How do you make bubble & squeak?

[Geminijust]

My mum (rip) did the best bubble & squeak. I've never been able replicate it, mine is always a bit dry and tasteless. Please could you share your methods? I have leftover roast pots, parsnips, sprouts & carrots. I've always just mashed it up together and fried with mediocre results!

Thank you 🙂

I think you have to fry it low for ages! It's not quick! When you get a crust on bottom stir it in, and keep doing that! If it's a bit dry add a little gravy or bread sauce!

Butter mixed in is the trick. And using precooked veg ... we always cook extra veg on the day to have leftovers for the bubble and squeak.

I agree with this, apart from adding a little bit of bread sauce. You need to add A LOT of bread sauce!

Cook it for ages, maybe a hour. It needs a lot of seasoning.

I can’t wait for mine later - I’ve been looking forward to it more than the Christmas dinner! We have ours with cold
🥩 and pickles.

Thanks. Do you make like a big cake? The veg is precooked. I will mash in lots of butter and seasoning. Is it worth adding in an onion? Milk? Egg? Just ideas.

Just smash it all up and then fry with a decent amount of oil it in a big patty. I usually stir mine around a while then let it go crispy on the bottom and flip it over with a fish slice son it can go crispy on the the top. I never put anything else in.

Two options.

The one I like is a mix of veg cooked in butter, allow the veg to crisp a bit, it looks sort of like a honeycomb of butter, so turn it over in bits and pieces.

Option 2

Mash the veg with some butter and form into patties. Fry or put in the oven with a knob of butter on top.

I prefer mostly potatoes, if they are roasted then you might need to slice them before mashing.

Thank you for the correction! 😃 I agree you need loads, but I am aware it's controversial on here!

Always milk in mashed potato. Sometimes we bake the b and s in the oven with cheesy topping.

ive just made these. One for brunch tomorrow, with an egg on and baked beans, three for the freezer, fried lightly as I finish off in the oven. (onion, broccoli, cabbage, Brussels, carrots and roast potatoes) they smell lovely .

They look amazing!

I made B&S pattys for a a post-party breakfast for a load of friends one year and we had them in crusty cobs with left over ham and a fried egg. They did work well in the oven! They sorted us right out 🤣

We’ve frozen 2/3 of our bubble & squeak mixture this year, I vastly over catered the veg!

I chuck any leftover pots and veg in, salt and pepper, plus some onion, then just fry it. I'm not very good at frying it though so did it in the Airfryer the last two years and just stir it every few mins so it gets crunchy without burning on top.

@Nincompoo do you think B&S could be the new Sourdough ? A Finish off in oven seems to dry them out a bit and crisp them up which is ideal 🐷🐷

I get the ready made patties in marks and Spencer which are lovely, but quite thin, mine are CHUNKY

It’s nice to look forward to some from the freezer

If you have too many for you all to eat I am happy to come over... those look epic! I am very jealous (and I am doing my Ocado order as we speak so if you don't have room for me then I will make my own!)

I soften a diced onion in butter/olive oil mix first, then add the mashed veg with plenty of salt and pepper and cook on a low-medium heat for about 10-15 mins.

Then turn up high and let it ‘catch’, then turn about a bit and flatten out again, then repeat until you’ve got lots of crispy brown bits in the mix and the beginnings of a crust on the outside I don’t like it served as a ‘cake’, more as a hash.

I do mine in the oven. Just chop everything up, mix it (including bread sauce) thin layer on a baking tray in the oven.

@Arlanymor Aaaaw thank you, just add some to your Ocado order, their frozen Rostis are pretty good too. I love potato products - unfortunately 🐷

@RayKray sadly, no bread sauce this time 😢

Oh goodness, potato and cheese are the two things I could not live without!

I did see the frozen ones - they do look rather good... not as good as yours however!

I've got a friend coming to stay for a few days too, so my actual cooking opportunities will be limited... might buy the rostis and pop an egg on top and pretend I did it myself?! There were some duck eggs on sale in M&S today as well as pork belly so I am going to try and make my own Thit Kho tomorrow... that's enough cooking for 2025, surely?!

I rather hope it doesn’t become too much like sourdough - “Artisan” B&S doesn’t have quite the same appeal, it woudl be a sad day that some heathen grated truffle
over it!

have never put bread sauce in mine!

if you have any duck or goose or pork fat, fry it it in that - amazing.

agree you need it on medium heat, leave it alone for a while to form a browned crust, then flip over. Chop up a bit and repeat. Cast iron pans work better than non stick for the crust.

I make mine as follows with Xmas day cooked and cooled leftovers comprising of:

sprouts with bacon and chestnuts
carrots
peas
roast potatoes
parsnips
red cabbage
pork stuffing balls
few pigs in blankets

roughly cut all into slices / chunks
dollop of Xmas gravy

fry a couple of leeks and an onion,

cook a couple of potatoes in microwave and , skin on and roughly mash with butter and add

add stuffing and pigs in blankets to the pan for a few minutes

add rest of veg and mix

season with a lot of salt and Pepper and big slice of butter and roughly mash with a fork plus a few mashed with potato masher

BUT don’t over mash!

add a bit of Garlic salt

grease a dish with butter, roughly put into it, don’t flatten or squash it

bake in oven 180 for 45-50 mins

turn out on a board - or keep in dish to serve

thus is my trial and error version I have honed over many years! Yum

if you don’t have everything- it’s cool, I just wing it usually - if no leeks - use onion etc

I put mine in the food processor, my dad used to mash with potato masher but I don't seem to have the strength - so just chuck it in the food p for a few minutes in batches and then mix it all together

cook low and slow in a fry pan and then put a plate over the fry pan to turn it over

Ps. I know you are meant to just fry it but I find frying for a while then baking in the oven is good! The top gets really crunchy and tasty too!

I add grated extra strong grated cheddar to mine so that when you fry them the fat from the cheese makes them all delicious and crusty and tasty.