Pommes Maxim

[manton]

Can't seem to get this right. Anyone know the secret(s)?

Used Yukon Golds. Peeled, cut off the ends, then trimmed into cylinders. Sliced on mandoline very thin, pretty close to paper, at least thick paper. I have also tried it slicing them a bit thicker, but still thinner than (say) the 1/16th that a non-adjustable V-slicer will get you. I have a fully adjustable French mandoline.

Russets better than Yukons?

I have soaked them in water, and not soaked them, dried them on paper towels and not dried them. Not sure exactly what effect (positive or negative) those steps have or if they cancel each other out. Do I want the starch gone or not? If so, then I should soak (or wash). If not, not.

Tossed them in clarified butter. Laid them out on a Silpat. I laid them out like a one layer Anna. Start with one in the center. (I think this was a mistake, though not the only one). Do second ring that covers center totally, overlapping slices in ring by half. Then do third ring, with the overlap in the opposite direction (I think this third ring was also a mistake).

First try was in the oven on bake at 300. Edges browned very fast, too fast (too dark) while centers were too soft. Perhaps because of the uneven thickness (much thicker in center than at edges).

Second try, I simply turned the oven down and turned on the convection, figuring it would dry them out. Well, they didn't get quite so brown at the edges, but neither did the center crisp. They stayed floppy.

Third try: rather than circles, I laid them out in a sheet. They shrank laterally, leaving a bunch of lines rather than a string. Not enough crosswise overlap.

Keller says 300 for 45 minutes. Well, that is way too much time in my experience. 275 or 250 at least did not burn them, but it didn't crisp them either. Other recipes say to go for 400 or more. What's right?

I think also I may have used too much butter.

So, remedies include:

1) Skip the center piece (which is required for Anna but maybe not for this).

2) Do only one ring.

3) Use less butter.

4) Don't toss in butter, lay them out and then brush the tops (and only the tops) in butter.

5) Don't soak.

6) Don't try.

7) Soak but don't dry (can't see how this would work).

8) Dry but don't soak (sort of partial to this idea).

Other thoughts?

[jk1002]

Interesting. Keller said once in an interview that the oven he is working with plays a huge role and he is aware that recipes he gives may not work because of that.

Anyhow, I believe if you do not dry the potato it becomes soggy and not crisp.

In the sous vide book Keller gives a new version which to me sound more workable then in an oven. He blanches the potato slices (1/16") for 20 seconds which I think cooks them pretty much through. Then he dries them, sprinkles them lightly with starch, chills them and then pan fries them. No oven at all.d

[jk1002]

I did try the Keller way just now. That said because I was home I was more relaxed with the shape of my slices and the layout of the overall thing. I did 2 layers.

I made the disk too large and it broke when I tried to flip it in the pan put I was able to put it back together and in the end I had some sort of egg shape disk that was crips and did hold together like it should.

I had the cooked potato slices in the fridge under a sheet pan to weigh them down but that didn't seem to do anything.

I noted that the slices did not hold together until pretty far into the cooking in the pan, I would say when the "shrinking" process was well under way they started sticking. So I would use low heat and do it nice and slow and wait with the 1st flip until they did shrink a bit.

Hope this helps.

[Baron d'Apcher]

Use russets as they have a higher starch content and will stick. Don't soak or wash away their starch. Yukons have less starch, more sugar and therefore will not stick and are likely to burn.

[LindaK]

Someone must be fearless about acknowledging their ignorance, so let it be me: what is Pommes Maxim? None of my French cookbooks mention it. And I love potatoes.

[stuartlikesstrudel]

Ahh see Linda, I like to try and pretend I am knowledgeable about many things that I know nothing about, so I googled Pommes Maxim and found this thread on our very own forums.... see the 4th post for a bit of a description (sounds tasty).

Seems like a lot of hassle though, compared to mashed, sauteed or regular baked.

[jk1002]

I guess it can be a lot of hassle. I wasn't bothered by shape and somewhat in a hurry and I needed something to cover my olive oil poached salmon.

Taste was very good, it aroma was more like a potato pancake and very different then sauteed potatoes. Not sure if that is normal, I was using 4 yukons I had floating around since christmas so they were a bit old.

I checked my FCI cookbook, they have Anna but no Maxim.