, softened unsalted butter, and salt.

And mix it on medium speed in your stand mixer with the paddle attachment.

Mix until it's nearly combined, with some visible pieces of butter remaining.

Now I'm going to reduce the speed to low and slowly add confectioners' sugar.

Mix it until it's just combined and scrape down the bowl if you need to.

I'm going to refrigerate this mixture so it's easy to roll.

Use a tablespoon measure to scoop out 32 portions.

I'm going to use my hands to roll the portions into balls and I'll put them on a parchment-lined plate.

Insert a toothpick about 3/4 of the way into each ball.

Now I'm going to put these into the freezer for an hour to firm up.

Stir some chopped chocolate into already melted chocolate until it's melted and smooth.

Tempering the chocolate like this will keep the candies shiny.

Working with one plate of candies at a time, use the toothpick to dip the balls into the chocolate until they're covered by 2/3.

I'll pop these in the fridge to set while I dip the other batch.

Remove the toothpicks... ...and enjoy your buckeye candies.

-Well, you really know that you're in the middle of dairy country when you see butter burgers on the menu.

And the folks at Solly's Grille have been serving up these beautiful burgers since 1936.

Lucky for us, Ashley's here to show us how to make them at home.

-Mm-hmm.

Now, I was lucky enough to go to Solly's Grille when a couple friends of ours got married, and, oh, it was amazing.

-How nice.

-So we brought the recipe here, and I'm going to show you what we came up with.

-Lovely.

-So I did get a little bit of shade when I started to develop this recipe.

And people would walk by and say, "Are you really putting butter on a burger?"

Because, I admit, it is a different thing.

But once you try this, you're not going to want to go back.

-I'm firmly in pro-butter camp, so you'll get -- you'll get no pushback from me.

-Yeah.

Okay.

-Absolutely.

-I have a pound of 90% lean ground beef.

I'm going to form these into 4-1/2-inch-wide patties.

And they'll be about 1/2 inch thick.

Now, they have this flat top at Solly's.

It's like the flat top of my dreams.

-[ Chuckles ] -And it's just so well-seasoned because it's been there for years and years.

So naturally, in order to get as much seasoning as they get on theirs from their seasoned flat top, I'm going to mimic that by adding 3/4 teaspoon of salt and 3/4 teaspoon of pepper.

First, I'm going to combine them... and season both sides of the patties.

-Alright, so seasoning goes on the outside.

-Yes.

-Gotcha.

-Alright, I'm going to finish seasoning the patties and then transfer them to the refrigerator for about 30 minutes.

-Okay.

-Now we're going to move on to the onions.

I'm going to start by melting 1 tablespoon of salted butter.

And salted is important because, again, we want as much of that seasoning as possible.

While I'm doing that, I'm going to chop one onion.

-Okay.

-Now, the onion is just as important here as the butter is to the burger.

We're not chopping this fine.

-Okay.

-And using a bench scraper, which is just one of the best, most helpful tools in the kitchen, I'm gonna transfer the onions to the saucepan.

And then, again, we are stewing the onions.

So in order to get the proper texture like they do get at Solly's, we had to add a little bit of water.

So I'm going to add 1 tablespoon of water with 1/4 teaspoon of salt.

I'm going to cook these over medium heat for about 5 minutes until the onions are translucent.

And I'm going to cover the pan with the lid.

Okay, 5 minutes is up.

Let's take a look-see.

-Mmm.

Oh, starting to smell the onions.

-Yep, but as you can see, they are translucent.

There isn't a ton of browning on them.

So now what I'm going to do is continue to cook the onions over medium heat until just beginning to brown for about 3 minutes.

-Okay.

-Okay, so we've got some burger buns, and they are waiting for their moment to shine.

But I need to toast them first.

So I have an oven rack that I adjusted to six inches from the broiler element, 'cause we're gonna be broiling these until lightly toasted.

Okay, now, that is what I am talking about.

-Ooh!

-So I'm going to turn the heat off and put the lid back on just to cover to keep them warm.

And now let's go get the buns.

-Okay.

-Oh, yeah.

So before I cook the beef patties, I want to get this step done ahead of time because it just makes everything go quicker once the beef is cooked.

-Okay.

-And you're going to put a couple tablespoons on each bun.

-2 tablespoons on each bun?

-Mm-hmm.

-I would like to point out that you're not buttering these buns.

You're frosting them with butter.

-[ Laughs ] Trust me, I was a skeptic, too.

-I'm speechless.

-[ Chuckles ] Let's move on.

-Alright.

-Now we've got our 12-inch skillet here.

I'm going to heat this over high heat with 1/2 teaspoon of vegetable oil.

-Okay.

-Butter's got no place here.

-Right.

-It would have a tendency to burn.

-To scorch.

Yes, absolutely.

-Mm-hmm.

Alright, we're just smoking.

I'm going to add the patties and cook these without moving them for 3 minutes on the first side.

[ Sizzling ] Now, that is a sound you want to hear.

-Mmm!

That's a good sound.

-And the reason we're not going to move them is because at this stage, they're going to get really nice and crisp and brown.

And if we were to move them around, it's just going to make all that stuff fall off.

-Right.

Okay.

-So 3 minutes.

And I'm going to wash my hands.

-Sounds good.

-Alright, I'm going to give these a flip.

-It sounds like we're at Solly's right now.

-I know.

[ Sizzling ] -Oh!

Nice char.

-Yep.

Mm-hmm.

But not that dark char.

-No.

-It's the good char.

Okay, I'm going to cook these for one more minute.

-Sounds good.

-Okay, let's add the cheese.

One of my favorites -- American cheese.

-Exactly.

-Soft spot in my heart for it.

Alright, so I'm going to put these on here and just let the cheese melt for 30 seconds or so.

-Okay.

-And then once they come off, bun city.

-Yes.

Bun city.

-Oh, my goodness.

-Wow.

-Yep.

Okay, onion time.

-[ Gasps ] -Oh, yeah.

-Yes, please.

Oh, yes.

-Okay, let's -- let's just watch what happens in the next few seconds.

-Okay.

I need a moment.

-I know.

-I'm -- I'm tearing up.

I'm going in for this beautiful one.

Can I get an amen right here?

That is beautiful.

-Mm-hmm.

Okay.

Okay, how am I going to do this?

-Yes.

Is there -- Is there a methodology?

Is it the crane reach?

-Well, I think we just -- Yeah, I think we just crane it.

-[ Chuckles ] -Mm-hmm.

[ Laughs ] -Alright, folks.

Lights out.

Let's all just head out.

-Lights out, yeah.

-That's as good as it gets.

-Pack it up.

-Pack it up.

-We are going home.

-The burgers are still juicy.

-Mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm.

-The onions, though.

-Mm-hmm.

-Super soft.

-Mm-hmm.

You know?

-The butter is both a textural flavor addition.

-Mm-hmm.

-It's kind of a sauce.

It blends in with those onions.

-Mm-hmm.

How's post-butter-burger Bridget doing?

-PBBB.

-Mm-hmm.

-I'm going to be fine.

-Okay.

-As long as these keep coming in a steady stream.

-That's true.

Yeah.

-Absolutely fantastic.

-Thank you.

-Thank you, Ashley.

We all thank you.

To make these great burgers at home, stew onions until they're soft and lightly browned, slather toasted buns with tons of butter, and cook thin beef patties hard and fast to create a great crust.

So from "Cook's Country" via Wisconsin, the almighty Wisconsin butter burgers.

And you can get this recipe and all the recipes from this season, along with product reviews and select episodes.

They're all on our website.

That's CooksCountry.com/tv.