Tucker Holiday Yams are made with brown sugar, butter and yams. Since there are only three ingredients, they are easy to make. The trick comes in the cooking.
As you can see there is nothing low fat about Tucker Holiday Yams. If you want left overs you need to make a lot. I make so many of these, each holiday, and they always disappear.
Tucker Holiday yams are a family tradition handed down from my grandmother Tucker, to my mother, to me and now my children make them in their families. They make any holiday meal very special.
How to Make Tucker Holiday Yams
1. Peel, half and slice the yams the night before. This makes the cooking the next day very easy and quick. Peeling and slicing the yams takes the most time. Once you have done this, put them in a plastic bag and place in the refrigerator. Now you are ready to make Tucker Holiday Yams the day of your holiday dinner.
When slicing the yams, try and make all the pieces the same size. This will make them all cook evenly. If you get some small pieces and some large pieces, the smaller ones will get too soft before they candy properly.
The shape and size of the pieces make a huge difference in the success of Tucker Holiday Yams. Slice the yams in half, then cut three pieces from each half. The thicker pieces give you a large surface to brown and collect the yummy brown sugar, butter syrup.
I usually do not have room on my stove when preparing a holiday dinner. With the simmering vegetables, boiling potatoes and gravy on the stove, the electric oven is an extra burner. It is a huge help! Plus, I love the even temperature that makes Tucker Family Yams turn out perfectly.
3. Once the butter is melted, place the sliced yams in the pan. You can stack them on top of each other. As the yams begin to cook they will begin to release water. This will thin down the brown sugar and butter mixture. Before you know it, you will have cups of thin brown sugar syrup simmering around the yams.
4. Cook the yams on medium heat until they start to boil. Turn down the heat and simmer. Use a large pancake turner to pick up the yams once every five minutes and flip them over. Make sure you get all the yams on the bottom picked up and placed on top. As the yams cook, they will become soft. Try and keep the pieces whole so you don't have mashed yam.
5. You will notice the bottom yams will start to brown. This is exactly what you want. Basically, you are candying the yams. The syrup will thicken and the yams will brown on all sides. Seriously, so delicious. They are so decadent, but so good! Cook for 45 minutes or until yams are soft and the syrup thickens and coats the yams.
6. When serving, use the pancake turner to pick up the yams and place on a platter. You can pour the left over syrup from the electric skillet over the top. Personally, I feel like this is a little too much sugar, but you be the judge.
Let me know on Instagram or Pinterest if you make this. Post a picture and then tag me @dinasdiner. I want to know how it turns out.
Tucker Holiday Yams
3 Large Yams
3 Cups of Brown Sugar
1/2 Cup Butter
1. Peel and slice yams.
2. Place the brown sugar and butter in a large electric skillet.
3. Turn heat to medium and cook until the butter melts.
4. Place the sliced yams in the brown sugar mixture.
5. Once the sugar and butter start to boil, reduce the heat to simmer.
6. The yams will begin to release liquid. This will create a syrup in the bottom of the pan.
7. Use a large pancake turner and turn the yams every five minutes to cook evenly.
8. Cook for 45 minutes or until yams are tender and the brown sugar syrup starts to thicken and coat the yams.
