Nice touch with using duckfat instead of butter which is used in the original recipe. In sweden, where this recipe is from, we normally use smaller potatoes with low starch content. The potatoskin isn't removed and the cuts are thinner (about half the size of chef Johns cuts). It will feel more like eating chips and the texture won't be as starchy. Also we don't boil the potatoes, they only get smothered with a lot of butter, topped with breadcrumbs and straight in the oven at around 220c/440f for 45minutes. To get them really crispy the potatoes should be basted with butter half way through and then again when they're almost done. Garlic and herbs elevates the taste of the potatoes by a lot, although not used in the original recipe.
I've always had them without skin. (I'm also from Sweden BTW) I'm used to using smaller potatoes, and the trick for cutting each was to place it in a large wooden spoon.
To any of the 4.31 million subscribers here, absolutely make the Cheeseburger Wellington. Made mine with beef stock and garlic gravy (it's all I had). Best creation of food since the CD was invented. Thank You Chef John.
But remember, dont throw good money on bad. We've all done it. Ya add ya add ya add. It doesn't get better, ya throw. Sometimes letting the food win and throwing it before adding is victory !!!
Chef John. The browning happens to potatoes if they’ve been in cold storage sans oxygen long term, which is common this time of the year. It doesn’t alter the flavor. Soak potatoes in cold water with a teaspoon of citric acid to avoid oxidation, and rinse before use.
Yes. Certain veggies are stored in low oxygen environments. Some environments are replaced with nitrogen , or co2/Argon mix, some are subjected to, believe it or not, limited exposure to carbon monoxide. You can research this and you will be amazed at the great lengths the cold storage industry employs chemical science, and precise temperature control to extend the shelf life for later distribution. The process to control bannannas
Lots of vegetables are stored in cold, low-oxygen environments to keep them fresh a lot longer than you'll get in your pantry or fridge. This is why any vegetable you find in your supermarket is typically available well out of season.
Chris is exactly right, and I have seen this for myself when I worked with growers here in Minnesota, think about it, we have to ship these things sometimes thousands of miles and especially during the winter when growing seasons are changed quite drastically?
6:16 And just FYI, Restaurant Hasselbacken still exists, on the island Djurgården, east of the city centre, and where the famous Vasa museum is. “Hasselbacken” literally means ”the hazel hill”. And the Swedish spelling of the potatoes is “Hasselbackspotatis”; there’s a ligand “-s-“ (it is not a possessive) in compound words where the first part of the compound itself is a compound. In case you needed more trivia. 😁
I have been through a culinary program, quite a while ago, and yet I never heard of Hasselback potatoes until I learned the process from my father and two brothers-in-law, about 8 years ago. The way I learned to make them was essentially like this, using the Chopsticks to prevent the knife from going all the way through. But mine are done a little differently. First of all, I don't peel the potato. I also don't soak them in cold water either. I preheat my oven to 450°, and line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. I rub the outsides of the potatoes with a little bit of vegetable oil, and then sprinkle generously with coarse flaky salt. Then the potatoes go into the oven to bake for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, I finally meant about eight cloves of garlic, or thereabouts, and gently cook it over low heat in about a stick and a half of butter. Sometimes I put some fresh herbs in the butter, sometimes I just do the garlic and the butter. Rosemary is my favorite, but sage and time also work well. When the 30 minutes are up, I based the potatoes with the garlic butter mixture every 10 minutes, doing this for a total of about four times. As far as your potatoes turning brown, I don't really think it is any sort of major concern. What matters is the end result. Your end result here in this video yielded exactly the product I would have wanted. So it doesn't matter, to me, if they turn brown during the preparation or not.
@@georgejones5019 I kinda figured that but was just going along to see the supposed outcome 🤣 Thanks for letting me know though 👍 and Merry Christmas to you and yours 👍
I sometimes soak in a light brine rather than simply water. Which is how I season the potato throughout ( I think I got that from another UA-cam recipe but can't remember who). This may also help reduce oxidation. I understand the brining also removes surface starch... Which helps give a crispy result without twice cooking. I get nice crispy results And yes as a previous commenter mentions... The scraps from the bottom cut can be eaten as ' test " appetizers by the cook or added a bit later in the cooking ( I put them in the 2nd or third basting)
The piece cut off of the potato to create a flat side should be roasted along with the rest, with same seasoning, to become an appetizer while waiting for the rest to cook. Delicious!
I agree with Kristi Herod-Painter to try jicama instead of rutabaga, but just be aware that it's much much much more dense than potato, so it will take a lot longer to cook, and it will never turn out flaky and soft on the inside. Same thing with rutabaga.
In making potato chips one day, I let them (not intentionally) oxidize. I cooked them anyway and you would have never known (because I didn't take pictures like you did). We COULD call it "oxidental" 😂😂😯
My Mum used to make hasselback potatoes when she made roast dinners. They were always so crispy and delicious! You've inspired me to roast some potatoes for lunch! Along with some ham steaks!
