scalloped potatoes

ChowderMan

Pizza Chef
Super Site Supporter
yeah, right. how difficult can it be?

uhmmmm.....

who has some secrets to share? I've tried many things over the years but I've not replicated the technique of having still-semi-toothy potato slices.

I can do white sauces, cream sauces, cheese sauces, saucy sauces...
the ooey-gooey stuff is not normally the issue in terms of taste / texture - it's getting the potatoes and the sauce to 'be one in goodness' - we like a browned to slightly crisp topping. no objections to adding cheese / savory strussel type toppings...

I have a mandolin, I have knives. been thinking to slice & parboil to reduce the cooking time. or using white potato or yellow potato or gold potato or ? kind of potato stands up better in this dish?
 

Doc

Administrator
Staff member
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I help my wife make them semi regular and love her recipe that she got from her grandma. It goes something like this:

2 cans campbells cheedar cheese soup

2 cans campbells cream of mushroom soup

1 onion thinly sliced

8 potatoes thinly sliced

1 stick of butter

salt and pepper

milk

grease a casserole dish and lay down a healthy layer of potatoes.
place some of the sliced onion over top, add 2 tsps of butter, salt and pepper, then add 1/2 can of each soup.
Repeat layering until fulll.
We end up with 4 layers.
When all layers are complete pour milk into casserole dish until you see milk getting close to top.
Cover with foil
To prevent bubbling over best to place on foil covered jelly roll pan to keep oven clean.
Bake at 350 approx 1 1/2 hour or until potatoes are tender.
 

ChowderMan

Pizza Chef
Super Site Supporter
is the (condensed I presume) soup diluted or neat out of the can?

seems I wind up with 'lumpy mash potatoes' - but my sauces are typically thinner. wonder if the 'less liquid' keeps the potatoes from falling apart....
 

Doc

Administrator
Staff member
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is the (condensed I presume) soup diluted or neat out of the can?

seems I wind up with 'lumpy mash potatoes' - but my sauces are typically thinner. wonder if the 'less liquid' keeps the potatoes from falling apart....
It is condensed soup straight out of the can.

I know this works great. Hope you try them and comment how it works for you.
The potatoes never come out lumpy or mash potatoes.
 

ChowderMan

Pizza Chef
Super Site Supporter
thanks - got the ideas copied off.

I'm going to try some waxy reds next go around with Doc's ideas...
 

ChowderMan

Pizza Chef
Super Site Supporter
thanks for all the ideas - after combing through lots of things I made another stab as follows:

peeled & soaked in salted water, about an hour, three potatoes each of:
16.4 ounces red bliss
and
18.5 ounces russets

the water was 1 T kosher salt in 5 cups of water; sloshed between the two bowls so it was equal strength.
DSC_4968.jpg


sliced to 3/16 inch thick using a mandolin - i.e. all very evenly sliced.

put these in a casserole dish, using a dough scraper to separate reds on the left, russets on the right.
the russets appear a bit more yellow to the camera - and no, those whiter slices are not a mix up - but the coloration(s) are a bit curious
DSC_4974.jpg


some salt & pepper on top.
made a roux of 1 T butter and 1 T flour, cooked a bit, thinned with 8 fluid oz of light cream. the roux got a tiny bit toasted - that's the brown bits in the upper right quadrant.
DSC_4975.jpg


and the bake at 375F - about 45 minutes. edit: upped to 425F last 5-10 minutes to brown.
I goofed with the pix orientation in this photo, the reds are in the bottom half of the dish; russets in the top half . . . (vs left-right above)
DSC_4981.jpg


and ready for the taste test
DSC_4983.jpg


May I have the envelope, please . . . .
overall we both preferred the russets for taste.
the roux+light cream sauce was deemed veddy good for taste&texture. it's a keeper.

I had a slight preference for the texture of the reds. they are less starchy, more 'waxy' - and were a slight bit firmer to the bite. the russets had 'dissolved' around the edges a bit more and were ever-so-softer.

now, let me say this about that . . . potatoes are just like tomatoes / peas / lima beans / etc.
fresh out of the garden they are seriously big time tastier/different than anything 'store bought' and often better than 'farm stand' bought. my garden potatoes were a bust in this year's odd summer weather - based on prior experience tho, reds fresh dug out of the garden would have wupped both of these . . .

bottom line: I'd call it a tie - because depending on age and storage conditions, one type may come out - in a seemingly random fashion - superior to the other.

other notes:

I tried this with (just) red potatoes a while back; but used roux+ heavy cream. since cream thickens nicely on its own accord, had the passing fancy it might work well. the heavy cream sauce was pronounced too goopy and too rich. so 2nd try I backed off to light cream.

I intentionally left out all the other typical type goodies - bacon, ham bits, onions, scallions, garlic, cheeses of every type, etc. etc. if the underlying potato dish isn't good to start with, the dress-ups should not have to make up for bad stuff.
 
Last edited:

Cooksie

Well-known member
Site Supporter
The Potato Connoisseur has spoken :mrgreen:. They both look good to me. The ones on the right side of the plate have better curb appeal...more brown, not so broken up. I'd eat them both!
 

QSis

Grill Master
Staff member
Gold Site Supporter
I love side-by-side tests and results! Great post, Chowderman!

