This Hasselback Potato Gratin Recipe is worth every minute of the time it takes. Fortunately, most of that time is wrapped up in the oven, non-attended. Slicing the potatoes, although it would go much faster on the mandoline you don’t feel like digging out of you’re-not-sure-which cupboard, goes surprisingly quickly and seems unexpectedly easy with a chef’s knife. The upside to having this dish baking for an hour and a half is that your house will smell deliriously wonderful. A word of warning: this is extra-strength comfort food. As it sits out on the counter, cooling, you’ll think, “I should just take out one little slice, just to see how it came out. No one will notice.” Then it’s another slice, then another, and after a while, you’re just standing in front of the pan with a fork.
What you need for 6 hefty or up to 12 reasonable servings:
5 lbs yellow potatoes
2 Tbs unsalted butter
3 oz. gruyère, freshly grated
2 oz. parmesan, freshly grated
2 cup heavy cream
1 tsp roasted garlic (or two fresh cloves, minced)
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp salt, divided
Pepper, to taste
How to do it:
Reserve one potato. Slice the remaining potatoes into 1/8-inch slices.
Preheat the oven to 400ºF as you butter a 12-inch cast-iron skillet. Use all the butter.
Mix the cheeses together in a very large bowl. Set aside one third of the cheese mixture. Add cream, garlic, thyme, ¾-tsp salt, and pepper to the bowl, and mix thoroughly. Add potatoes and toss to coat. With one hand, pull potato slices out of the bowl, one at a time, dunking them in the liquid to ensure that each slice is fully coated. Stack each slice in your other hand until you’ve accumulated a manageable handful. Lay the stack into the skillet on end, working your way around the outer edge, and building concentric circles toward the center. The potatoes should be tightly packed; if you need to, slice the remaining potato, coat the slices, and tuck them into the pan. Pour the remaining liquid evenly over the potatoes. Cover the pan tightly with foil and bake for 30 minutes.
Remove the foil and continue baking for another 30 minutes.
Remove the pan from the oven, sprinkle reserved cheese even over the potatoes, and return the pan to the oven until the top is deeply golden-brown and crispy, another 30 minutes.
Sprinkle remaining ¼-tsp salt over entire dish. Allow to rest for at least 10 minutes before serving. Because a cast-iron pan retains heat well, it will stay warm for quite some time. I like these potatoes best once they’ve cooled to just pleasantly warm – quite near room temperature.
Notes
- Your grocer probably sells cheese by the pound rather than by the ounce. Two-to-three ounces is 0.125-0.1875 lbs., which translates to, “Buy the smallest chunks available.” Although, having leftover cheese is never a bad thing in my house.
- Generally, I prefer to eat any vegetable or fruit with the skin on. In this case, because yellow potato skins aren’t especially chewy, and the intent of the dish is to provide a complex texture, I can’t see a good reason to peel the potatoes before slicing them.
- You’re going to need to bust out your big-boy bowl for this. My go-to, large mixing bowl isn’t large enough. I had to resort to my 7-quart bread-making bowl. As an alternative, you could keep the liquid in a medium-sized mixing bowl, the potatoes on the cutting board, and dip each slice as you go.
- “Pepper, to taste,” for me, is about 15 seconds of grinding. Eyeball it.
- When it comes to the “remove the foil” part of the recipe, I do this with my bare hands. Why? Because I’m a guy, that’s why. Don’t construe this as a suggestion to do the same, because who knows, maybe this is a King Arthur-type test to find out if you’re man enough. You hate to find out the hard way. Although, if you’re a person who is invested in intelligence at least as much as gender role, you should know that aluminum foil, although it is a good conductor of heat, has a small mass. So, it holds a relatively small amount of thermal energy. When you touch the foil, this thermal energy is quickly dissipated into your hand, which has much more mass. Plus, your hand is mostly made up of water, and water has a high heat capacity (meaning it takes a lot of heat to raise the temperature of water). The end result is that the foil doesn’t feel hot. However, touch that cast iron skillet accidentally, and you’ll make another important scientific discovery about how swearing serves an important function in relieving pain.
Cast-Iron Skillet Hasselback Potato Gratin Recipe
Credit for images on this page: Make It Like a Man! Clicking on images will enlarge them. This content was not solicited, nor written in exchange for anything. This recipe is a modification of one I found in the Cooking section of the NY Times, an élite publication full of non-alternative facts, or fact-facts, as I like to call them. DISCLAIMER: never take my advice nor follow my example. Always do what is sensible. By most people’s accounts, I’m partly crazy. “Touched,” is how they usually put it.
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This is great. I mean, really great. And pretty! Love that you included thyme. It’s one of my favorite herbs – I use it dry all year around, even when I have fresh thyme.
