Butternut squash is one of our favorite winter vegetables. It stays in robust condition through the long winter months, and its sweet, creamy flesh is a welcome addition to curries, pasta, soups, salads -- and great just roasted and eaten on its own. Unfortunately, peeling butternut squash is one of our least favorite tasks. Many dishes, including one of my favorite pastas require roasted cubes of squash, so I can't just cut the squash in half and roast it. It has to be peeled and cubed.
Up until very recently, when confronted with a butternut squash waiting to be peeled, I would sigh and pull out the sharpest peeler I had. I would cut the squash in half, lay the cut side down, and painstakingly peel it like a cucumber. This would take a long time, and it was invariably tiring and tedious.
Then, when I was in France at a cooking class with Rosa Jackson, Rosa had us peel and cut up a butternut squash for a delicious casserole. But she didn't hand us a peeler; instead, she had us peel the squash in a much simpler way. So simple, in fact, I almost smacked myself for not thinking of this sooner.
See how we peel a squash now, in the gallery above. All you do is cut the squash in half (or in thirds, if it's particularly big) and cut off the top and bottom so it's flat and you can stand it on its end. Then you use your sharpest chef's knife and quickly shave off the outer rind.
My husband and I both have become very adept at slicing off the squash skin in a fraction of the time we used to take to peel it in the more traditional way. Yes, you lose a little more squash flesh, but it's totally worth it. We can whip up butternut squash pasta and a new favorite casserole in much, much less time, and without cramped fingers.
Any more good tips for peeling butternut squash?
Related: Recipe: Pasta with Butternut Squash, Sage, and Pine Nuts
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At first I thought that was a mango.
view Kathryn Hill's profile
What do you do with the bulbous end of the gourd? Throw it away? This seems incredibly wasteful. If you are doing this I think you'd be just better off buying prepeeled and cut squash (Most grocery stores have this in the prepared salad section). You'll probably make up for the difference in cost and time when you think about how much of the vegetable you are wasting.
view Comicgeek's profile
Comicgeek, no, of course I peel and use the whole squash. I simply demonstrated with just one half in the gallery above. The bulbous end is slightly more difficult to peel, but it's still much faster to do it with a knife.
view faith's profile
My apologies, Faith. But since the bulbous end of the squash is where most people have trouble shouldn't you show how to peel that part as well?
view Comicgeek's profile
I'm always peeling squash but I do it differently... I cut the whole squash into rings... halve and seed the ring and then cut the rind off each semicircle... then cube the flesh.
view burrda2000's profile
I must have an uberpeeler--I've always been able to use it to easily peel squash. It's just a simple, run-of-the-mill peeler, too (and it even says "peeler" on the handle).
view OneWallKitchen's profile
oddly enough, how I started to peel my squash was the method you described. It was tedious (though this could easily be due to the quality of my knives).
Now I use an Oxo peeler and love it! I still do section it though to make peeling easier.
view truenic's profile
That's a good idea Comicgeek; I didn't think of it. I peel it just like the other half, just angling the knife a bit over the curvy parts.
view faith's profile
I bake mine for 10-15 mins and then peel, its softer!and the roast...!
view daiz's profile
Peeling with a knife is not my method--I have a scar on the top of my thumb to prove why! Usually I section and use a peeler, myself--my Oxo, until it got destroyed but the last butternut I bought. Hmmm....maybe the prepeeled ones are the way to go :)
view sweetpeacooks's profile
Burrda2000 - that is *brilliant*! I recently made a curry recipe that called for cubed squash, and what I had on hand was acorn squash - not nice and smooth - and your method would have been perfect. I'll try it next time.
view catmccall's profile
Somone at my farmer's market suggested putting the whole squash in the microwave for a minute before cutting or peeling. It really helps!
view KerriS's profile
Along the lines of microwaving or baking for a few minutes, I put mine in a pot with about 1in. of water, boiling. Simmer, covered, for 3-4 minutes. The outer skin is softened but the interior is still uncooked.
Much, much easier to shave off!
view D. Humbird's profile
I thought I was the only one who had figured this method out. It's also my melon technique!
Even a good oxo serrated peeler can't handle those thick squash skins. Chef's knife all the way!
view spotonmeg's profile
D Humbird, that is my favorite way to do it too! I think it's even better than baking it, because after so few minutes in the boiling water, it doesn't take as long to cool off and allow you to peel it.
view neenam's profile
Another vote for boiling it in water for a few minutes--it is so much easier than wrestling with it!
view VZoom's profile