Crafting the ultimate potato gratin : the one recipe to rule them all

After lots of research and testing various existing gratin making techniques I am today re-visiting the making of the potato gratin. Get the recipe: bit.ly/35yx8KG
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I went on a quest to be able to bring you a gratin dauphinois recipe that works every single time and will bring you perfectly cooked potatoes, the right amount of creaminess and texture with an oven cooking time of an hour. Also important, is the look, this gratin will bring you what I call the "brickwork look". Which is the visual aspect of potatoes perfectly stacked on top of each other when cutting the gratin. Enjoy.
UPDATED RECIPE: ( I have adjusted the ingredients to be able to just pour all the liquid over the potatoes without any reduction) For smaller portion just divide everything by half.
🧅🥕INGREDIENTS🥕🧅
1.5 kg (3.3 pound) of waxy yellow flesh potatoes. ( I used dutch cream potatoes)
600 ml (17 fluid oz) of heavy whipping cream
200 ml (3.4 fluid oz) crème fraîche
200 ml (3.4 fluid oz) whole milk
1 tablespoon of plain butter (to coat the gratin dish)
4 cloves of garlic. ( 2 bruised and kept whole and 2 finely diced for the gratin dish))
Seasoning:
salt, pepper and freshly grated nutmeg
Cooking time:
Pre-cooking the potatoes: 15 to 20 minutes from boiling point
Gratin oven cooking time (I used a fan forced oven): 45 minutes to an hour at 160 degrees Celsius (320 Fahrenheit)
The gratin dish is used (affiliate link)
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Notes:
* The potatoes have to be cut into 4 to 5 millimetre (around 0.15 inches) thick slices using a mandoline or a food processor.
* ONCE COOKED THE GRATIN HAS TO REST FOR AN HOUR AT ROOM TEMPERATURE TO ALLOW FOR THE CREAM TO SET.
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[@rueportalis6443]

I have been a private chef for 40 years, 23 years with the same client (yes, famous). Been to so many cooking schools in Paris over the years but your videos are far superior. I enjoy each one and often learn a lot. Thanks you so much for efforts and your talent.

[@mofamba]

I was a private chef (slave) for wealthy billionaires for a while as well. It sounds better than it really is doesn’t it? Privately cooking for US presidents.. Steve Jobs (total dickhead) and all of their elite snobby cohorts. Hopefully you’re making millions cookie, I did (;

[@Samurai78420]

@@mofamba Yeah. That's rough, Bro. Glad you made it out. No offense, but don't miss Steve Jobs at all. Dude was a huge piece of sh*t. But I got respect for your plight and struggle. I did the private Chef thing for a huge SEC Football Booster for like 10 months. It was a complete nightmare. It made me actually miss the 400 cover dinner services in Provincetown, Cape Cod during the heat of summer season. God bless.

[@HavenUpsurge]

How did you become a private chef?

[@floydvaughn836]

Here's an interesting problem. You have a 58 seat restaraunt. 2 services, brunch and dinner. Brunch is 10 am to ,2 pm. Dinner is 6pm to close. At what point do your staff begin to prep FOR DINNER,?

[@ehtikhet]

@@floydvaughn836 yesterday.

[@ophliablue]

I always forget how much work and research and time has to be done before you even begin filming the video, and then the filming is another layer of work. So I just wanted to say I appreciate you so much for being as obsessed as you are about fine-tuning these details and these recipes so that we can make them at home and be successful every time. Thank you so much Stéphane!! ❤️

[@FrenchCookingAcademy]

thanks much appreciated 🙂🙂

[@rezasaba1602]

THIS fellow is French yet not arrogant like him a lot gives me some Ideas and technics to improve my cooking Bravo

[@liamhayes1011]

Stéphane is a born teacher - he anticipates, and deals with, the questions and problems those learning how to cook will encounter. Although he adopts a different approach to the challenge of explaining French cookery to learners, he reminds me of Joël Robuchon, one of the most celebrated of all French chefs because he - Stéphane - fully understands the importance of method and the mastery of basic skills. Chapeau Monsieur!

[@rosedewittbukater5763]

Just came here to say this is the 3rd Thanksgiving that I have used your recipe. My son, who is an extremely picky eater requests for me to make this dish throughout the year even during the summer months. This recipe has become part of our family tradition. Thank you for all of your efforts.

[@vickidash-slesinski746]

While visiting in France a number of years ago, we stopped at a small restaurant along the highway. I had a meal of grilled salmon, a simple salad, and potatoes in this fashion. Some wine of course. That is one of the meals that I always think back to.

