Is there an easy (yet safe) way to peel a large butternut squash?

M

marilynfl

Moderator
I like peeling mine until I see a nice orange color, rather than just getting below the peel where it's white-ish.

However, the little bugger gets awfully slippery and I use a sharp peeler. AFIS has a hard time reconstructing my fingerprint data points after all the flesh I've pared away throughout the years.

Any suggestions on how I can keep all ten digits intact and not bleeding?

 
I use a knife. Method depends upon how large and what shape you want

the finished pieces to be. Using a large chef's knife, cut the rounded part away from the neck and you can stand them on end and cut off the peel with whatever knife works for you. I also try to choose squash that has a long neck and not so rounded if I want to peel it. If you're going to cut it in small pieces, cutting the rounded part horizontally in slices the right size will help a lot, and if the slices are only an inch or so, you can cut around them with a peeler that takes off more peel, like the Oxo, which takes off more peel than my old fashioned metal-handled peelers.

I hope that makes sense, it works for me.

 
oh! You cut it into slices and then peel each round. That's a great idea. I keep the bugger

whole while trying to peel it and that's what makes it so slippery, cumbersome and dangerous.

Thank you! I'll try this method tonight or tomorrow. Got a $9 butternut just sitting there, mocking me.

 
Yes, but if you don't mind using a knife, it works well on the slices, too. Just lay the slice

on a flat side and cut down and around with the knife. Good Luck, that sounds like a big squash! Organic butternut is only $1.29 a lb here.

 
No-but you brought to mind a project we once did for a catering job in which..

we carved out thirty butternuts into vases that we used as centerpieces at each table in which we filled with carved vegetable flowers.

Much blood was spilled. BG.

 
I have one of those too but am now afraid of it. Can't seem to use it without peeling a fingertip

or two. Damnedest thing.

 
Can you stick it in a microwave to soften it up? I've been watching a lot of

Cook's Illustrated lately. They soften potatoes in a microwave first, then move on with their chosen method of cooking. I'm inclined to try that for butternut squash. Until now, I've only roasted it, but think I might give microwaving a try.

 
but isn't that thing a killer to slice? I shy away from them when they are whole

or I slice the rind off down the cut half, like I do with melons. cut the bottom off of the round half, put the big cut side down and then cut off the rind from top to bottom, like I do with melons.

 
I use a huge knife and a hammer, Ang- works like a charm.

I get the knife into the squash, put a small block over the tang and whack with a hammer- knife goes through like hot knife through butter. Never a problem to cut squashes.

 
I just did this last night. I have more trouble cutting it than peeling it, but it

Would work for that too. I put mine in a pressure cooker after I pierce it a few times with a knife so it doesn't explode.

Steam/pressure cook it for about 5-6 minutes, then it is easy to cut in half, place on a hard surface, and peel with a sharp apple peeler. Then you can bake, steam, pan-fry with butter (my favorite) away as you would ordinarily do.

 
I have to admit that I prefer Costco's or TJ's precut butternut squash.(more)

I almost lost a thumb peeling a winter squash 30+ years ago and the lesson is still fresh in my mind.

 
I cut it into large disks first, then lay them flat on the board and cut down around the edges

with a chef's knife or Santoku.

Whenever I can get away with it, I halve it and roast it cut side down and then scoop out the cooked flesh.

 
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