Russet Potato, Smoked Bacon & Fresh Thyme Gratin
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 70 minutes
- Total Time: 85 minutes
- Yield: 6 1x
- Category: Side Dish
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
Scale
- 2 pounds russet potatoes
- 1 tbsp melted butter
- 3 cloves garlic (chopped fine)
- 1/2 cup cooked smoked bacon (diced and rendered)
- 3 tbsp fresh thyme leaves
- 1 1/2 tbsp kosher salt
- 6 cranks fresh-ground white pepper
- 3 cups milk
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 3 tbsp unsalted butter (chilled and cut into small pieces)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Thinly slice potatoes on a mandolin or with a sharp knife. Using the melted butter, grease a 9 1/2 by 6-inch pan. Cover the bottom of the pan with the garlic and layer the potatoes, bacon, and thyme. Salt and pepper each layer and save some of the thyme and butter as a garnish for the top.
- Pour enough milk into the pan to cover the potatoes. You may not need to use all of the milk. Nest, pour the heavy cream on top of the potatoes and place small pieces of the chilled butter on top of the cream.
- Bake uncovered for 60 to 80 minutes. Cook until the milk and cream have been absorbed and the potatoes are knife tender. Since all ovens are not calibrated the same, you may have to cover this dish with foil once you have reached a beautiful crusty brown topping.
- During the cooking process, the milk cooks and spreads the garlic flavor throughout the dish, so you do not need to layer the garlic.