McDonald's Hash Brown Potato Gratin Recipe

Our mission was to take some key fast food icons and make a delicious Thanksgiving feast. Starting with Popeye’s Cajun turkey, we made stuffing from Popeye’s biscuits, creamed corn from Chipotle corn salsa, and an apple dessert from Domino’s Cinnastix. 

And what is Thanksgiving without a potato side? Crispy, greasy McDonald's hash browns aren't my go-to breakfast food, but they're one helluva a game-changer in this potato gratin. I was inspired by Kenji's far more highbrow Hasselback potato gratin, which showcases the perfect knife cut to maximize crispy edges while preserving a rich, starchy, creamy interior.

To get a similar effect, I sliced the hash browns and laid them vertically in the thick, cheesy sauce—a combination of heavy cream, Gruyère, and parmesan, seasoned with raw garlic, thyme, and a hefty dose of black pepper. It's the perfect bath for the already-fatty potatoes to soak in as their tops crisp up in the oven.

Be sure to pour most of the sauce into the baking dish before adding the potatoes—for our ideal texture and presentation, we want hash browns peeking out from the liquid, not soggy and mired beneath it. I also sprinkled on some old-school fried onion topping for some extra crunch and a dash of nostalgia. This cheesy, gooey concoction totally hits the sweet spot between the best spaghetti alla carbonara and the fast food breakfast my parents never let me have, except for that one time... in the car, in France, when I was seven.