[@missdrey954]

I'm so glad you washed the potato slices. I want to make gratin dauphinois and all the recipes I've seen haven't been washing the slices, and the whole time I kept thinking, this isn't right, potatoes have way too much starch to be cooked into the sauce like that! Thank you, this is a perfect recipe for my Friendsgiving dinner side!

[@davidcooper5790]

Thanks Stefan. I am a very average cook but we had friends over last night and I tried your recipe for the gratin. To everyone's delight and my amazement it came out perfectly. I paired it with your red wine, cognac and shallot sauce over fillets of beef and it was all delicious. Thanks also for the tip of using a mandolin. Thanks pretty much for everything tbh and if you get a flood of marriage proposals a few of them could be from my wife and last nights dinner guests. dc

[@FrenchCookingAcademy]

i am really glad you succeeded on making the recipe and that your friend and family loved it . if it has been useful for you and improved your cooking i am really happy🙂👍💥🍷

[@katman042]

Thank you for all of your wonderful cooking videos. I’ve never cooked in my life, but with the pandemic, I’ve been working out of the house and have taken over that responsibility from my wife. My wife and I love French country meals and your recipes are the best! Even though we can’t travel to France right now (our favorite country to visit), I feel like your cooking brings a little of France to us in the United States. Again, thank you so much!!

[@JulietteTux]

For all the American friends here in comments: check out the Julia Child books and videos, she did a shitton of a highly dedicated work to bring the French cuisine to the US people. Stop praising individuals, start praising the French cuisine, embodied by those individuals.

[@mariealv4888]

@@JulietteTux Tux Times are changing I can't afford Julia But have lived in France and this guy is just teaching today's affordable French cooking.

[@jamesstewart5069]

J

[@moniqueheubel8970]

I just love your cooking channel. My mother was an international gourmet cook and my husband worked his way through college as a French Chef, so I have accumulated a wealth of knowledge. I just love the way you address potential problems and explain each recipe in a clear organized manner.

[@johndwhite1972]

Of course when I saw “one recipe to rule them all” I had to click! Besides, I love gratins and I remember my mother making this, and yours looked so delicious! One of the things that makes you a great teacher is that you yourself are also a student. There is a genuine humility to that, but also excitement, right? Discovering dishes that have withstood the test of time. And you communicate what you learn and discover so well. French regional cooking is amazing in its variety and it’s the French home cooking that appeals to me most. I would love to see a series dedicated to the culinary variations in France. What you are doing is appreciated by so many! Thank you.

[@letthesunshinethru2355]

I love the extreme zoom, like a bonus shot!

[@robpassavanti]

I've been searching for the perfeci Potato Gratin recipe and here it is! We had this as a side dish with fillet mignon for Velentine's Day and it was superb. It was equally as good leftover the next morning for breakfast with poached eggs! Thank you Stephane!

[@AndrewJohnClive]

I have been a work from home chef for twenty years with the same client (no, not famous, but famous in our house!😊❤), and this is good. I will also add that your foolproof shortcrust pastry has been the most revolutionary recipe I have ever found. Shortcrust is something that for me always never tasted like what I had bought or eaten in a restaurant and now I can make one that is better than either of those. Amazing. Merci Monsieur. ❤❤

[@thetinkercook5430]

Great techniques!!! After boiling down the cream, I temper 1-2 egg yolks and add it to the cream

[@NigeHaines]

I am glad you are reiterating this. It seems so many folk can't get their heads around a gratin not necessarily having cheese in it, because they have made that link with the word "gratin" and cheese. Thank you for putting the record straight.

[@bostonbesteats364]

And yet Escoffier's recipe contained gruyere.

[@louwvandermerwe178]

This is one recipe that is so easy to change or modifie

[@docmalthus]

@0:49 "This is the thing I've been obsessing on....". Yes, mon ami, you are a French chef. And the world loves you for it.

[@vishypai7554]

Loved your recipe of one my favourite dishes!

[@gregbowen617]

Wow, you have elevated the humble potato to a dish fit for kings and queens! Excellent video and incredibly informative!

[@simiamalum5487]

I could be mistaken, but historically speaking, I think it was the French chefs that elevated the "humble" potato to the level of kings. Europe, especially Northern Europe, had kind of a famine problem that potatoes more or less fixed. Potatoes were still seen as barely fit for consumption though. I think it was the French that first (first in Europe anyway) realized the "true potential" of the humble potato. Long story short, European royals liked French chefs, French chefs were early adopters of the potato, and then European royals said, "Hey, these are pretty good..." And so the humble potato became food fit for kings.

