Potatoes are our ingredient of the season. You can find our full archive of potato posts here.

Given that potatoes are our ingredient of the season, we use that distinction to try new-to-us recipes. So when I saw this post for melting potatoes on Smitten Kitchen two weeks ago, I have to admit that I was a bit more giddy than I normally am over a simple potato post. This was a recipe I had never heard of before, and the results looked amazing!

After giving it a try last week, I have nothing but praise for this simple side dish and can understand why everyone is obsessed.

Deb got her recipe from Real Simple, and I used the same recipe, with a few minor modifications as explained below.

Side Note

Both of the recipes mentioned above recommend roasting the potatoes at 500F, but admittedly I was skeptical about turning my oven up that high*. So I set my temp to 475.

You will roast these potatoes for three 15-minute increments. After the first 15 minutes, my potatoes barely had any color (at least compared to the finished shots I was seeing on the internet). After flipping them, I kept mine in for an additional 20 minutes before adding the sauce. At that point, my potatoes were very brown. As a result, I reduced the last increment to just 10 minutes. All of that is to say that you should probably just stick with the 15-15-15 timers, and everything will come out just fine.

I also used all butter for my fat. This may have produced more browning than you would get from a butter/oil combination, but these were so good, even with their dark color, that I wouldn’t mess with the all-butter decision.

Finally, I used dried thyme because I didn’t have any fresh, and we all loved the results. You do you.

Melting Potatoes

• 4Tbsp melted butter
• 2 tsp fresh (or 1 tsp dried) thyme
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• sprinkle of freshly ground black pepper
• 2 lbs yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch wide slices
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 3 smashed garlic cloves

Heat oven to 475F. Note that other recipes call for 500F, but mine came out perfectly at 475.

Mix the butter, thyme, salt, and pepper together in a large bowl. Add the potatoes and evenly coat them with the butter mixture. Spread the potatoes in a 9×13 metal pan (glass shouldn’t be used at such high oven temps). Drizzle with any remaining butter from the bowl.

Place in the oven for 15 minutes. Loosen and flip the potatoes, being careful not to break them or leave that good outer layer stuck to the pan. Roast for another 15 minutes. Carefully pour the stock into the pan and add the smashed garlic. Roast for a final 15 minutes.

Transfer to a serving dish, pour any remaining stock over the potatoes, and enjoy!

*One final note – I was so worried about my dirty ovens and the high temp called for in this recipe that I even waited an additional week to make these because I wanted to clean my ovens first! So, either make this recipe because you want damn good potatoes, or do it because your dirty ovens have been driving you nuts and now you have a good reason to clean them.