You Won't Believe the EASY Way to Make 1000 Layer Potatoes
Smoked Cream, Paper-Thin Layers, Crispy Edges
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Introduction
1000 Layer Potatoes With Smoked Cream
What's up BBQ fans! Today we're making potatoes, but not just any potatoes. If you've been on Instagram, TikTok or even YouTube, you've probably seen these: the 15-hour potato, the thousand layer potato, even the million layer potato. The secret is in the layers. I'd never made them, so today we're trying them together, with a little smoke from the Yoder YS640s worked in.
What You Need
Russet potatoes, the bigger the better. I ended up using about 23.
A deep hotel pan. I used a quarter-size, 6-inch deep pan, plus a second one to press it down. Buy good stainless steel. Cheap pans can leave little black specks in your food when they heat up. I've done it.
Half and half, about 1½ of the tall containers.
Salt, fresh cracked pepper from the Pepper Cannon (use code: RUMANDCOOK to save 10%), a good bunch of fresh thyme (tie it up) and 3 huge garlic cloves
Melted butter, parchment paper, and some smoky beef tallow if you have it
Something to slice thin. A knife won't cut it. Use a mandoline, or a KitchenAid vegetable sheeter if you have one.
Smoke the Cream
Season the half and half with salt and pepper, then add the thyme and garlic. I put it on the Yoder at 160°F for an hour. It adds another layer of flavor and makes the whole thing smell smoky.
Slice the Potatoes
Peel the potatoes. I didn't do a perfect job, and a little skin adds texture. Work one potato at a time so they don't oxidize, and get each batch of slices straight into the cream.
I used the KitchenAid sheeter, which I bought for my wife's zucchini lasagna. It spins the potato against the blade and makes long, uniform sheets so thin you can see your fingers through them. It went quickly, about 5 or 6 minutes a batch. The catch: it leaves a cylinder from the center of each potato. More on those below.
Build the Layers
Butter the pan and line it with parchment, leaving extra up the sides. The parchment is how you get the potatoes out later.
Layer the sheets like a puzzle, with a little overlap, and trim anything that sticks out. Alternate the seams from layer to layer.
Brush a little butter on the bottom layers. About halfway up, I added butter and some smoky tallow left over from Wagyu short ribs I smoked on New Year's Eve.
At first I was way too picky. As long as each layer is flat, it's fine, and I went a lot faster once I stopped fussing. It still takes time. It took about 23 potatoes to fill a good chunk of the 6-inch pan.
Trim a piece of parchment to fit the top. You don't want color on the top or bottom, since all the color comes from frying.
Bake and Press
Bake at 350°F for about 3 hours (3½ for a pan this thick; 2 to 2½ for a 4-inch pan). You could do it on the Yoder, but it won't pick up much smoke, so there's no sense wasting pellets.
Check with a skewer all the way down to make sure it's soft throughout.
Press it. Set the second pan on top, weigh it down with about 3 cans and refrigerate it overnight. Mine went about 40 hours, and that's no problem.
Fry
Heat oil to 350°F. I used olive oil labeled for frying.
Run a knife down the sides and pull the block out by the parchment. If it sticks, warm the bottom of the pan.
Trim off the crispy edges so all you see is layers. Save the scraps to fry later.
Cut into cubes and ease them into the oil. Don't crowd the pan, or they'll stick together. Turn the heat up a bit, since the potatoes go in cold.
Salt them the second they come out. I used Jacobson's garlic and black pepper salt.
Half the block gave me about 14 pieces, so the whole pan makes about 28. That's a lot of potato.
Taste Test
It's hard to describe, except to tell you it's freaking delicious. The outside is super crispy and flaky, almost like a well-done french fry. The inside is still flaky, but with a little bend to it. Highly recommend.
What I'd change: the top got darker than I wanted and started to flake. I think it's the butter. Most recipes use only cream, and I put butter in the layers and on top, then baked it for 3 hours at 350°F. Next time, I'd keep the butter to the outside of the parchment, or bake at 325°F for a pan this thick.
Bonus: Crispy Potato Cylinders
The cores from the sheeter didn't go to waste. I simmered them for about 45 minutes in salted cold-start water with 2 cups of vinegar (optional) until they started to break apart. Then I drained them, let the steam off, tossed them with butter, avocado oil and salt and roasted them at 450°F convection for about 30 minutes. They came out as little crispy cylinders with a hint of vinegar. They're great with smoked ketchup.
Final Thoughts
These take time, but they're worth it. Smoke the cream, slice paper-thin, keep the layers flat, press overnight and fry at 350°F. If you love potatoes, check out my smoked potatoes au gratin recipe, too.
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Thanks For Watching
Whether you're a seasoned pitmaster or a novice, these tips will enhance your cooking skills and leave your family and friends raving about your delicious, smoky creations. Don't forget to subscribe to my YouTube channel for more step-by-step videos, and let's together become the barbecue heroes we were meant to be!
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