Hasselback Potatoes

Does anyone out there not like a good ol’ potato side dish? Okay, well, maybe if you’re paleo, or want to cut carbs, or just don’t like taters, then potato dishes aren’t for you. But many of you could probably agree with us when we say that potatoes were the one vegetable that we could always count on when growing up.

As kids, the one irresistible side dish was French fries. (And still is!) With its crispy exterior and fluffy interior, it’s not something you can easily say no to. Of course, it’s not a dish that your parents would make at home, so probably the fact that we only ate it when we went out to eat made it even more tasty.

More commonly made at home were creamy mashed potatoes, fluffy baked potatoes, and crispy, tender roasted potatoes, seasoned to perfection. These side dishes were sure winners for everyone, making them a staple in the dinner rotation.

So when we discovered hasselback potatoes, it was like all of our delicious potato dreams came true all at once. The hasselback potato is a combination of all the best potato side dishes – creamy and tender like mashed potatoes, but still crispy on the outside like French fries. And it’s like a baked potato, because you’re making the whole potato, but way faster to cook!

To hasselback a potato, you slice the potato thinly, but stop before your knife reaches the bottom, so that the potato is still intact. (Check out this video on hasselbacking potatoes.) This way, the inside of the potato gets cooked quickly, as more sides are exposed to the heat. Brush them with butter or oil, and then pop them in the oven.

However, since it is still grill season, we decided to grill our hasselback potatoes for a nice smoky flavor. Once out of the grill, a sun-dried tomato compound butter is spread over the potatoes, melting into each slice, so that each layer is coated with yummy flavored butter.

One bite of these taters, and you can forget about them fries!

For More Smarts:

Cooking potatoes whole can take a long time, so we like to cheat a little with a shortcut – microwaving the potatoes first! This will soften the potatoes before grilling or baking, and it also makes it easier to brush oil or melted butter between the layers.

Prepping Smarts:

Learn how to hasselback potatoes and practice your knife skills with this video:

Here are our tips on how to use an outdoor gas grill:

Equipment Smarts:

We use a grill for our hasselback potatoes to take advantage of grill season, but baking them in the oven will also do the trick. (And you can make them any time of the year, too!)

For more kitchen and equipment and tool smarts, visit our ‘Essential Kitchen Cookware and Tools’