Hey all!
I want to make a butternut squash dish for a Thanksgiving potluck. This is the one I have in mind. But ... peeling a bnut squash kind of intimidates me. Does anyone have any tips on how to best peel a bnut squash? The recipe calls for the squash to be cubed so I was figuring I could do one of a couple things. I could try to cut up the uncooked squash and then peel the smaller chunks. This is undesirable because 1) cutting uncooked squash is hard and 2) it sounds way time consuming. I could roast or boil the squash a bit and then peel it but as I understand it, the squash might fall apart on me. Below is a suggestion I found on the internet and I was wondering what anyone thought of it. Also, I haven't bought one yet ... so could anyone recommend a good peeler to use on the squash?
Thanks!
Idea for peeling squash
"Take your squash and put it into a suitably-sized pot. Cover it with water, put the lid on the pot, and bring it to a boil (the steam trapped in the pot will cook whatever portion of the squash is above the surface). Simmer the squash for just a few minutes, until a wooden skewer or toothpick can penetrate the skin but *just* the skin; roughly 4-5 minutes. Allow the squash to cool. At this point, the skin of the squash is cooked, and so is a tiny bit of the squash under the skin. These are now soft, and can be peeled effortlessly with any regular peeler. You now have a naked squash, ready to dice and prepare in any fashion that appeals to you. This technique is best used with butternut squash, but any other large meaty squash would work too (good luck finding a pot big enough for a banana squash, mind you...). "
I want to make a butternut squash dish for a Thanksgiving potluck. This is the one I have in mind. But ... peeling a bnut squash kind of intimidates me. Does anyone have any tips on how to best peel a bnut squash? The recipe calls for the squash to be cubed so I was figuring I could do one of a couple things. I could try to cut up the uncooked squash and then peel the smaller chunks. This is undesirable because 1) cutting uncooked squash is hard and 2) it sounds way time consuming. I could roast or boil the squash a bit and then peel it but as I understand it, the squash might fall apart on me. Below is a suggestion I found on the internet and I was wondering what anyone thought of it. Also, I haven't bought one yet ... so could anyone recommend a good peeler to use on the squash?
Thanks!
Idea for peeling squash
"Take your squash and put it into a suitably-sized pot. Cover it with water, put the lid on the pot, and bring it to a boil (the steam trapped in the pot will cook whatever portion of the squash is above the surface). Simmer the squash for just a few minutes, until a wooden skewer or toothpick can penetrate the skin but *just* the skin; roughly 4-5 minutes. Allow the squash to cool. At this point, the skin of the squash is cooked, and so is a tiny bit of the squash under the skin. These are now soft, and can be peeled effortlessly with any regular peeler. You now have a naked squash, ready to dice and prepare in any fashion that appeals to you. This technique is best used with butternut squash, but any other large meaty squash would work too (good luck finding a pot big enough for a banana squash, mind you...). "