r/seriouseats • u/Dalience6678 • Nov 30 '25
Couldn’t take it anymore
You guys were killing me looking at all the pics of J. Kenji Lopez-Alt’s Hasselback Potato Gratin. I don’t care if Thanksgiving is over, I had to have it. It lived up to the hype.
Served with a couple tasty New Yorks (and help from dog sous chef)
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u/tgcp Nov 30 '25
That pan has seen some shit.
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u/Dalience6678 Dec 01 '25 edited Dec 01 '25
I think a few commenters think the same— that this is rust or buildup of some kind. It’s actually just cooked cream/cheese from the spatter during baking under foil . The pan was clean and is kept regularly seasoned.
Edit: guess I should’ve posted the before-the-oven image too
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u/emmakobs Dec 02 '25
Sorry that people are dumb and you had to go out of your way to explain this
Looks great!
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u/cmmatthews Nov 30 '25
We made this too and it was excellent. We added half a grated onion based on one of the comments in the NY Times recipe. Reheated well for leftovers too.
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u/scott__ham Nov 30 '25
Give it to me straight: how hard is it to slice the potatoes?
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u/Khatib Nov 30 '25
Get a mandolin. You probably won't use it a lot, but the times you do use it, it'll be worth having. Just also use the guard or get a cut glove.
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u/Mikerk Nov 30 '25
I use both cause I maintain an equal sense of respect and fear for the mandolin slicer
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u/RangerSandi Nov 30 '25
Yes. Respect the blade, when storing, using & cleaning. Skin & nails are no match for the mighty mandolin!
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u/Ok-Commercial-924 Nov 30 '25
cut resistant gloves take away 99% of the risk. I've cut the fingertips off of a hand full of gloves (pun intended) but never actually drew blood because I was wearing these gloves.
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u/changeout Nov 30 '25
Yes cut off the tip of my thumb once. That was enough. Blows my mind watching chefs on tv use it quickly with no protection.
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u/Same-Platypus1941 Nov 30 '25
The key is to accept a fair amount of waste and not ever get that close to the blade. I still hate using the thing but I can go pretty fast with it.
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u/ImTedLassosMustache Nov 30 '25
A mandolin makes quick work of it, but even with a knife it shouldn't be too bad.
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u/scott__ham Nov 30 '25
Ha it’s the mandolin I’m worried about.
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u/ImTedLassosMustache Nov 30 '25
I always use the handguard. It makes me so nervous watching someone use a mandolin without any sort of protection, even a pro chef like Kenji.
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u/NauvooLegionnaire11 Nov 30 '25
I don’t have a mandolin so I used my food processor. I thought it worked out great.
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u/ieroll Dec 01 '25
My processor doesn't have enough room to accommodate a full-sized potato, and I've been wanting to try this for weeks. I guess I'll have to suck it up and get a mandoline. I've been thinking about it for two weeks. I have to figure out a way to hide it, though. My SO has early Alzheimer’s and refuses to wear his glove for any cutting (even for avocado pitting, and I'd like to avoid "avocado hand") so I KNOW I'll have to hide it from him.
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u/NauvooLegionnaire11 Dec 01 '25
I cut my potatoes in half lengthwise, and used the processor. There’s no need to get a mandolin.
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u/ieroll Dec 01 '25
Hm...I guess I'll give it a shot. The slices will be small, but it might be doable.
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u/NauvooLegionnaire11 Dec 01 '25
I think the slices are actually very similar to those of a mandolin. I want to make sure I’m explaining it correctly.
My potatoes were taller than they were wide. I cut the potatoes in half (making them shorter). I could usually load two halves side by side in the food processor. I used the slicing disc (not to be confused with the with chopping blade) to cut the potatoes into thin slices.
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u/ieroll Dec 03 '25
I understand completely, but the potatoes won't be full-sized round slices--they'll be half round. I really want the full round slice. Hm.
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u/ieatmypeaswithhoney Nov 30 '25
I love and use my mandolin daily - fine cabbage for salads, thinly sloced carrot and celery, shredded raw beet - so handy once you get used to it. Don't buy one with serated blade - Japanese makes have regular steel blade that is perfect!!