Quick suggestion for folk who want an easier to cut hasselback: Cut it in half first, then you can get the edges all the way down to the thing ya put to block the knife... And bonus pts: You get a crispier bottom that covers every bit of the potato, or other hasselbacked veggie. I love hasselbacked onions alongside my hasselbacked potatoes; i cut them against the grain tho if ya dont mind them fallin apart a bit, with the grain gives you several long slices instd of wedge slices They also cook up faster too, which is always a bonus in my book. I almost always cut my potatoes in half for baked tatoes, so when i hasselbacked it just made sense to try halved for that as well They just taste sm better when ya can get more surface area touchin the pan to crisp up even more
my crispy tip is after you cut the east/west cuts, rotate the potato 180° and cut north/south using the chopsticks of course. the potato opens up nicely during cooking. great for air fryering.
I have a small wooden cutting board specifically made for cutting hasselback potatoes. It has a concave dip in the middle of the board that fits a potato and you just cut down until you hit it and you get the correct depth. I believe I bought it in ikea many many years ago and it works wonderfully and make it a lot quicker to cut the potatoes (and other things you want to cut in a similar fashion)
Holy crap! Mine does too. That's what that's for? It's two sided and I've never used the other side! I've had it for 20 years and have always had that side turned down.
I just made this and I used bacon fat. And wow this is going ro become a holiday tradition. Thank you for making our food so tasty and easy for anybody to make. No more bachelorchow for us lol.
The crispy chunks from the bottom of the potatoes where they sat against the pan are my favourite part of those babies. A touch of extra butter and salt and MMMM good.
If you use take-out chop sticks, they are usually straight up to the tips, but it you use store-bought chop sticks, they usually taper from butt to point. I always turn one chop stick in the opposite direction, so the cuts don't get closer and closer to the board as you go down the potato. Yes, I have OCD, but my potatoes are bomb.
Another thing. Pre-cooked and cooled potatoes have, when cooked the second time, allegedly lower glycemic index. This might not mean much to most people but for us who are both potato lover and Type II diabetics, it's a very good thing. Must put russets on my shopping list.
My mother cooks these for every gathering... But instead of cutting them first, she boils the potatoes till almost completely cooked, refrigerates them, and THEN cuts them using the chopstick method. She makes some kind of garlic butter and just kind of pours it over them before going into the oven... And just before they are completely done, she adds a small amount of chicken broth. That generally keeps them from glueing themselves to the roasting pan... Which in her case, is a short squatty cast iron dutch oven. It's like a garlicy baked potato/french fry/hash brown combo... There's never any left.
These potatoes. Came out very nice. And tasty looking. And william shatner. Would be absolutely impressed. Maybe jealous. Of the cadence. By which you narrate.
This is so much more complicated than what we do. First of all, we have a "tool" for the cutting. It's just a small wooden board with a rounded indentation in the middle for the potato to rest in as you cut it. It means both that you won't cut all the way through and that you don't have to cut a slice off each potato. Secondly, after cutting them we just whack them in a roasting pan, baste them with a bit of liquid margarine and a bit of salt and put them in the oven for an hour. Always come out great. Then we usually drown them in béarnaise sauce when we eat them. Now that I think about it, we're actually making them tomorrow for New Year's Eve, along with some fresh green beans and a whole slow-roasted tenderloin.
I had a ton of those potatoes. They look beautiful in this video! -However, to me, eating them dry like that looks strange because what I love most about these potatoes is how much gravy they can absorb!
I use small wooden breakfast cutting boards on a big kitchen cutting board. More area for the blade to rest on, and less prone to breakouts from the knife edge.
8:09 Yes John, you used the “wrong” kind of potato. Russets are too mealy. Use a kind with a meat that won’t fall apart. And here in Sweden, we generally don’t get our spuds to grow that huge so we use potatoes about half that size, and make the cuts about half the width of yours to get them even crispier. Also, putting the butter on in chunks and watching it melt in the oven is part of the fun. 😁
@@kalo924 I don’t know american potato varieties well enough; it’s been a quarter of a century since I lived there. Our varieties have completely different names, like King Edward and Bintje. The grocery stores usually sell them in bags marked as “mealy” for mashing or “firm” for boiling and specify the particular variety on a label. Potatoes the size John used here are usually sold for a higher price as “baking potatoes“, and around midsummer new potatoes, usually the size of small eggs, are popular. 😊
How about using paint stirring paddles to set the depth of the cut, just as you can use them (stacked, if necessary) to gauge the right thickness of rolled cookie dough?
I'm really happy to see you peeled the potato. I think this is the first Hasselback Potatoes recipe where I've seen a peeled potato. I personally hate potato skins!
i am lucky to live within one hour of the Lodge main factory in Pittsburg, Tennessee.......I try to go once or twice a year to check out the factory outlet store......they have a great "seconds" rack where you can pick up good deals on new "seconds" cast iron.......i like the "camp" style ovens that you pile charcoal on top of and my dream is to find a reasonably priced "spider" style frying pan (spider means it has three legs to raise it off the surface and put charcoal underneath)......don't think they will be making these any time soon so I would have to get a used one.
