Kugelis

5 from 1 vote

Kugelis is a hearty Lithuanian potato pudding that can be enjoyed as a main dish or a side. It’s a classic comfort food dish that can be tricky to perfect, but is absolutely delicious to taste! This article will teach you everything you need to know to make your Kugelis perfectly!

Course Side Dish

Cuisine Lithuanian

Prep Time 45

Cook Time 1 20

Total Time 2 5

Servings

Calories 206kcal

Author Alexandria Drzazgowski

Ingredients

6 strips thick cut bacon diced
1 medium white onion diced
1 500 mg Vitamin C supplement, crushed to a powder (only if grating the potatoes by hand)
2 ½ lb Potatoes peeled
2 eggs
1 tsp Salt
½ tsp black pepper
8 Tbsp cold butter cut into 1 Tbsp slices
Sour cream and dill for serving

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
In a medium pan on the stove, fry the 6 strips thick cut bacon until they cook through and are crispy. Once done, remove the bacon from the pan and place in a small bowl. Separately, remove the majority of the bacon grease from the pan and place it in another bowl. Leave a tablespoon or so of bacon grease in the pan.
Add the 1 medium white onion to the remaining bacon grease and continue cooking until the onions are soft.
Pour the bacon grease into the bottom of a large mixing bowl and then sprinkle in 1 500 mg Vitamin C supplement, crushed to a powder (only if grating the potatoes by hand) and mix to combine. This combination will keep the potatoes from browning as you prepare them.
Using the smallest side of a box grater or a handheld parmesan cheese grater/zester, grind 2 ½ lb Potatoes into a pulp. You are not making hashbrowns, but rather a juicy potato pulp. Periodically as you are grating the potatoes, put the pulp in the bowl with the bacon grease/vitamin c and mix to fully coat the potatoes in the substance. I would transfer and stir 5-6 times per potato to preserve the color of the dish!
Add the 2 eggs into the potato mixture along with 1 tsp Salt and ½ tsp black pepper and whisk to combine. Then dump the rest of the bacon, onions, and any remaining grease into the potatoes.
Pour the ingredients into a greased 9x9 glass pan. Top with the 8 Tbsp cold butter.
Bake in the oven for 70-80 minutes or until the top turns brown. You can do the toothpick test to make sure that it is cooked in the middle.
Cut into slices and serve topped with Sour cream and dill!

Video

Notes

Recipe researched using Romas and MO, a Taste of Lithuanian Cooking, and Leo Pellerin. Recipe Copyright The Foreign Fork. For educational or personal use only.

Thick cut bacon: Thin bacon will also work.
White onion: Yellow onion can be used as a substitute.
Salt and Pepper: You can add other seasonings like bay leaves or marjoram, but most authentic recipes I found used only salt and pepper… and maybe some garlic.
The texture of your dish should be very soft on the inside, kind of like mashed potatoes but less fluffy, more slick.
Some people melt the butter and mix it into the batter. I have not tried this, but I believe it would work as well.