# preparing professional quantities of butternut squash



## rick alan (Nov 15, 2012)

I'm wondering how you deal with the skin?


----------



## chefbillyb (Feb 8, 2009)

I think if I was doing it in a restaurant I would peel, cube, season and roast on a sheet pan. At home I cut in half and put it face down on a bbq grill. The reason for that is because there is so much moisture that it drys out better on the bBQ grill. It builds put to much moisture in the oven......The Best.......ChefBillyB


----------



## cheflayne (Aug 21, 2004)

I remove it with my chef's knife as the first step of prep.


----------



## Seoul Food (Sep 17, 2018)

In what form do you want the final product?


----------



## peachcreek (Sep 21, 2001)

Sometimes I will cut the squash in half, scoop out the seeds and bake it. Then scoop the cooked squash out and toss the skin.
Other times I will peel the squash first then roast or boil it. Just depends on the application.


----------



## rick alan (Nov 15, 2012)

Thanks for the replys. With young squash i've just washed and de-blemished, cubed steamed and mashed as the skins are thin and soft enough not to bother me, but I don't suppose this would fly with some customers when that's who you're serving. I imagined some establishments would sieve them, if it wasn't taboo to have the skins involved in the cooking process. Peeling seems a tedious chore to me here, and perhaps causing some considerable waste if you hurry it. I have baked'n scraped, but I don't feel that's quite the same product as steaming. Basically I just want to know the tricks here, if any.


----------



## rick alan (Nov 15, 2012)

ChefLayne, how exactly do you go about peeling it?


----------



## cheflayne (Aug 21, 2004)

rick alan said:


> Peeling seems a tedious chore to me here, and perhaps causing some considerable waste


I recently removed the skin from a 12# heirloom butternut squash using my chef knife and I don't think it took anymore than 5 minutes at most with very little waste of meat, actually zero waste because skin was used to make stock for the soup that I was preparing.


----------



## cheflayne (Aug 21, 2004)

rick alan said:


> ChefLayne, how exactly do you go about peeling it?


Kind of hard to explain in words. I am more used to showing in person. It also requires me to think about what I am actually doing, much easier just to leave it up to muscle memory. Give me a few minutes and maybe I can come up with an understandable description.


----------



## cheflayne (Aug 21, 2004)

Serious Eats has a pictorial on butternut squash and it is similar to the way i do with a couple of differences. it is actually from a lefty perspective (which I am not), but to not complicate it any more I am describing what I would if I were a lefty.








If the squash were a clock face, the knife is at 9:00 in comparison to the hand. I cut more at 11:00. I find this gives me a better angle and makes it easier to feel like I am shaving the skin from the squash rather than cutting it and am better able to follow any curvature, so I don't waste as much meat. Also o believe that I work a little closer to the front tip of the knife, maybe 1# closer, but without knife and squash in hand, I am guessing.

Don't know if you will be able to make heads or tails out of my jibbersh, but _I understand what I am saying perfectly!!! :~)_


----------



## dodgerbuddy (Feb 11, 2007)

rick alan said:


> I'm wondering how you deal with the skin?


I cut the Butternut squash in half lengthwise. Place them cut side up on a large baking pan on top of parchment paper. Spray them with Cooking spray. Then season them with salt, pepper, and Thyme. Throw them in the oven to bake. When they are soft you can scoop out the flesh so easily to make your soup! It sure beats cutting them into cubes. And it is a time saver too doing it this way. 👍🏼


----------



## dodgerbuddy (Feb 11, 2007)

dodgerbuddy said:


> I cut the Butternut squash in half lengthwise. Place them cut side up on a large baking pan on top of parchment paper. Spray them with Cooking spray. Then season them with salt, pepper, and Thyme. Throw them in the oven to bake. When they are soft you can scoop out the flesh so easily to make your soup! It sure beats cutting them into cubes. And it is a time saver too doing it this way. 👍🏼


Then you just throw away the skin!


----------



## rick alan (Nov 15, 2012)

OK this was not as big a deal, at all, as I was imagining. I'm going to try ChefLaynes way, and another where you halve down the middle, section then peel in hand the C's, or D's depending on which end they come from. Would likely go for both.

Thanks for indulging me here, sorting out little details like this just get me going.


----------



## mike9 (Jul 13, 2012)

Top and tail then cut the bottom from the top keeping the seed end separate. I do the same as @cheflayne you need a stout knife that holds an edge. For the bottom I cut around the seed pod it's easier and faster than chasing strands.


----------



## halb (May 25, 2015)

Dunno. I just have at it with a vegetable peeler after cutting off the top and bottom and then the bottom from the top. Here's a video I found.


----------