A leftover or two can be used the next morning to make a delicious corned beef hash. Sautee a diced medium onion in butter until clear, add a chopped Hasselback potato or two and heat through, and add about a quarter-pound of diced deli-sliced corned beef per potato, add some minced fresh thyme, and continue sautee until the hash is nicely browned. Serve topped with a poached or sunny-side up egg.
@@Taurcan Single, live alone, and I make an extra or two. Come to think of it, one could slip sliced corned beef, slivered onion and herbs into the potatoes before baking? No, not enough corned beef that way.
My old boss used a product called "potato starch" -- which is an ironic name, because it contains neither potato nor starch -- to keep potatoes and also salad from browning. It can leave a slight aftertaste but I think most feel that the aftertaste is more fresh and pleasant than anything else. Also, I make these all the time with the skin on. Start w/ a heavy coverage of olive oil and salt to start and then basted with your favorite compound butter while they cook. The crispy, salty skin combined with creamy middle is money! But, I'll give this method a try too. Finally, they also sell a Hasselback potato stand to make the cutting uniform, thin and most importantly not all the way through. You can still have the problem of the ends falling off though since mother nature has not yet produced for us the joy of a potato shaped like a shoe box! But, the thinness of the slices makes it worth the investment ;)
That could be confusing, since actual potato starch IS potato starch. We use it, here in Sweden where hasselbackspotatis were invented, like they use corn starch in the Americas. 😏
@@martinnyberg9295 OK, I misspoke. It is not potato starch but a potato whitener I was thinking of. Sorry for the confusion! Back in the day it had a certain commercial name that I can't remember but it was kind of a similar two word combo like potato white. I just did a quick search and the old product that we used probably contained sulfites and is off the market. It looks like it has been replaced by a similar type powder containing citric acid and sodium bisulphate which purportedly is just as good. If you just search potato whitener you come up with all sorts of products and some interesting history 😉
Steaming the potatoes is clever in any case. On the one hand, I can control the degree of cooking much better, as if I put it raw in the oven. (I finish the potatoes in the oven, but the idea with the pan is acuh pretty) On the other hand, you can finish it very crispy. The principle of "steaming and then grilling" also works great with duck, goose, roast pork.
Hi, swedish chef here. Must say it was intresting switching out the butter to duck fat but you forgot to sprinkle breadcrumbs before roasting the potatoes. And the original recepie also say you can put cheese on it to but it is optional. Also we usualy just send the potatoes (wich are in a smaller size) straight in the oven after cuting them (in even thinner slices) and smothering them in butter and a sprinkle of crumbs and salt. But the preboiling technique is an alternativ way to. Nice work though.👍
Chef John, I never dreamed the day would come when I would teach you something! You need to parboil your potatoes next time. This will eliminate the chance your potatoes oxidize and turn brown.🥔🥔🥔
@@kalo924 slice first, drop the potatoes gently into barely simmering, salted water using a Chinese spider. When they're par-cooked, fish them out using the spider also.
Never seen it made like this, wont say you cant but my grandmother would probably school me hard doing it this way. But sure an interesting way to do it.
I have made this dish myself a few times, and also have ordered it in restaurants, and as far as I know these are always served with bread crumbs. Also, I recommend sticking sliced butter in the cuts of the potatoes :)
I skipped the excuse to order take out & just made myself a set of sticks out of some scrap walnut. I made one edge the thickness of chopsticks & another twice as thick for a recipe I saw involving pork chops. I also made a few pieces that hold the sticks from moving.
"I am a man of science!.,................and also a man who doesn't want to go out and buy more potatoes". I think nothing has summarized my process making decisions more than that :P. Glad to see I am in good company Chef. Necessity (or I ain't got time for that) is the mother of all invention!
So… My questions… How long did you cook the potatoes the first time? How are they cooked, oven or microwave? How long did you refrigerate them in between cooking’s? Did you allow them to come to room temperature before moving forward and slicing?
CJ - "If times are really tough, you can go out into the woods and grab a couple of sticks" Me - Thanks, Chef John... things are pretty tough right now... I'll be back in about half an hour
I’ve tried making these several times and they are always a disappointment since they come out soggy and not crisp, think I’ll retry your method since the twice cooked works so well for fries. This method looks like it could be a winner with a few little tweaks to the method, like maybe rubbing with the fat before cooking in water (or broth/stock) and covering from the start until ready to take off the heat on that first cooking. Also they looked like they came out pretty good on the exterior, was the inside oxidized when you were eating them? Also for the browning, it could be the cold pan/low heat/no cover or barrier cooking with no oil or not in a full pot of water allowed the oxidization to happen. Being an enzymatic reaction, heat to denature the proteins of the enzyme and or a barrier to prevent the oxidation of the surface is needed to prevent the reaction. Perhaps if you had brushed or rubbed them with oil before the first cooking, that would have reduced or stopped the oxygen from reaching the surface flesh of the potatoes while cooking and then cooling. Also since you didn’t cook through with the first cooking, the enzymes likely were still active inside the uncooked portions of the potatoes which can migrate through the flesh while cooling.