Lee
 

ChowderMan

Pizza Chef
Super Site Supporter
...curb appeal

the red did not appear to brown-as-quick as the russets - using just one type I suppose one could get the browning "just right"

...broken up... uhmmmmmm. somebody scooped off the nice brown crunchy bits before the cook had a turn. it's a secret, no names please . . . (g)
 

ChowderMan

Pizza Chef
Super Site Supporter
so just to see if it was a fluke , , , did another batch. 3 medium russets from the store - not Giant, Weis has 'better kept' potatoes along with a lot of other 'better' produce than Giant.

soaked in saltwater, cuppa' light cream heated & thickened a bit with a (pre-made) roux. salt&pepper. preheated 375'F bake about 20 minutes, upped to 425 to brown last 10 mins.

now.... the boo-boo. the sauce was insufficient in volume , so I added roughly 1/2 cup 1% milk - with the result that the 'sauce' was a bit too thin.

results: the flavors and textures were spot on to my tastes with the minor exception of the sauce being a tad too thin. can fix next round . . . add milk to warming light cream & adjust roux qty....

oh - the second pix is my pre-made roux. I do two sticks of unsalted butter with one cup +/- of AP flour to a medium stage. normally I let it cool, form into a roll then freeze in foil. experimenting with this batch - overnight in the fridge, chopped up in to chunks for freezing in a zip freezer bag.
 

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lilbopeep

🌹🐰 Still trying to get it right.
Site Supporter
I don't usually cook my roux that brown. Generally the less you cook a roux the more thickening power it has. I don't make a gumbo or things that need dark roux. I just make roux for gravy, béchamel, cheese sauce etc. What do you use yours for? Can I make a light roux and freezer like that?
 

ChowderMan

Pizza Chef
Super Site Supporter
...that brown... actually it's a bit light medium. has a nice toasted flavor - I often make a second batch that is darn near brick roux for gumbos, etc.

a couple Tbsp of that even in light cream does not 'darken the mix' by anything noticeable.

for a blonde - souffle, mac&cheese, etc - I just make it on the fly - not frozen any but don't see why it wouldn't work.

the darker roux takes much more time and care with temp - that's why I make a big batch and freeze it. I use it in soups, stews, braises, stir fry, etc. - anything darker in color that can use a toasted flavor. or not - e.g. a stir fry - typically thickened with corn starch - the roux taste is well concealed by the soy/oyster/whatnot sauces - but I prefer the mouth feel of the roux to corn starch. then again, the roux isn't quite so glossy a finish, so it's roux by candle light and cornstarch by LED . . . (g)
 

Saliha

Well-known member
thanks for all the ideas - after combing through lots of things I made another stab as follows:

peeled & soaked in salted water, about an hour, three potatoes each of:
16.4 ounces red bliss
and
18.5 ounces russets

the water was 1 T kosher salt in 5 cups of water; sloshed between the two bowls so it was equal strength.
DSC_4968.jpg


sliced to 3/16 inch thick using a mandolin - i.e. all very evenly sliced.

put these in a casserole dish, using a dough scraper to separate reds on the left, russets on the right.
the russets appear a bit more yellow to the camera - and no, those whiter slices are not a mix up - but the coloration(s) are a bit curious
DSC_4974.jpg


some salt & pepper on top.
made a roux of 1 T butter and 1 T flour, cooked a bit, thinned with 8 fluid oz of light cream. the roux got a tiny bit toasted - that's the brown bits in the upper right quadrant.
DSC_4975.jpg


and the bake at 375F - about 45 minutes. edit: upped to 425F last 5-10 minutes to brown.
I goofed with the pix orientation in this photo, the reds are in the bottom half of the dish; russets in the top half . . . (vs left-right above)
DSC_4981.jpg


and ready for the taste test
DSC_4983.jpg


May I have the envelope, please . . . .
overall we both preferred the russets for taste.
the roux+light cream sauce was deemed veddy good for taste&texture. it's a keeper.

I had a slight preference for the texture of the reds. they are less starchy, more 'waxy' - and were a slight bit firmer to the bite. the russets had 'dissolved' around the edges a bit more and were ever-so-softer.

now, let me say this about that . . . potatoes are just like tomatoes / peas / lima beans / etc.
fresh out of the garden they are seriously big time tastier/different than anything 'store bought' and often better than 'farm stand' bought. my garden potatoes were a bust in this year's odd summer weather - based on prior experience tho, reds fresh dug out of the garden would have wupped both of these . . .

bottom line: I'd call it a tie - because depending on age and storage conditions, one type may come out - in a seemingly random fashion - superior to the other.

other notes:

I tried this with (just) red potatoes a while back; but used roux+ heavy cream. since cream thickens nicely on its own accord, had the passing fancy it might work well. the heavy cream sauce was pronounced too goopy and too rich. so 2nd try I backed off to light cream.

I intentionally left out all the other typical type goodies - bacon, ham bits, onions, scallions, garlic, cheeses of every type, etc. etc. if the underlying potato dish isn't good to start with, the dress-ups should not have to make up for bad stuff.



We have in Finland quite similar food called Baltic herring casserole. It´s like a casserole of scalloped potatoes but with baltic herring fillets. Usually we also use few slices of bacon on the top. Here is an Australian version about it (we use of course fresh baltic herrings but they might be difficult to find in other parts of the world):

http://scandifoodie.blogspot.fi/2010/05/baltic-herring-casserole_05.html

It´s an old and very traditional food here. We even have a nick name to it - "barbed-wire entanglement" - some baltic herrings may have been quite bony.
 

Sass Muffin

Coffee Queen ☕
Gold Site Supporter
We have in Finland quite similar food called Baltic herring casserole. It´s like a casserole of scalloped potatoes but with baltic herring fillets. Usually we also use few slices of bacon on the top. Here is an Australian version about it (we use of course fresh baltic herrings but they might be difficult to find in other parts of the world):

http://scandifoodie.blogspot.fi/2010/05/baltic-herring-casserole_05.html

It´s an old and very traditional food here. We even have a nick name to it - "barbed-wire entanglement" - some baltic herrings may have been quite bony.

Ohh, I like the look and sound of that.

:a1:
 
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