Catherine's Glazed Sweet Potatoes
My family has had glazed sweet potatoes at our Thanksgiving meal for as long as I can remember. They are just perfect to me: earthy, sweet but not too sweet, little hints of crispy edges. It’s a sweet potato dish that’s sweet enough to feel indulgent but not so sweet that you feel like you have already eaten dessert with dinner.
My mother, June, first learned how to make them as a newlywed from her mother-in-law, Catherine. Catherine made them on the stovetop, probably in a cast-iron skillet, using white sugar. She made them just for herself, and soon for my mother too, as they were the only people at the table who would eat something orange.
When my mother took over the Thanksgiving cooking duties, she substituted the oven for the cast-iron skillet, brown sugar for the white sugar, and carried on the glazed sweet potato tradition. My sister and I happily took up the sweet potato eating mantle. Eventually, I began cooking for my own family, and I started making the sweet potatoes. At first I made them just for me, the only one at the table who would eat something orange, but now I make them for my son too, who is starting to become a sweet potato fan.
My grandmother was born in 1902. By the time I was old enough to build memories of her, she was in fragile health and not cooking much anymore. She passed away when I was a teenager, long before I developed any interest in food. I wish that I had had the chance to experience her cooking and to talk with her about it, especially now as I cook for my family. Did she create the sweet potato recipe? Did cooking bring her the joy it brings me? What family recipes would she hope her great grandchildren, born over 100 years after she was, would one day serve their own families?
I suspect the sweet potato recipe would have been on that list. One day, thinking of her, I’ll teach it to my son so that he too can carry on the tradition.
In the meantime, the recipe has been passed from Catherine to June to Holley and now to you. Enjoy. I think Catherine would be just delighted if you did.
My grandmother preferred to use white sweet potatoes, also known as Jersey sweet potatoes, in this recipe. I like to use regular sweet potatoes, often labeled as yams, because they’re much easier to find, about a third of the price, and don’t discolor quite so easily after peeling. This recipe is one that’s generous to the cook. Need to up the oven temperature to accommodate other dishes in the oven? Feel free to increase it up to 400 degrees! Like your potatoes a little sweeter? Sprinkle on a bit more sugar! Need to prep in advance? Peel and cut the potatoes a day ahead of time, submerge in cold water, then drain and dry before cooking! Need to make it entirely in advance? Make it ahead of time and reheat in the oven; they’ll have lost a bit of the crispy glazed quality but will still be delicious! Just remember that the amount of time they take to cook may increase if your oven is packed full of other items, as well as if you increase the batch size.
Catherine’s Glazed Sweet Potatoes
Ingredients:
3 medium-large sweet potatoes (just over 2 pounds)
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 tablespoons brown sugar
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Peel the sweet potatoes and cut into 3/4” slices. Cut the slices into quarters, thirds, or halves to ensure that all the pieces are about the same size.
Melt the butter over medium-low in a small saucepan on the stove, or in the microwave in a microwave safe dish covered with a piece of wax paper. Using a pastry brush, spread about half of the butter evenly over a rimmed baking sheet. Lay the potatoes on the sheet in a single layer. Brush the potatoes liberally with the remaining butter. Sprinkle about 1 tablespoon of the sugar on the potatoes, then sprinkle on some salt and pepper.
Place the pan in the preheated oven. Turn the potatoes over with a spatula every 10 minutes. Sprinkle with about 1 tablespoon more sugar with after every turn and use a spoon to distribute any glaze on the pan back over the potatoes when you turn them. The potatoes will be done when they are fork tender, about 25 minutes of total cooking time. (If not done after 25 minutes, just keep turning and sprinkling sugar until tender and glaze-y. Remember that the cooking time may be affected by having more potatoes in the pan and a more crowded oven). Serve immediately. Yield: 4 side dish servings.