Shirley’s and Judy’s Easy but Delicious Candied Yams

When I was growing up, Thanksgiving was one of the holidays we had at our house.  We spent this holiday with my father’s family- his twin brother Larry, my wonderful Aunt Florence, and my three wonderful cousins, Karen, David, and Debbie.   I loved the holiday so much, because of all of the delicious food, because of the very dependable menu that I adored, because of the wonderful atmosphere at our house the day of Thanksgiving as my mother, my father, and brother, and I all got in gear doing the many jobs required to make the feast day hum like a well oiled machine, and of course because of the fun we all had at once our relatives arrived.  I loved being in the kitchen with my mother as we went from one job to another.  One of my jobs was to prepare my mother’s recipe for candied yams.  This recipe really was a snap, because we used canned yams.  Every year, the candied yams received the oohs and ahs I loved hearing.  

• 2 large cans of yams, reserving the juice of one can (I really like Princella yams)
• about 3/4 of a pound of dark brown sugar
• about 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine (I always use Fleischmann’s margarine)

To bake the yams, you may use a large, rectangular, disposable aluminum pan with sides such as a lasagna pan or a roasting pan.

Lay all of the yams from the two cans in one layer on your pan.  Then slice them so that they are half the thickness.  You may not need to do anything to some of the smaller pieces.  Make sure that the pieces are in a single layer.  RESERVE the juice from one can of yams.  Then cut little pieces of margarine and put one on top of each piece of yam.  Then, crumble the brown sugar over all.  You should have a pretty heavy layer of brown sugar over the yams.  You can let this sit on the counter at room temperature for a few hours before you bake them. 

Right before these go in the oven, drizzle the reserved liquid from only one can over the brown sugar.  You will probably need only half of the juice or even less than that.  You can cook these yams a few ways.  One way is to put them in the oven you are baking the turkey in at the same temperature and cook them for at least 60 minutes. What you want to see when they are done is that candied look.  They should be caramelized, and the liquid in the pan should be nice and dark.  Another way you can cook them is to put them in a hotter oven, about 425 degrees for a shorter time- maybe 45 minutes or so.  If you are ready to eat, and you don’t think they have caramelized enough, you can put them in a very hot oven of 500 degrees for another 5 minutes or so.  Another alternative is to put them under the broiler for no more than 5 minutes, but you have to watch them very closely if you do this! If you do put them under the broiler, do not put them on a rack that is too close to the heating element or the flame.  The problem with broiling them is that they can burn easily, and you don’t want that to happen. There is a huge difference between caramelizing your yams and burning them.  Caramelizing the yams produces a rich dark color, and burningv them produces ugly black spots.   When your candied yams are done, put them on a platter and drizzle the caramelized liquid over them.  I recommend that you use a platter that will complement the beautiful color of the yams.  I like to put them on a blue or white platter.  These yams will look as pretty as a picture, and they will taste  delicious!