Smoked Au Gratin Potatoes

Soups, Sides, and Salads

Method: Stovetop, Grill or Smoker, or Oven

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This smoked potatoes au gratin recipe makes for the perfect smoked side dish for your barbeque or dinner. In fact, it has become one of our go to holiday side dishes to make on our grill or smoker. These 3 cheese au gratin potatoes with gruyere, cheddar and smoked gouda are perfectly creamy and will surely wow your guests.

For more of our favorite side dishes to make on your grill or smoker check out some of our favorites here:

• Smoked Jalapeno Twice Baked Potatoes
• Brazilian Feijoada: Meat and Black Bean Stew
• Grilled Corn and Goat Cheese Salad
• Charro Beans With Hickory Smoked Bacon
• Fried Lump Crab Cakes with Sriracha Mayonnaise
• Fried Mashed Potato Cakes with Herbes de Provence Butter

Making the Smoked Au Gratin Potatoes

To make these Smoked Au Gratin Potatoes you will need about 2.5 pounds of potatoes, gruyere cheese, smoked gouda, cheddar cheese, garlic, a yellow onion, thyme, heavy cream, garlic powder, onion powder, butter and flour.

Preparing the Potatoes for the Smoked Au Gratin Potatoes

What potatoes are best for au gratin potatoes?

There is some debate as to which potatoes work best in potatoes au gratin. We prefer Russett potatoes as they contain more starch than red or gold potatoes and thus aid in a creamier sauce. Some feel that waxy potatoes like gold potatoes hold their shape better. We find that giving the Russet potatoes a brief soak in an ice bath to remove some of the excess starch gives you the best of both worlds, resulting in a creamy potato au gratin, that does not result in mushy potatoes.

Peel and slice the potatoes

First peel your potatoes, though it is perfectly ok to leave the peel on the potatoes if you prefer, especially if you are using gold potatoes. Next slice the potatoes very thinly. You want to slice the potatoes to at least ¼ inch thick but thinner is better. You can quickly slice the potatoes using a mandoline set to the thin setting. We are in love with our Swissmar Mandoline which always makes quick work of slicing the scalloped potatoes.

Soak the potatoes in an ice bath

Next place the potato slices in a large bowl and cover completely with ice water. This aids in removing some of the starch from the potatoes. If you are using red or gold potatoes, do not soak the slices and proceed with the next step. Place the bowl in the refrigerator and allow to soak for about 4 hours. Some recipes may call for soaking overnight, but this is likely to remove too much of the starch, preventing the potatoes from acting as a natural thickener for the cheese sauce.

Making the Best Cheese Sauce for Au Gratin Potatoes

What is the best cheese for potatoes au gratin

The choice of cheese for au gratin potatoes is largely a matter of preference but be sure to always use block cheese that your shred yourself and avoid pre-shredded cheese. Most pre-shredded cheese contains an anti-caking agent that prevents it from melting nicely into the cheese sauce. For this 3-cheese au gratin potatoes we elected to use classic gruyere, smoked gouda, and white cheddar cheese.

Prepare the roux for the cheese sauce

In a saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Next, stir in the flour and whisk to combine, mixing until fully incorporated. Add the heavy cream to the pan about ½ cup at a time, whisking continuously until thickened before adding more cream.

Once all of the heavy cream has been added, mix in the garlic powder, onion powder, salt, black pepper, and thyme leaves.

Add the cheese to the au gratin cheese sauce

Next, add in the shredded cheese a little at a time and stir until melted before adding more cheese. Reserve ½ cup of cheese for topping. Once all of the cheese has been added and the sauce is smooth, remove the pan from the heat and set aside.

Assembling the best ever cheesy au gratin potatoes

Grease the bottom and sides of a cast iron pan or skillet with butter or oil. Place a single layer of potato slices over the bottom on the pan, then layer about ⅓ of the sliced onions. Next pour about ¼ of the cheese sauce over the potatoes.

Repeat with 2 more layers of potatoes, onion and cheese sauce then finish with a final layer of potatoes. Top with the last of the cheese sauce and then the ½ cup of shredded cheese. If desired sprinkle with additional thyme.

Cooking Au Gratin Potatoes on your Grill or Smoker

These scalloped potatoes are perfect for your Traeger or pellet grill, but the smoked au gratin potatoes turn out equally as fantastic on any smoker. We cooked these smoked au gratin potatoes on a Big Green Egg. We find in best to make these cheesy au gratin potatoes in a cast iron pan or skillet, but you can use a casserole dish if you desire.

Preheat your grill or smoker to 350 degrees and set up for indirect heat. Place the cast iron pan with the au gratin potatoes on the smoker and cook for 1.5 hours, checking about every 30 minutes and rotating if needed for even cooking.

The smoked au gratin potatoes are done when the top is golden brown, and you can poke the potatoes with a toothpick and there is very little resistance. If the cheese is getting too dark before the potatoes are tender, cover the pan with foil to prevent further browning.

Carefully remove the cast iron au gratin potatoes from the smoker and let set for about 5 minutes before serving. This smoked potato recipe makes the perfect side for your holiday meats like Smoked Turkey Roulade: Rolled Turkey Breast with Fresh Herbs, Black Garlic, and Prosciutto, Apple Cider Brined Turkey, Beef Tallow and Herb Crusted Prime Rib, Smoked Ham, or Pork Crown Roast.

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