You can put the potato in a wooden spoon when slicing it. This will prevent to cut through completely. I personally use smaller potatoes and make more cuts. And bread crumbs are mandatory.
In my family we usually use almond potatoes for making hasseback potatos, but I don't know if the original recipe calls for them or if it's just the Nordic bias for almond potatoes shining through.
Maybe if you added some lemon juice to the water you boiled the spuds in they wouldn't have turned brown. That also reminds me of another delicious recipe I've seen on this channel where you boiled the potatoes in lemon juice and chicken stock, and then let them roast in the pan. Imagine doing that recipe but chilling the potatoes after boiling and before roasting. Could be a total game changer.
Nice touch with using duckfat instead of butter which is used in the original recipe. In sweden, where this recipe is from, we normally use smaller potatoes with low starch content. The potatoskin isn't removed and the cuts are thinner (about half the size of chef Johns cuts). It will feel more like eating chips and the texture won't be as starchy. Also we don't boil the potatoes, they only get smothered with a lot of butter, topped with breadcrumbs and straight in the oven at around 220c/440f for 45minutes. To get them really crispy the potatoes should be basted with butter half way through and then again when they're almost done. Garlic and herbs elevates the taste of the potatoes by a lot, although not used in the original recipe.
Keeping the skins on is right.
Hmm. I think I'll try your recipe first because it sounds less intensive.
Sounds great!
Where do you get your duck fat?
I've always had them without skin. (I'm also from Sweden BTW)
I'm used to using smaller potatoes, and the trick for cutting each was to place it in a large wooden spoon.
To any of the 4.31 million subscribers here, absolutely make the Cheeseburger Wellington. Made mine with beef stock and garlic gravy (it's all I had). Best creation of food since the CD was invented. Thank You Chef John.
CDs , the poor man's cheese cracker
I actually thought about it, now I will!!! Thanks to you!!! Update later!
You're eating CD's?
@@dbone3356 😂🤣😂
@@check4v 😂🤣😂
Chef John, you’re a mad genius to experiment like that so we don’t have to. I respect that. 👍
This boy doesnt leave his skin on!! This boy talks from high to low. Chef johnny wack
Chef John, don't forget what you taught us: "Never let the food win"
Exactly what I was thinking!
and if failure is certain then take the food down with you. no compromise, no surrender.
But remember, dont throw good money on bad. We've all done it. Ya add ya add ya add. It doesn't get better, ya throw. Sometimes letting the food win and throwing it before adding is victory !!!
HASSLEBACK TATERS.
Why does his voice go from high to low thats annoying as all get up
Chef John. The browning happens to potatoes if they’ve been in cold storage sans oxygen long term, which is common this time of the year. It doesn’t alter the flavor. Soak potatoes in cold water with a teaspoon of citric acid to avoid oxidation, and rinse before use.
What do you mean without oxygen?
Are potatoes stored without oxygen? I guess nitrogen is used instead, in sealed chambers?
Yes. Certain veggies are stored in low oxygen environments. Some environments are replaced with nitrogen , or co2/Argon mix, some are subjected to, believe it or not, limited exposure to carbon monoxide. You can research this and you will be amazed at the great lengths the cold storage industry employs chemical science, and precise temperature control to extend the shelf life for later distribution. The process to control bannannas
Lots of vegetables are stored in cold, low-oxygen environments to keep them fresh a lot longer than you'll get in your pantry or fridge. This is why any vegetable you find in your supermarket is typically available well out of season.
Chris is exactly right, and I have seen this for myself when I worked with growers here in Minnesota, think about it, we have to ship these things sometimes thousands of miles and especially during the winter when growing seasons are changed quite drastically?
6:16 And just FYI, Restaurant Hasselbacken still exists, on the island Djurgården, east of the city centre, and where the famous Vasa museum is. “Hasselbacken” literally means ”the hazel hill”. And the Swedish spelling of the potatoes is “Hasselbackspotatis”; there’s a ligand “-s-“ (it is not a possessive) in compound words where the first part of the compound itself is a compound. In case you needed more trivia. 😁
I use a compound butter and baste as they open so the seasoned butter gets down between slices. Yum!