Mimi recently posted…Tomato Beef Curry
Thank you. The thyme was delicious. Could’ve used more!
That looks really impressive and delicious! Guess sweet potatoes would work as well too?
Angie@Angie’s Recipes recently posted…Vegan Multi Seed Crackers
Mmm! I bet sweet potatoes would be fantastic.
Oh, I would be all over this one, Jeff! I might not be bold enough to grab hold of that cast iron skillet with my bare hands, but I am bold enough to dig into this before waiting on everyone else. I love me some potato gratin, and this one is over the top awesome. Plus, gruyère is totally underappreciated. Love it!
David @ Spiced recently posted…Lasagna Soup
I ate this for breakfast, lunch, and dinner for a week. And now I think it could use some bacon.
Standing in front of the pan with a fork. That sounds delightful. GREG
Let me tell you, it was.
Jeff. Great minds think alike!
I’ve a very similar dish to this coming next week as I trial my new skillet that I got for Christmas.
I’m loving the addition of the thyme and the parmesan cheese here. Delicious!
neil@neilshealthymeals.com recently posted…One Pot Chicken Dhansak
Thanks! Looking forward to your post!
Finally, I’ve found a recipe that I can use for my party tomorrow. My family loves eating potato. I’m sure they will love this, too. Thank you so much for this wonderful recipe!
Kristi Cathey recently posted…Here Are Our Top 5 Best Bottle Sterilizer Picks – Reasons Why You Need a Baby Bottle Sterilizer
You’re welcome!
Yup, I’d stand in front of this with a fork. Guaranteed. 🙂 Great dish — really neat twist on Hasselback potatoes. This is much better! Thanks.
John/Kitchen Riffs recently posted…The Blackthorn Cocktail
Thanks!
Well I guess if I want sex tonight, I should PROBABLY make this for my husband?
GiGi Eats recently posted…Addressing the LARGE Elephants In The Room
Hahaha. Maybe.
This looks heavenly!!
Allyson recently posted…Caramelized Bananas with Ghee and Cinnamon
Thanks!
I love your approach to Hasselback potatoes. I’ve got a couple of Hasselbackspotatis purest friends here in Sweden I’m going to try this on.
Ron recently posted…Amazing Slow-Cooked Italian Lamb Ragout with Pasta
Go for it. These potatoes are delicious.
Oh my! Cheese and potatoes are my jam. I’m all about grabbing a fork and eating the whole pan all by myself before it can even reach the table. I love cooking in cast iron skillets too so will have to make this soon 😉
karrie @ Tasty Ever After recently posted…Instant Pot BBQ Chicken
You’re going to love it.
Cool recipe, and I really like your picture in those one. My wife loves to make this with sweet potatoes, for some recipe slicing the potatoes so thin is just worth it.
Kevin | economicalchef.com recently posted…Rosemary Dijon Pork Loin
I bet this would be really delicious with sweet potatoes.
Absolutely masterful! I mean, potatoes and gruyère that look this this? Honestly I am loving this idea and it looks incredible Jeff. Really. Wow.
Kevin | Keviniscooking recently posted…Breakfast Stuffed Peppers
Thanks!
What can I say…I’m loving these potatoes. I’ve pinned so I can come back to the recipe. My only problem will be resisting eating more than my share. 😀
Karen (Back Road Journal) recently posted…Spinach And Cheese Stuffed Shells With Two Sauces
Tell me about it!
Oh my gosh this looks amazing! The cheeses and cream would make this one decadent dish, and I love the way your tightly put them in the pan. I am a skin on lover too!
Julie recently posted…Popeye Approved Vegetarian Spinach Power Salad
Thanks, Julie. I think the skins add a lot to the texture. They really get crispy.
I love recipes where it says to use all the butter. And I love potatoes. Just give me the fork and make me happy!
Thank you. I smiled to myself as I wrote that line.
What’s not to love about these spuds, Jeff. What a great way to prepare them, both au gratin and Hasselback.
Thanks!
Hasselback potatoes are one of favourites, although I usually make it with lemon, garlic and olive oil. I love that you made them into a gratin. I have never seen them as a skillet recipe, my usual hasselbacks are individual servings, and I don’t usually cut the potato all the way through (as an aside, I found an amazing hack to keep the slices the same depth) but I love using the mandoline which would make this dish a cinch! I’m bookmarking for Easter Celebrations, for sure!
Eva Taylor recently posted…Chicken “Schnitzel” with Roasted Garlic Cauliflower Mash
Yes, exactly … this is a mash-up of hasselbacks and gratin. And it really has the best of both worlds. On top, it’s got the crunchy chewiness of a hasselback, but then on bottom, the rich – almost velvety – comfort-foodiness of a gratin.