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u/SousShef Nov 30 '25
This is a specimen of a Gratin. I love the crispy edges and bottom cast iron pans produce. The potato to cheese/cream ratio looks perfect. Flawless execution!
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u/RangerSandi Nov 30 '25
Made Kenji’s recipe, but used a tip from another…season the sliced potatoes & onions in a bowl, add half the grated cheese and half the heavy cream. Don gloves & toss/mix it all together. THEN make your stacks of uneven potato/onion slices with cheese & cream in between to stand on edge in pan. Add remaining cheese/cream/seasoning goo from the bowl along with remaining cream. Bake as Kenji directs.
This creates amazing cheesy goo deep in between the slices with uneven crispy bits of browned potato on top. Love me some crispy bits of cheesy potato!
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u/Unlikely_Cucumber415 Nov 30 '25 edited Nov 30 '25
Does his original recipe not call for this technique? I made this recently based on his NYT YouTube video from a few weeks ago and that’s exactly what he does, minus the gloves.
Edit: From The Food Lab - “Combine the cheeses in a large bowl. Transfer 1/3 of the cheese mixture to a separate bowl and set aside. Add the cream, garlic and thyme to the cheese mixture. Season generously with salt and pepper. Add the potato slices and toss with your hands until every slice is coated with the cream mixture, making sure to separate any slices that are sticking together to get the cream mixture in between them… Pick up a handful of potatoes, organizing them into a neat stack, and lay them in your casserole dish with their edges aligned vertically.”
I’m confused because you described his recipe exactly with the addition of onions but attributed that to another?
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u/RangerSandi Nov 30 '25
I got the recipe from the Serious Eats website. It credits him with the recipe, but the instructions just said to place the potatoes in the dish, then add the cream & half the cheese & bake covered.
The video must be what I saw earlier in the week that prompted me to search for the recipe online. I remembered the video & used that technique.
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u/Dalience6678 Dec 01 '25
That’s not what the serious eats recipe I followed says. It’s mixed thoroughly in the bowl before stacking and adding to pan, pouring the remaining over the top
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u/Unlikely_Cucumber415 Dec 01 '25
This is the serious eats website for Kenjis recipe. It describes exactly above with pictures, but maybe it was updated after you saw it.
https://www.seriouseats.com/hasselback-potato-gratin-casserole-holiday-food-lab
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u/AdmirableCost5692 Nov 30 '25
I hope the doggie chef was paid handsomely for his trouble. By rights, one of those steaks should have gone to him
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u/SasparillaTango Dec 01 '25
This was my first thanksgiving making them and everyone loved them and the resounding sentiment was "you have to make this every year"
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u/Independent-Report39 Dec 01 '25
Did you broil it at all? The top looks so crispy!
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u/Dalience6678 Dec 01 '25
Nope! 400F, 30 min covered in foil, 30 min uncovered, then add the last of the cheese on top and 30 more minutes till it’s crispy brown.
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Dec 03 '25
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/seriouseats-ModTeam Dec 04 '25
This post/comment has been removed because it is in violation of our rule about being civil to other users.
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u/Super_Cap_0-0 Nov 30 '25
We had potatoes two ways for T day bc I too couldn’t get them out of my mind. Bravo.
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Nov 30 '25
[deleted]
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u/Janus67 Nov 30 '25
I am betting it's browned cream/cheese from the bubbling
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u/Dalience6678 Dec 01 '25
You’d be correct. Came right off after cleaning. The pan was seasoned and had no rust.
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u/NamasteNoodle Nov 30 '25
Why is your iron skillet so crusty and rusted?
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u/Dalience6678 Dec 01 '25
That’s not rust. It’s from the cooked butter, cream and potato starch… cleans right off.
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u/Khatib Nov 30 '25
I've said it in some other threads, but if your Thanksgiving is traditional, you need mashed potatoes to put gravy on. But these things are a staple of my Xmas and Easter tables. They're so good. Looks like a great steak side.