[@dianespears6057]

@@simiamalum5487 I think he did a video about the history of the potato or mentioned it in one of his videos, making your point.

[@floydvaughn836]

Vive la France.

[@keetrandling4530]

Of course, I watch you for the education, but, may I say that I find your accent very comforting.

[@nunyoubusyness6345]

Agreed😍

[@lavillablanca]

I have overdosed on strident screams, hectoring and lecturing me. Stefan’s voice is soothing.

[@drummerlovesbookworm9738]

Also his enthusiasm...just enough but not too much.

[@andrewaway]

Plus.........cute as a button.

[@drummerlovesbookworm9738]

@@andrewaway yep

[@jmu4508]

WOW! the updated version is more consistent. Since I didn't use a convection oven I upped the temperature to 350F keeping an eye on it I took it out after 60 min. Amazing that I saw the surface caramelizing happen after taking it out letting it rest for the instructed time. With the extra cream in the saucepan I made a quick sauce adding more butter, some chives and parsley to go with the salmon I was cooking with the potatoes. Holy cow what a meal, my wife loved it. Thank you for sharing your talents teaching French cooking, Merci, Chef!

[@teresawilkinson6231]

Wow!, thank you for this recipe, I've struggled with potato gratin over and over again, trying to get the right potatoes, balance of cream, ect., and always getting it wrong😒 I think you're absolutely right, it comes down to the type of potato and that all important step of washing the starch from the potatoes, thank you for your attention to detail 💐 PS nutmeg is gorgeous in this dish

[@BodhiSurfer1991]

I need to make this, I love the education and explanation and research. Such a good cook and teacher.

[@trashboity8773]

So true

[@floydvaughn836]

Stephan is a welcome breath of fresh air for those of us who watched food channels to learn something. Now it's all contests, or weird over consumption. Really, Stephan is better than Alton Brown.

[@bkm2797]

Love this dish, Thank you Stephan for perfecting it!

[@JanaPersson]

Loved it! Thanks for the research!

[@sarab6415]

Fabulous! Thank you, chef!

[@RonaldJMacDonald]

That looks great, I can't wait to try making it.

[@JB787Girl]

This is next on my list of things to make! Heading to store now!! Thanks!

[@COOKINGFROMTHELOFT]

WONDERFUL WORK!

[@kyproset]

Amazing, thank you.

[@andygrontkowski5447]

Love the procedure and the simple instruction.

[@AlbertAguirre]

This is my absolute favorite cooking channel. Thank you so much for your expertise

[@Dreyno]

Potato gratin with some green beans tossed in butter is a meal in itself. A chicken breast or pork chop and you have dinner. Love it.

[@olgaguadalupeortegadavalos1551]

There is a lot of study in each recipe, this recipe it's not the exception. Thank you for sharing your knowledge.

[@hcspero]

A very good analysis. Great stuff

[@messrsandersonco5985]

Love your style of teaching!

[@lyria8469]

I can hardly wait to try this. Looks impressive.

[@sharonoconnell7914]

Beautiful.

[@Natalie-gv2zl]

Fantastic videos! Excellent!

[@magdalenam3737]

Omg...that looks Amazing!!! I'm drooling lol

[@v.e.leitner3078]

ok, you just really took it to another level with this. certainly have to try! thank you

[@VanLe-ex8hr]

Another recipe added to my cooking repertoires. Thanks, chef.

[@rhysennin]

Thank you! Finally, a definitive recipe. I can’t wait to try this new approach. Lk

[@gracemalonzo8857]

Wow, love it

[@benjaminsmith5024]

An amazing teacher, and a great looking recipe. Thank you so much.

[@mikhailsterlin1129]

This recipe works great. Thank you!

[@sbaumgartner9848]

Your recipe makes total sense. Thank you.

[@trellofello7473]

Your explanation and detail ... 👍👍👍👍👍

[@sherrelynn5240]

Beautiful 🙌👏🙌👏🙌THANKS

[@toshikonakamura3945]

Wow. Thank you!

[@dianespears6057]

Great video. Chef's enjoyment was contagious for this recipe.

[@HEROplanetX]

Great video. Thank u!!

[@orlandosalazar6168]

I am so glad to have watched this today.