I have been through a culinary program, quite a while ago, and yet I never heard of Hasselback potatoes until I learned the process from my father and two brothers-in-law, about 8 years ago. The way I learned to make them was essentially like this, using the Chopsticks to prevent the knife from going all the way through. But mine are done a little differently. First of all, I don't peel the potato. I also don't soak them in cold water either. I preheat my oven to 450°, and line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. I rub the outsides of the potatoes with a little bit of vegetable oil, and then sprinkle generously with coarse flaky salt. Then the potatoes go into the oven to bake for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, I finally meant about eight cloves of garlic, or thereabouts, and gently cook it over low heat in about a stick and a half of butter. Sometimes I put some fresh herbs in the butter, sometimes I just do the garlic and the butter. Rosemary is my favorite, but sage and time also work well. When the 30 minutes are up, I based the potatoes with the garlic butter mixture every 10 minutes, doing this for a total of about four times.
As far as your potatoes turning brown, I don't really think it is any sort of major concern. What matters is the end result. Your end result here in this video yielded exactly the product I would have wanted. So it doesn't matter, to me, if they turn brown during the preparation or not.
Awesome recipe!!
I used butter and put thinly sliced onions and garlic in between the slices and WOW 🤩… thanks for sharing Chef John 👍
Awesome 👏
@@bradstanley1493 It's a scam.
@@georgejones5019 I kinda figured that but was just going along to see the supposed outcome 🤣
Thanks for letting me know though 👍 and Merry Christmas to you and yours 👍
I love hasselback potatoes for that mashed potato like texture with the ultra crispy "spine." I love that you got it crispy all around.
I sometimes soak in a light brine rather than simply water. Which is how I season the potato throughout ( I think I got that from another UA-cam recipe but can't remember who). This may also help reduce oxidation. I understand the brining also removes surface starch... Which helps give a crispy result without twice cooking.
I get nice crispy results
And yes as a previous commenter mentions... The scraps from the bottom cut can be eaten as ' test " appetizers by the cook or added a bit later in the cooking ( I put them in the 2nd or third basting)
The piece cut off of the potato to create a flat side should be roasted along with the rest, with same seasoning, to become an appetizer while waiting for the rest to cook. Delicious!
Appetizer? No way, José. They be Chef's perks. No sharing the crunchy, salty offcuts! 🤣
A White yea chefs treat
@@awhite3747 Semantics! I’ve eaten them myself and if anyone’s around I’ve shared them. Didn’t mean a formal appetizer.
well, yeah a motivator for Chef and Chef's friend. Happy kitchen.
Thanks Chef John. I'm going to try this with rutabaga since I am diabetic and am trying to avoid potatos. But they look so darned good and yummy!
Try sweet potatoes! Higher in fiber & good for diabetics. Rose Red Homestead has a recipe.
Hasselback rutabaga! You mad genius. I am definitely going to try that.
I like cooking radish the same way but unless you find the long ones I don’t think the cutting would work out lol
Try jicama 😋
I agree with Kristi Herod-Painter to try jicama instead of rutabaga, but just be aware that it's much much much more dense than potato, so it will take a lot longer to cook, and it will never turn out flaky and soft on the inside. Same thing with rutabaga.
I made these tonight, crispy outside, creamy inside. They were soooo good!
Great video! Am cooking these tonight. The way you talk is mildly hypnotic... Might listen before bedtime to get sleepy.
Its OK Mr. John, they look fabulous! Imma make them this weekend. I'm gonna caramelize some garlic beforehand for sure. We love you, ENJOY!
In making potato chips one day, I let them (not intentionally) oxidize. I cooked them anyway and you would have never known (because I didn't take pictures like you did). We COULD call it "oxidental" 😂😂😯
Yes, at least if your kitchen is in the western hemisphere. 😏🤷
My Mum used to make hasselback potatoes when she made roast dinners. They were always so crispy and delicious! You've inspired me to roast some potatoes for lunch! Along with some ham steaks!
Dude that sounds good... nom nom nom
You're an inspiration to homecooks all over the world!
Quick suggestion for folk who want an easier to cut hasselback: Cut it in half first, then you can get the edges all the way down to the thing ya put to block the knife...
And bonus pts: You get a crispier bottom that covers every bit of the potato, or other hasselbacked veggie. I love hasselbacked onions alongside my hasselbacked potatoes; i cut them against the grain tho if ya dont mind them fallin apart a bit, with the grain gives you several long slices instd of wedge slices
They also cook up faster too, which is always a bonus in my book. I almost always cut my potatoes in half for baked tatoes, so when i hasselbacked it just made sense to try halved for that as well
They just taste sm better when ya can get more surface area touchin the pan to crisp up even more
Learned to cut the potatoes while the lay in a wooden spoon a looong time ago, works well.
I can never get this right 👌 Thank you Chef for showing me how 🙏
I like how you shared your do and dont’s here! These look incredible!
my crispy tip is after you cut the east/west cuts, rotate the potato 180° and cut north/south using the chopsticks of course. the potato opens up nicely during cooking. great for air fryering.
Yep, this technique leaves plenty of room for creative personalization. I think bias cuts are my style.
Yes Chef John if was def the potatoes! Great recipe, I'll have to try it and let you know how it turned out.
Can't believe this is your first Hasselback recipe! Such an amazing way to cook potatoes.
