Syracuse Salt Potatoes

[ssandy_561]

​​
I feel a little silly posting this because it’s not really a recipe. It’s more Science!

Last night to go with the grilled pork chops and green beans I made Syracuse Salt Potatoes.

If you have never made them think about making them. They are so simple but so good.

Traditionally they are made with B size white potatoes. All they had at the store was baby Yukon Gold potatoes, so I made them last night with them.

The only other things you need are Kosher salt (2 cups), melted butter and fresh parsley.




Start by filling your cooking pot with water.

Next dump in the 2 cups of salt and stir to dissolve (Don’t worry if it doesn’t all dissolve right away, it will)

Add your potatoes to the pot. Make sure they are all still whole and you have not broke the the skin on them or cut large pieces of the skin off. If you did you will get some very salty potatoes.

Now Science happens. They Float!





Bring to a boil and then cook for 15 to 25 minutes (Time depends on the average size of the whole potatoes). You want to boil until the potatoes are tender.

Drain the potatoes but do not rinse. If you rinse the Magic can’t happen. I went old school and used our circa 1970 something colander.




After the potatoes set for 5 to 10 minutes the skins will shrivel and a salt crust will form on them.




Then just poke, dip in the melted butter and sprinkle on the chopped parsley and Enjoy.

The potatoes are not really salty. You can taste salt but they are not a sodium bomb. Most of the salt gets poured down your sink when you drain them.

The potatoes also turn out super creamy. It’s almost like they are mashed potatoes inside their skin. This is also because of Science. I believe by adding the salt to the water you increase the waters boiling point and by boiling the potatoes at a higher temperature you affect the starches in them differently then if you boiled them
normally.

[Jfrosty27]

Never heard of this. But it sounds good. Certainly easy enough. Worth a try.

[Cheef]

Definitely give them a shot. You will have a hard time going back to baked potatos.

[smokin fool]

Where's Bill Nye when you need him?
Nice trick, don't know if I'll ever try it but good info to have

[Cheef]

@ssandy_561 THANKS for this post. I absolutely love salt potato and these will be on the list this weekend!

[Cheef]

Forgot!!
YOU say Potatoe---I say Potato.
Never mind--way before you guys time.

[Ann-Marie in the backyard]

Let's call the whole thing off!

[JGrana]

Ahh, living in Western NY, Salt Potatoes are a summer/fall thing. Many restaurants serve salt potatoes as a side. As ssandy_561 said, very simple to make. Thye go great with burgers, chicken all kinds of BBQ. Don't skimp on the butter at the end!
Our local Wegmans - from Buffalo past Syracuse, sell 5 lb. bags of Salt Potatoes. Small, white spuds with a bag of salt.

Hey, our own Meathead even has them in the Potatoes recipe section. Since he lived in Ithaca, I'm sure he ate his fill of these golden nuggets!

https://amazingribs.com/tested-recipes/potato-recipes/syracuse-salt-potatoes-recipe

[Meathead]

You betcha! The story behind them is fun.

[FishTalesNC]

Thanks for posting this, I saw Meathead's recipe on the free side a year or so ago and was dying to try them. But SWMBO saw the salt content of the recipe and refused - very glad to learn more about the process and that they aren't overly salty. Now to revisit this and figure out how to win the argument...

[Steve B]

Just make them without telling her and serve them up.
Tell her afterwards when she says how good they were.

[Henrik]

Yup, listen to Steve 👍

[Meathead]

Here is the story behind Syracuse Salt Potatoes and my recipe, posted abt 10 years ago. https://amazingribs.com/tested-recip...otatoes-recipe

I also have a recipe for Spiedies, Cornell Chicken, Buffalo Wings, Concord Grape Pie, all delicacies from Western NY.

[ssandy_561]

I spent my first 25 years of existence in WNY. I have enjoyed all of the things listed above. Two of my favorite foods from WNY are not listed above though. Beef on Weck and Chicken Riggies.

[Meathead]

I know Beef on Wick (which is similar to Baltimore Pit Beef and Chicago Italian Beef, but not the same) but I've never heard of Chicken Riggies. Tell me more!

[ssandy_561]

It’s a pasta dish with rigatoni, chicken and a creamy spicy tomato sauce. I’ll post a quick recap on how to make it.

[ssandy_561]

Chicken Riggies

[phbern]

I Live in Syracuse (well, a suburb thereof)! It ain't a BBQ if you don't have salt potatoes! Not mentioned above: Utica Greens. Ya gotta have yer veggies!

[Donw]

Thank you for posting about this as I had never heard of them. Tried them for the first time tonight for dinner and they are great. My wife, the potato lover, told me to put them into the rotation from now on.

[Texas Larry]

This is a go-to favorite for us. Love ‘em.

[Joetee]

I've made them before. I forgot about them. They are really good. Thanks for bringing this up and reminding me.

[Henrik]

I love science. Yup, these are good, I make ‘em every now and then. Thanks for posting!

[gcdmd]

The potatoes also turn out super creamy. It’s almost like they are mashed potatoes inside their skin. This is also because of Science. I believe by adding the salt to the water you increase the waters boiling point and by boiling the potatoes at a higher temperature you affect the starches in them differently then if you boiled them
normally.

The change in texture and the shriveling of the skin are probably due, at least in part, to the process of diffusion/osmosis, whereby water is drawn out of the inside of the potato by the high salt concentration of the cooking liquid. I believe we discussed this on another thread a year or more ago.