Cheesy Bacon Potato Stacks
These cheesy bacon potato stacks are rich, decadent and outrageously delicious!
Servings: 12 stacks
Cost: £1 / $1
Equipment
- Kitchen Paper
- Potato Peeler
- Sharp Knife & Chopping Board
- Medium/Large Pot & Wooden Spoon
- 12 Hole Muffin Tray
- Aluminium Foil
Ingredients
- 9 thin slices of Bacon (see notes)
- 1-1.2kg / 2.2-2.6lb Baking Potatoes (see notes)
- 240ml / 1 cup Double/Heavy Cream
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- 1/4 tsp Black Pepper
- 1/8 tsp Ground Nutmeg
- knob of Butter, to grease tray
- 100 - 120g / 3-4oz Gruyere, finely grated (sub Cheddar)
- finely diced Fresh Chives, to garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Cook the bacon using your preferred method until crisp, then pat dry with kitchen paper to remove excess oil. Dice each rasher into 4 pieces (36 total, 3 per stack).
- Meanwhile, peel the potatoes and slice off the top and bottom. Use a knife/peeler to trim around the outside until they are cylinders (check they're wide enough to perfectly slot into the muffin tray). Thinly slice the potatoes into rounds approx 3mm/1/8". You need 84 slices in total (7 per stack).
- Pour the cream into a pot over medium heat and stir in the nutmeg, salt and pepper. Mix in the potatoes and gently simmer for 3-4mins until the cream thickens, gently stirring the potatoes as you go. Remove from heat.
- Lightly grease a muffin tray with butter. Once the potatoes are cool enough to handle, place a slice in each hole. Top with a small pinch of cheese, then press down another potato slice. Top with bacon, then add another slice of potato. Repeat two more times so you've got 7 potato layers, 3 bacon and 3 cheese (finish with potato). Top with a small drizzle of sauce, then loosely cover the tray with foil.
- Bake in the oven at 180C/350F for 40mins, or until knife tender. Remove the foil and use two knives to neaten up the potatoes if the stacks have slid slightly. Top with cheese, then place under the grill on high until golden and bubbly.
- Leave to sit for 5-10mins before using a spoon to carefully scoop them out. Garnish with chives (optional) then tuck in and enjoy!
Video
Notes
a) Bacon - I typically just bake this at 180C/350F so the oven is ready to go for the potatoes. You can pan fry if you'd prefer though. I have used prosciutto before, which works really well because it's so thin, so use that if you'd prefer. I haven't tried ham, although I imagine is you're using wafer slices it'll work a charm. If you'd rather not use meat you could just leave it out. Consider seasoning the cream with 1/4 tsp more salt to make up for the loss of bacon.
b) Potatoes - Try and use large and long potatoes that are close to fitting in the muffin tray, just so you don't have to slice away too much potato to make it fit. Make sure you're using floury/baking potatoes like Maris Pipers/Russets. Waxy varieties won't stay stacked as well.
c) Potato weight - It's difficult to know how many potatoes you'll need/the total weight because they'll likely be different shapes and therefore need more trimming. For reference though, my 84 potato slices weighed around 600g/1.3lb.
d) Stacking - Gently press down each potato slice to secure the stack. You can also use two knives to neaten them up before they bake, before you grill them and once they're cooked, just to keep them in form.
e) Leftovers - These are best served fresh, but allow leftovers to completely cool and store in the fridge or freezer. Bake at 180C/350F until piping hot again (thaw first if frozen).
f) Calories - Per stack.
Nutrition
Calories: 233kcal | Carbohydrates: 15.31g | Protein: 6.51g | Fat: 16.58g | Saturated Fat: 6.939g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.504g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3.292g | Trans Fat: 0.039g | Cholesterol: 40mg | Sodium: 245mg | Potassium: 442mg | Fiber: 1.9g | Sugar: 1.35g | Vitamin A: 410IU | Vitamin C: 16.5mg | Calcium: 117mg | Iron: 0.74mg