I have a small wooden cutting board specifically made for cutting hasselback potatoes. It has a concave dip in the middle of the board that fits a potato and you just cut down until you hit it and you get the correct depth.
I believe I bought it in ikea many many years ago and it works wonderfully and make it a lot quicker to cut the potatoes (and other things you want to cut in a similar fashion)
Holy crap! Mine does too. That's what that's for? It's two sided and I've never used the other side! I've had it for 20 years and have always had that side turned down.
I just made this and I used bacon fat. And wow this is going ro become a holiday tradition. Thank you for making our food so tasty and easy for anybody to make. No more bachelorchow for us lol.
I've never peeled my hassleback potatoes ; I've always made them with the skin on. . I'll def give this a try for my New Years meal.
Thank you for providing another tool for the arsenal!
The crispy chunks from the bottom of the potatoes where they sat against the pan are my favourite part of those babies. A touch of extra butter and salt and MMMM good.
If you use take-out chop sticks, they are usually straight up to the tips, but it you use store-bought chop sticks, they usually taper from butt to point. I always turn one chop stick in the opposite direction, so the cuts don't get closer and closer to the board as you go down the potato.
Yes, I have OCD, but my potatoes are bomb.
I love how mellow your voice is.
Another thing. Pre-cooked and cooled potatoes have, when cooked the second time, allegedly lower glycemic index. This might not mean much to most people but for us who are both potato lover and Type II diabetics, it's a very good thing. Must put russets on my shopping list.
My mother cooks these for every gathering... But instead of cutting them first, she boils the potatoes till almost completely cooked, refrigerates them, and THEN cuts them using the chopstick method.
She makes some kind of garlic butter and just kind of pours it over them before going into the oven... And just before they are completely done, she adds a small amount of chicken broth. That generally keeps them from glueing themselves to the roasting pan... Which in her case, is a short squatty cast iron dutch oven.
It's like a garlicy baked potato/french fry/hash brown combo... There's never any left.
oMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Wow. That sounds good! 😋
I just seen it done in a wooden spoon and my works perfectly i couldn't be any happier for most sizes🤩
These potatoes. Came out very nice. And tasty looking. And william shatner. Would be absolutely impressed. Maybe jealous. Of the cadence. By which you narrate.
Thank-you
I enjoy your comments and your food
You are wonderful, and these potatoes look absolutely delicious!
Pristine potatoes or slightly flawed..., those are positively drool - worthy!!! Wishing you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!!
Love it, thanks! Adding this to my Christmas dinner plans
Me too!
This is so much more complicated than what we do. First of all, we have a "tool" for the cutting. It's just a small wooden board with a rounded indentation in the middle for the potato to rest in as you cut it. It means both that you won't cut all the way through and that you don't have to cut a slice off each potato. Secondly, after cutting them we just whack them in a roasting pan, baste them with a bit of liquid margarine and a bit of salt and put them in the oven for an hour. Always come out great. Then we usually drown them in béarnaise sauce when we eat them. Now that I think about it, we're actually making them tomorrow for New Year's Eve, along with some fresh green beans and a whole slow-roasted tenderloin.
I rarely peel potatoes for any recipe. Never disappointed.
I have had a few potato skins that were insufferably "dirt" tasting. Only time I peel a potato.
💯
I love that you just kept right on eating through your concluding diatribe. Thanks, Chef John! Happy and safe holidays to you and yours!
Always finish cooking the potatoes! They are never as bad as you think... as long as they aren't green ,)
more like chef Johnius. Someone give this man a nobel
They look beautiful and delicious!!!
This video made my mouth water. Yummy.
I had a ton of those potatoes. They look beautiful in this video! -However, to me, eating them dry like that looks strange because what I love most about these potatoes is how much gravy they can absorb!
So good I want to go to the store for potatoes. Thanks
"If times are really tough, you can go out into the woods and grab a couple sticks". 🤣
"trust your motor skills and let it happen" - I think I gained enlightenment from Chef John cutting potatoes
I already know this technique, but I'm still going to watch this video. Because, Chef John.
I'm definitely making these. Thank you Chef John!
I use small wooden breakfast cutting boards on a big kitchen cutting board. More area for the blade to rest on, and less prone to breakouts from the knife edge.
That looks like a very nice Paella pan. (always love "multi purpose" materials)
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8:09 Yes John, you used the “wrong” kind of potato. Russets are too mealy. Use a kind with a meat that won’t fall apart. And here in Sweden, we generally don’t get our spuds to grow that huge so we use potatoes about half that size, and make the cuts about half the width of yours to get them even crispier. Also, putting the butter on in chunks and watching it melt in the oven is part of the fun. 😁
So maybe a Yukon gold potato?
