Advance prep of beets? How long

[Treehorn]

Im hosting a dinner for 24 and one of the dishes is a simple beet and goat cheese salad.

I have prepared this dish before and I blanched the beets before cutting them and preparing the salad.

For this dinner I am trying to do as much prep work in advance and thought that blanching and refridgerating the beets may be one thing that I can get out of the way.

My question is, how long can I refridgerate the blanched beets before quality suffers. Same day (morning)? Night before? Two days before?

Love to hear your thoughts.

Cheers.

 

[jennyema]

Why are you blanching the beets and not cooking them through?

Cooked beets will last in the fridge for at least 2-3 days

 

[Treehorn]

Sorry you are absolutely correct. Misuse of the terminology on my part.

I will be cooking all the way through and be putting into cold/ice water to prevent them from overcooking.

Sounds like I can safely do this prep work Wednesday night. Thanks for your reply.

Would you slice ahead too or would I be better off waiting until Friday for that?

 

[Cheryl J]

Hi, Treehorn.

Wow, a dinner for 24 - I can see why you want to do some prepping ahead! Your beet salad sounds lovely.

You should be fine cooking the beets Wednesday for a party on Friday. I would peel and quarter the beets, drizzle with a little olive oil, and roast at 400F for about an hour or until you can insert a knife easily. Test after 30-45 minutes, depending how big the beets are. When they're done, cover tightly, refrigerate, and slice them the morning of your dinner.

I don't think I would shock them in ice water after cooking though, you'll lose some flavor as you'd see by the water turning red.

This is just the way I'd do it - hopefully others will chime in with more ideas.

 

[CharlieD]

Cooked beets will easy less a week in the fridge.


Sent from my iPad using Discuss Cooking

 

[puffin3]

I would leave maybe an inch of the beet stock on the beets. Wash well. Put whole beets in hard boiling water with a pinch of salt. Let them completely cook through but remain a bit al dente.
Remove and put into ice water to completely cool.
Don't remove the skins/tops yet.
Into the fridge in airtight container. They'll last a couple of days at least.
When you're ready to use them slice off the tops and slide off the skins. Then slice them the way you like and serve them.
Leaving the skins on in the fridge will help prevent the beets from drying out and help preserve the flavor.

 

[medtran49]

I would roast them whole instead of boiling them, you'll get more flavor that way. Wash and dry them, wrap them in foil and roast in a 325 to 400 oven until tender, 1-1/2 to 1 hour or so depending on temp. Turn them from time to time and when roasting at higher temps check for signs of scorching starting about half-way thru.

Here's a link that explains in detail How To Roast Beets in the Oven — Cooking Lessons from The Kitchn | The Kitchn . They are so easy to peel when you roast them, the skin just slips off (don't skip the pre-cook washing step).