Sausage Potatoes au Gratin

By vealam

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 pounds (680g) uncooked sausage
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 4 pounds (1.8kg) Yukon or Russet Potatoes
• 2 Garlic Cloves
• 1 1/2 Tablespoons Kosher or Sea Salt, or to taste
• 2 teaspoons fresh cracked coarse Black Pepper
• 3/4 teaspoon freshly grated Nutmeg
• 3 about 3 cups (700ml) Heavy Cream

Details

Servings 6
Adapted from whiteonricecouple.com

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat oven to 350°F

Remove the sausage from the casings and break into small chunks.

Heat a large skillet over medium high and then add the olive oil. Stir in the sausage and cook for 3-5 minutes, or until browned.

Crack the garlic cloves break them up slightly then rub the insides of a 9"x11" baking dish. Discard the bigger chunks of garlic and set aside the baking dish.

Peel and slice the potatoes about 1/8" thick. Put the sliced potatoes into a large bowl.

Season the potatoes with sea salt, black pepper, and nutmeg. Toss the slices to coat evenly.  Slap a potato slice against your tongue to test for seasoning.  It should be noticeably seasoned but not overpoweringly so.

Layer the potatoes and sausage into the prepped baking dish, pressing down on the top so everything is fairly level.  Pour the cream over potatoes just to the point where you can press down on the top layer and the top potato slices disappear under the cream.   Give a couple presses down on the potatoes and then taste cream for seasoning.  You should just marginally taste the salt.  Add a sprinkle more if needed.

Put in the oven and bake for a total of about 1 1/2 hours (larger batches will take longer). Every 20 minutes or so, open the oven and with the back of a large spoon, break the crust the cream is starting to form and turn over any of the top sausage pieces that may be beginning to brown. (On the final "crust breaking" the consistency of the cream should noticeably thicker and have absorbed into the potatoes a decent amount). For the final 20-30 minutes, leave everything untouched to form a golden top. Cream should be nearly all broke down and absorbed with just a bit of creamy, buttery-ness between the potato slices.

Remove from oven allow to cool a bit before serving.  It will retain an intense heat for at least 10-15 minutes.