@@kalo924 I don’t know american potato varieties well enough; it’s been a quarter of a century since I lived there. Our varieties have completely different names, like King Edward and Bintje. The grocery stores usually sell them in bags marked as “mealy” for mashing or “firm” for boiling and specify the particular variety on a label. Potatoes the size John used here are usually sold for a higher price as “baking potatoes“, and around midsummer new potatoes, usually the size of small eggs, are popular. 😊
How about using paint stirring paddles to set the depth of the cut, just as you can use them (stacked, if necessary) to gauge the right thickness of rolled cookie dough?
thanks chef John, looks awesome
I'm really happy to see you peeled the potato. I think this is the first Hasselback Potatoes recipe where I've seen a peeled potato. I personally hate potato skins!
doesnt take much, then
Thanks! Love the videos. How about a curried egg salad recipe?
i am lucky to live within one hour of the Lodge main factory in Pittsburg, Tennessee.......I try to go once or twice a year to check out the factory outlet store......they have a great "seconds" rack where you can pick up good deals on new "seconds" cast iron.......i like the "camp" style ovens that you pile charcoal on top of and my dream is to find a reasonably priced "spider" style frying pan (spider means it has three legs to raise it off the surface and put charcoal underneath)......don't think they will be making these any time soon so I would have to get a used one.
Coming to a table near me SOON... thank you chef.
A leftover or two can be used the next morning to make a delicious corned beef hash.
Sautee a diced medium onion in butter until clear, add a chopped Hasselback potato or two and heat through, and add about a quarter-pound of diced deli-sliced corned beef per potato, add some minced fresh thyme, and continue sautee until the hash is nicely browned.
Serve topped with a poached or sunny-side up egg.
You have leftovers?
@@Taurcan Single, live alone, and I make an extra or two.
Come to think of it, one could slip sliced corned beef, slivered onion and herbs into the potatoes before baking? No, not enough corned beef that way.
My old boss used a product called "potato starch" -- which is an ironic name, because it contains neither potato nor starch -- to keep potatoes and also salad from browning. It can leave a slight aftertaste but I think most feel that the aftertaste is more fresh and pleasant than anything else.
Also, I make these all the time with the skin on. Start w/ a heavy coverage of olive oil and salt to start and then basted with your favorite compound butter while they cook. The crispy, salty skin combined with creamy middle is money! But, I'll give this method a try too.
Finally, they also sell a Hasselback potato stand to make the cutting uniform, thin and most importantly not all the way through. You can still have the problem of the ends falling off though since mother nature has not yet produced for us the joy of a potato shaped like a shoe box! But, the thinness of the slices makes it worth the investment ;)
That could be confusing, since actual potato starch IS potato starch. We use it, here in Sweden where hasselbackspotatis were invented, like they use corn starch in the Americas. 😏
@@martinnyberg9295 OK, I misspoke. It is not potato starch but a potato whitener I was thinking of. Sorry for the confusion! Back in the day it had a certain commercial name that I can't remember but it was kind of a similar two word combo like potato white. I just did a quick search and the old product that we used probably contained sulfites and is off the market. It looks like it has been replaced by a similar type powder containing citric acid and sodium bisulphate which purportedly is just as good. If you just search potato whitener you come up with all sorts of products and some interesting history 😉
@@frederickphelan4810 Ascorbic acid (vitamin C) should work too. I use that to keep my apples from darkening when I peel them for applesauce. 😊
@Tele.gram.me.at.The_FoodWishes Hi, I am thrilled to have been selected! Love your channels here and on Allrecipes! Plus, I have your book!
@@martinnyberg9295 Corn startch exist to in sweden only that is named maziena over here.
Steaming the potatoes is clever in any case. On the one hand, I can control the degree of cooking much better, as if I put it raw in the oven. (I finish the potatoes in the oven, but the idea with the pan is acuh pretty) On the other hand, you can finish it very crispy. The principle of "steaming and then grilling" also works great with duck, goose, roast pork.
Hi, swedish chef here.
Must say it was intresting switching out the butter to duck fat but you forgot to sprinkle breadcrumbs before roasting the potatoes. And the original recepie also say you can put cheese on it to but it is optional.
Also we usualy just send the potatoes (wich are in a smaller size) straight in the oven after cuting them (in even thinner slices) and smothering them in butter and a sprinkle of crumbs and salt. But the preboiling technique is an alternativ way to.
Nice work though.👍
You do you. Let John do John.
@@willowm94 no need to get hostile he was just pointing out the original recipe
@zubairuahmadmanga you are a bad ,shut up
@@willowm94 shut up
Glad to see you didn't let the food win
Chef John, I never dreamed the day would come when I would teach you something! You need to parboil your potatoes next time. This will eliminate the chance your potatoes oxidize and turn brown.🥔🥔🥔
Parboil then slice?
@@kalo924 slice first, drop the potatoes gently into barely simmering, salted water using a Chinese spider. When they're par-cooked, fish them out using the spider also.
@@SuzanneBaruch isn't this what he basically did?
@@AndDiracisHisProphet no. Steaming is not the same as parboiling. Steaming exposes the food to more oxygen, which is what triggers oxidation.
