Ray's Friggin' Green Bean Casserole

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noboundaries

Epic Pitmaster
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Sep 7, 2013
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Roseville, CA, a suburb of Sacramento
So, remember the Thanksgiving side dish thread where I said I hated green bean casserole? NO LONGER! Bacon, white gravy, and tater tots solved the problem.

Ray's Friggin' Green Bean Casserole

The only frozen veggies I had left in the freezer was a package of julienned green beans. It's now or never, I thought. I HATE green bean casserole. Time to see if I change that.

Result? My wife RAVED about this. I liked it too.

Next time, consider adding sliced mushrooms to the bacon fat, saute until soft, add chopped onion, then finish making the gravy.

Ingredients
1 large package frozen julienned green beans
4 meaty slices thick cut bacon, fried crispy, chopped
1 cup golden raisins
½ cup slivered almonds
½ cup AP flour
2 cups milk
1 tsp garlic salt
½ tsp black pepper, coarse ground
Tater Tots to cover

Directions
Preheat oven to 450°F

Grease a casserole dish.

Start the bacon frying.

Thaw the frozen julienned beans, then spread in the casserole dish.

Evenly add the golden raisins and almonds.

Once the bacon is crispy, chop into small pieces. Evenly spread in the casserole dish.

Make the gravy. With the heat on medium, add the flour to the bacon fat. Stir to mix. Saute for a couple minutes.

Slowly add the milk, stopping to stir to incorporate until smooth (I use the back of a spatula to smash and breakup any lumps). Keep adding the milk and incorporating it smoothly until the mixture is very thin and watery.

Bring to a simmer, stirring regularly to prevent sticking and burning.

Once it starts to thicken noticeably, add evenly to the casserole. DO NOT STIR.

Cover with the frozen tater tots.

Bake 40-45 minutes until the tots are crispy. Remove and rest for 5 minutes.

Serve.

Pre-bake, pre-gravy, pre-tots.
20230111_184412.jpg


Post-bake, and all the other stuff.
20230111_193154.jpg
 
You know, I'm with you on traditional green bean casserole, but your dish with those tots looks friggin' awesome. I'm bookmarking this one. Great job!
 
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You know, I'm with you on traditional green bean casserole, but your dish with those tots looks friggin' awesome. I'm bookmarking this one. Great job!
Thanks! I figured you can't go wrong with bacon, gravy, and tots. It just became my holiday contribution. Besides, you can barely taste the green beans.
 
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Dang! I have to admit I love green bean casserole, maybe nostalgia? However, I suspect I’d love this one for the flavor! Awesome!
Thanks, Jed. Don't forget the golden raisins. It adds a very slight sweet balance to the savory dish.

Awesome! I love your twist on a holiday classic!
Thanks, Keith. The holiday classic literally makes me gag. This one makes me smack my lips.
 
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I love old fashioned green bean casserole, The kind my mother always made, but it's not a real big hit around here. Well, that ain't my mother's green bean casserole, Ray...:emoji_laughing: This might just be the ticket for my next one...
 
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Okay... Not only does this look danged good.
This deserves a try to see if I can get my kids to eat it.
Thanks, John. My wife was out of the house when I made it. She came home and we had dinner. She said, "Wow, this is so light. I love this!" I joked, "Yep. Bacon, gravy, and tater tots can fix anything." She almost didn't believe me when I told her that's what she was earing.

I love old fashioned green bean casserole, The kind my mother always made, but it's not a real big hit around here. Well, that ain't my mother's green bean casserole, Ray...:emoji_laughing: This might just be the ticket for my next one...
Thanks, Charles. Yep, easy to make, and no cans involved.

Looks awesome but you gotta melt some cheese on top of those tot's don't ya?
Great idea, 3m...after the tots are crispy!

looks good! many ways to do the green bean dish and can't go wrong with tater tots!
Thanks, tb. I threw this together on the fly. Now it's in the universe of options.

Ray
 
My Son likes to cook on his day off . He's doing a breaded chicken breast today .
I'll have to show this to him .
Thanks for posting .
 
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I could take or leave green bean casserole, but I like when people cover the top in those crispy onions. French's also has crispy jalapenos. That would work also. Either way, this looks like an interesting take. Especially the tater tots. Strong work.
 
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