[@browneyedgirlblog]

Extrêmement utile!!

[@thomasmencher221]

Excellent presentation. I will definitely try it.

[@kwokatmooff]

YUM you keep showing me things that I didnt realize my life needs right now!

[@camerachica73]

This video was sooooo helpful! For such a simple dish, there are so many variations that don't always work, so I thank you for clearing this up!

[@heatherwhatever7714]

Lovely. Thank you.

[@Braaiman]

I love your passion to get the perfect potatoes. Your technical detail and explanation is brilliant. I’m doing this this weekend.

[@nikid5568]

I love your videos for the information and techniques! You have inspired me to learn French cooking to upskill myself! Thank you so much for the knowledge!

[@songbirdforjesus2381]

Thank you for your scientific research and great results

[@judithmaryhill4862]

A loved recipe... when done right. Thanks for taking us back to the basics. Love Potato Gratin 😍😍😍

[@stevebojo4378]

Wonderful

[@lorigratton-flynn8441]

I love this recipe! I am reconnecting with my French heritage and loving cooking the cuisine! Stephan is wonderful (and adorable)’ and makes following along so easy!

[@sclmb]

Stunning. Thank you so much, I made this and it was a game changer.

[@Giorgoletto]

Just made one now, so jummy as side dish to our grilling this evening 😍

[@highlandtuning4229]

Thank you very much chef! best video and recipe!

[@shooting26gaming28]

Love your videos chef ❤

[@iQuasar]

I watched again! The recipe is perfect and the video to enjoy... thank You!

[@bongsu551]

I made this recently, it was very good! Thanks Stefan for all the tips!

[@Michaelkaydee]

Thanks for this.

[@paulpilanger856]

absolutely awesome. it's potato rocket science. can't ever imagined such a simple but luxury dish! great work!

[@xell1969]

Chef très bien fait!

[@carlenaponce9205]

Thank You for sharing recipe! What a beautiful presentation. I’m saving this to make for my family this week! ✨

[@mikalynn1136]

BRAVO!!!

[@pbclau]

I made this recipe yesterday and it was a major success, thank you!

[@briankelly5731]

Wow! That has got to taste exquisite! I will be trying this. Thanks for your great educational presentation!

[@esmievelas9758]

Amazing! recipe looks very Delicious..can't wait to make this fabulous dish...lol...

[@mariaschwartz447]

Thank you !

[@krishnaconscious2619]

Superb!!!!

[@CP-fe6jr]

fascinating analysis. Over the years I've had variable success with this dish, so I'm looking forward to trying it with your method. Many thanks.

[@stevekemsley9338]

Wow beautiful

[@trollingextreme]

I've made it for me and my family, and our palates were jolly elated! Thank you for this magnificent recipe!

[@veravixen]

Tried it for the very first time and it worked like perfection 🎉

[@andy6100]

I wish I loved something as much as Stéphane loves his potato gratin.

[@lluu0211]

Brilliant execution and flawless explanation, c'est parfait chef! I cannot wait to test this recipe 😍

[@keeptrying5962]

This is now among my staples, paired with whatever, steak, fish, vegetables. It tastes so delicate and looks much more elegant than simply serving potatoes out of a baking dish.

[@NilsBreckoff]

I made this for Thanksgiving and it was the star of the show. Merci Beaucoup!

[@jesseatone1]

Formidable. J’adore les détails, et les explications. M. P. Bocuse serait ravi. Merci Stéphane. Bon continuation.

[@valentinasokolova5080]

Thank You 🙏

[@htimsid]

Top quality (as usual).

[@daddioduggio7612]

Without knowing I e been through the same process with this dish I’ve just tried all my techniques with yours you’ve cracked it ❤️

[@stelecook5678]

Thanks bro!! You are awesome

[@mytallerico]

I tried 3 recipes and this one is simply magnificent. The best tasting one of the previous batches I made. Thank you!

[@miloscvoimsus1118]

Perfect.

[@julias1000]

Thank you for your delicious recipe! I have just made it. Really really delicious gratin, very traditional, everyone really enjoyed! I’ll save this recipe for the future and looking forward cooking it again! Thank you!

[@Improveng1]

Looks fantastic Stefane, going to try and replicate it right now...wish me luck!

[@jossiani84]

Merci de vos recherches. J'essaie cette version du gratin aujourd'hui.

[@vulture45]

Thank you for the recipe, I will be trying it tonight as I’ve got lots of potatoes and cream to use up.