Giant Carrot

[Daizymae]

For Canadian Thanksgiving this month, I plan to roast a huge intact carrot or two from the garden. And serve it all garnished and displayed as if it were a turkey.

Well, carrots are hard as rock, so I was wondering what would be the best way to proceed? I am pretty sure if I just throw it onto a roasting pan, it will kind of get a shrunken look. Help me out, folks! I want this carrot (or two) to look and taste good! I suspect that because it is so large that it won't bake/cook/roast evenly.

Thank you, friends.

 

[GotGarlic]

I would par-cook it in the microwave until it was almost tender, then roast it to get it caramelized. During roasting, you can also add seasonings like cumin or crushed red pepper with a little honey or even soy sauce. Yummy

 

[Daizymae]

I would par-cook it in the microwave until it was almost tender, then roast it to get it caramelized. During roasting, you can also add seasonings like cumin or crushed red pepper with a little honey or even soy sauce. Yummy

Uh oh, we don't have a microwave oven. Can you suggest an alternative procedure?

 

[Rocket_J_Dawg]

Although I don't have any cooking help, I would sure love to see a pic of those giant Canadian carrots.

 

[Dawgluver]

Uh oh, we don't have a microwave oven. Can you suggest an alternative procedure?

Maybe parboil it on the stove. Might need to use a stock pot to get it all in!

 

[GotGarlic]

Maybe parboil it on the stove. Might need to use a stock pot to get it all in!

That or, if it won't fit in a saucepan, put it in a roasting pan, fill the pan with water halfway up the sides of the carrot, cover tightly with foil, and cook at 350F for 1/2 hour or so till almost tender. I'm not sure really how much time it would take, so you might need to check it frequently after 20 minutes or so. Turn it periodically so it will cook as evenly as possible. I think you could pre-cook it and finish cooking the day of, if you wanted to.

 

[Daizymae]

Thanx to all of you. and esp. to you, GotGarlic.

Re a photo of the large carrots, I do not have a digital camera so any photos I take, it's anybody's guess when they'll be developed & printed. I dug up several carrots today and the largest is about 3" or more in diameter and weighs at least 3 lb. Not a world record by a long shot but a record for me, cuz I wasn't even trying to grow large carrots. The variety is an heirloom called Muscade.

I don't consider the gnarled unrecognizable prize winning carrots to be carrots at all:

The World Records - Heaviest and Longest Carrot - The Growers - John Evans and Joe Atherton

Happy Thanksgiving to all those here observing the holiday in October!

 

[joesfolk]

Thanx to all of you. and esp. to you, GotGarlic.

Re a photo of the large carrots, I do not have a digital camera so any photos I take, it's anybody's guess when they'll be developed & printed. I dug up several carrots today and the largest is about 3" or more in diameter and weighs at least 3 lb. Not a world record by a long shot but a record for me, cuz I wasn't even trying to grow large carrots. The variety is an heirloom called Muscade.

I don't consider the gnarled unrecognizable prize winning carrots to be carrots at all:

The World Records - Heaviest and Longest Carrot - The Growers - John Evans and Joe Atherton

Happy Thanksgiving to all those here observing the holiday in October! [/QUOT

I wonder how it will taste. When I have cooked very large carrots I found them bitter and fiberous but maybe that was just the variety of the carrot or had something to do with the soil.

 

[taxlady]

When I used to make a lot of carrot juice, I always looked for the big carrots. They were sweeter than the same kind of smaller carrots.

 

[Oldvine]

Why wouldn't a big fat carrot bake something like a big fat yam or sweet potato, or a squash? Not knowing how big your big carrot is, I think I would just handle like any other big old veggie that I want to bake/roast, knowing that they all shrink up a bit. It's one of those things that just for fun done with high hopes that it turns out great. So, I would season it, lay it in a roaster, cover it with foil and roast it awhile. Test for to see if it's getting near done, then uncover it and let it finish. Good luck.

 

[Daizymae]

Thanks, oldvine and to all of you for your advice & comments. I think maybe I'll cook up some smaller ones, also - Just.In.Case! Don't want to ruin Thanksgiving by not having a nice blast of starchy vegetables.

Do you recommend I smear it with a bit of oil or fat before putting it in the oven? I'm not a great baker of anything, by the way. When it comes to baking, I really need advice.

Re a carrot being bitter, joesfolk, I've grown various varieties and bitterness appears to not be related to size. Or maybe I just got lucky. As far as soil goes, I've read that in some areas of N.A. you can't grow good carrots at all, 'cuz the soil's all wrong.

 

[Addie]

Some of those gnarly carrots in the article do not look appetizing. I would think the big ones are fibrous.

 

[Mad Cook]

Uh oh, we don't have a microwave oven. Can you suggest an alternative procedure?

Boil it

 

[Daizymae]

My concern was that the Giant Carrot would not roast nicely (like, say a squash or yam) because carrots are so much harder.

 

[GotGarlic]

My concern was that the Giant Carrot would not roast nicely (like, say a squash or yam) because carrots are so much harder.

Do you have one or two you can practice with?

 

[Oldvine]

Is the carrot still in the ground? Why cook it? Why not display it as a decorative piece and use smaller carrots in the meal. Depending on it's glorious appearance, I might scrubby-dubby it, give it a light coat of oil, maybe even Pam, for some shine, put down a bed of kale and let every one be amazed at the beauty.

 

[Daizymae]

Do you have one or two you can practice with?

Yup. Did that today. I boiled it for 10 minutes, took it out, patted it dry, smeared it with butter, then stuck it in a 375 deg. oven with foil on top for "awhile". Just til a bit of resistance when being punctured with a fork.

Result was nice. The carrot didn't look all collapsed or wrinkled or anything. Of course, it tasted nice, too. This particular variety (old heirloom from France) is only slightly bitter even when small, a nice kind of edge. Not ultra sweet.

Oldvine, I like your suggestion. I just might display the largest of the bunch raw, then serve the slightly smaller ones after cooking as I described.

Can't thank y'all enough.

 

[GotGarlic]

Glad to hear it worked out

 

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

Gonna go outside the box here. Take that giant carrot and slice it into large chunks. Carefully remove the core, maybe with a power drill. Then stuff the carrot chunks with maybe some chopped pecans, honey and butter. That would allow them to bake properly, as heat would hit all sides of the carrot. Another good stuffing would be mashed potato and onion, maybe even with ground beef mixed in, like has, only with all parts in the carrot. A little butter and garlic would make it taste great. With this idea, you have a stuffed carrot to go with the stuffed bird theme. Just an idea. Whether it would work for your application, I don't know. Hope it at least creates some ideas.

Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North