@@SuzanneBaruch but it was almost completely covered in water
Never seen it made like this, wont say you cant but my grandmother would probably school me hard doing it this way.
But sure an interesting way to do it.
I have made this dish myself a few times, and also have ordered it in restaurants, and as far as I know these are always served with bread crumbs. Also, I recommend sticking sliced butter in the cuts of the potatoes :)
Do you think a brush of lemon would have prevented the browning marks? Or, a squeeze of lemon in the steamed water?
i saw the thumbnail and for some reason thought they were isopods. thanks, internet.
Very much so. I clicked so fast 😂🤣
You haven’t lived until you have had Gigantic Isopods au Gratin.
Mmmmm…
Bug-tatos
I would rather eat the potatoes.
I was quite sure I knew what you were talking about.
I wish I didn't just google it and have it confirmed.
That was absolutely brilliant to use the chopsticks. Thanks for the tip! ^_^
I skipped the excuse to order take out & just made myself a set of sticks out of some scrap walnut. I made one edge the thickness of chopsticks & another twice as thick for a recipe I saw involving pork chops. I also made a few pieces that hold the sticks from moving.
A true engineers solution. Don’t ask why I know.
@@paulwestlake4278 I appreciate the sentiment but I identify as a craftsman.
@@alphafert608 ah, I see, non parallel sticks. 😁
@@paulwestlake4278 lol, no. Just not an over complicated solution.
"I am a man of science!.,................and also a man who doesn't want to go out and buy more potatoes". I think nothing has summarized my process making decisions more than that :P. Glad to see I am in good company Chef.
Necessity (or I ain't got time for that) is the mother of all invention!
Great video, thank you!
Worry not John, they looked fantastic
Cut them thinner and roast a bit longer for that crispiness. I also use seasoning on top of the potatoes.
So… My questions… How long did you cook the potatoes the first time? How are they cooked, oven or microwave? How long did you refrigerate them in between cooking’s? Did you allow them to come to room temperature before moving forward and slicing?
Fork sure as heck don't lie, those are crispy!
Love your videos!! Potato heaven ❤
Looked great. I'm amazed you didn't need more salt.
I LOVE YOU CHEF JOHN
Rinsing the starchy liquid off the knife when you feel it start to bind during a cut will make slicing up a batch much easier
Very well presented chef. I love them 🗼🗼🍾🍾👍👍👄👄🏆🏆Top recipe
I mean you are (after all) the Billy Mack
Of your Hasselback!
Hasselback is so easy, yet so tasty.
oh stop!
man that looks amazing and pretty damn easy!
Thank You Very Much For Sharing 👍💗
CJ - "If times are really tough, you can go out into the woods and grab a couple of sticks"
Me - Thanks, Chef John... things are pretty tough right now... I'll be back in about half an hour
Are you back? Or should we send a rescue party?
I hope you managed to find some nice sticks.
@@carlamgraca and @Dave E - I just got back... with a month's supply of sticks... I appreciate the support 🙏🙏
I’ve tried making these several times and they are always a disappointment since they come out soggy and not crisp, think I’ll retry your method since the twice cooked works so well for fries. This method looks like it could be a winner with a few little tweaks to the method, like maybe rubbing with the fat before cooking in water (or broth/stock) and covering from the start until ready to take off the heat on that first cooking. Also they looked like they came out pretty good on the exterior, was the inside oxidized when you were eating them?
Also for the browning, it could be the cold pan/low heat/no cover or barrier cooking with no oil or not in a full pot of water allowed the oxidization to happen. Being an enzymatic reaction, heat to denature the proteins of the enzyme and or a barrier to prevent the oxidation of the surface is needed to prevent the reaction. Perhaps if you had brushed or rubbed them with oil before the first cooking, that would have reduced or stopped the oxygen from reaching the surface flesh of the potatoes while cooking and then cooling. Also since you didn’t cook through with the first cooking, the enzymes likely were still active inside the uncooked portions of the potatoes which can migrate through the flesh while cooling.
Chef john sounding more and more like an asmr guy as the years go by
You can put the potato in a wooden spoon when slicing it. This will prevent to cut through completely. I personally use smaller potatoes and make more cuts. And bread crumbs are mandatory.
In my family we usually use almond potatoes for making hasseback potatos, but I don't know if the original recipe calls for them or if it's just the Nordic bias for almond potatoes shining through.
I like the tape the chopsticks down so they stay put while cutting the potatoes.
you nailed it buddy
Normally when I do them, I make very fine cuts and put chunks of butter on them. Then every few minutes pour melted butter from the pan over them.
Wonderful looking potatoes! Great technique too^_^
Maybe if you added some lemon juice to the water you boiled the spuds in they wouldn't have turned brown. That also reminds me of another delicious recipe I've seen on this channel where you boiled the potatoes in lemon juice and chicken stock, and then let them roast in the pan. Imagine doing that recipe but chilling the potatoes after boiling and before roasting. Could be a total game changer.