Tips For Making Moonshine With Potatoes

If you’re looking for a new moonshine recipe, you should try making a batch with potatoes rather than the standard corn meal, sugar and yeast combination. Potatoes are not only inexpensive, but they are also incredibly delicious when used in the production of moonshine. Their starchy flavors become infused with the moonshine, creating a spectacular beverage that you’re sure to enjoy. If this is something you are interested in producing, however, there are a few things you should know.

Sub Your Cornmeal For Potatoes

Assuming you’re already familiar with the process of distilling moonshine, you should have no problem creating it with potatoes. The process is pretty much the same as ‘ordinary’ moonshine; the only difference being that you’ll substitute the cornmeal for potatoes. Most people tend to produce moonshine using cornmeal. And while this method is perfectly fine, it gets old after you’ve done it for a dozen or so batches. A delicious new alternative to this technique is subbing your cornmeal for potatoes.

So, just how many potatoes should you use in your moonshine? A good rule of thumb to follow is to use the measurement based on your cornmeal. Say, for instance, that you typically distill moonshine using 30 pounds of cornmeal (about average). Rather than using standard cornmeal, you’ll substitute 30 pounds of potatoes in its place.

Peel ‘Em

Before adding the potatoes, spend a few minutes (or hours) peeling them. I know this is somewhat of a monotonous time-consuming task, but it’s necessary to ensure the starches are exposed to the sugar and yeast. Placing unskinned potatoes down into your mash will prevent the fermentation process for occurring. The skins act as a barrier, blocking out the yeast and sugars from accessing the starches.

You can speed up the process by investing in a potato-skinning device. Depending on how much moonshine you are making, purchasing one of these could save you a ton of time and energy.

To Grind or Not To Grind?

There are several different techniques used for making moonshine from potatoes. Regardless of which method you choose, one of the decisions you’ll have to make is whether to grind the skinned potatoes or cut them into strips. The truth is that both of these methods work well, but you’ll probably get a more even and thorough consistency by grinding your potatoes into a pulp beforehand.