Make delicious umami tater tots

Tater tots might as well their own food group. I have mastered the art of simple, no mess, delicious tater tots. I use an air fryer. Also, my simple seasoning combination will make the most delicious tater tots you've ever had from a bag.

Tater tots are popular in our home. When my 11 year-old daughter is around, like last night, they serve as a side dish to many main dishes that she enjoys. When kid is not on-premises tater tots act as the base to many insane things a divorced 46 year-old dad with a heavy addiction to pop-culture may enjoy, like tot-chos (tater tot nachos) or chilli-cheese tots. Yes, tater tots.

I am also lazy. California has recreational marijuana and when you are in a tater tot kinda mood, you are also probably not looking to get into making artisnal, handcrafted tater tots like they did in the old country. I turn to bags of frozen processed potato.

My first attempts at improving tater tot quality arose after a batch of soggy and under crisped tots came out of the oven. I tried baking the tots on a cooling rack, allowing more air to flow over them. The tots got better.

I was introduced to the idea of an air fryer. I was a bit befuddled as to why I'd give up space in my kitchen to one, but I'd always wanted a deep fryer. I knew in my heart that deep frying tater tots in rendered duck fat would be the ultimate, but I didn't know what I'd do with all the waste oil. I knew an air fryer didn't fry at all, but was really a super-high-flow convection oven. Then I realized what that meant for tater tots.

Air fried tater tots come out perfect every single time. Here's what you do:

Air Fried Umami Tater Tots

2-3 cups tater tots

Creole Seasoning

Nutritional Yeast

Place the tater tots in the basket of your air fryer.

Set the machine for 400F and 20 minutes

Press Start!

Shake the basket every 5 minutes (15, 10, 5) to move the tots around. Add seasonings at 10 minute mark.

Add about 1/4 tsp Creole Seasoning and 1 Tbs of Nutritional Yeast. The nutritional yeast is where umami lives.

TOTS PERFECTED.