Rachael Ray's Deep-Dish Stuffed Potatoes Will Be the MVP of Your Super Bowl Menu
Rachael Ray is iconic for her mastery of 30 seasons(!) of 30-Minute Meals. In the past year as she's been hosting the Rachael Ray Show from her upstate New York home and dreaming up family-friendly recipes, we also learned that she's the queen of mash-up meals.
First came Thanksgiving lasagna, which she quickly followed up with a meal prep-friendly spanakopita frittata, a brilliant pizza crust-based charcuterie spread and seven-layer dip tacos.
This week, she's back with a triple play, actually, that combines everything we love most about deep-dish pizza, barbecued brisket and twice-baked potatoes into one entree. All that plus its massive crowd-pleasing, cozy nature makes this our number one draft pick for a dinner to eat while watching the Super Bowl.
"Brisket ✔️ Bacon ✔️ Cheddar ✔️ Sour Cream ✔️ Scallions ✔️ Pickled Jalapeños ✔️ These STUFFED potato skins are the ultimate game day recipe," says the @rachaelrayshow team in their Instagram teaser.
Since we agree, we tuned in to her Thursday show for the complete Deep-Dish Stuffed Potatoes with Brisket how-to.
Ray starts by baking the potatoes for about an hour. (BTW, you might want to try freezing for an hour or two before doing so—here's why!) No need to peel them: "I wrapped and roasted the potatoes because I eat the skin too. It's filled with great nutrients," Ray says. That's true—about half of a potato's fiber is in the skin, according to Idaho Potato pros.
After allowing the spuds to cool to room temp, spray the skins with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Slice off the tops like a "lid" of sorts, scoop out the flesh from each portion and pile the filling into a bowl. Arrange those scooped potato skins and lids on a sheet pan and pop 'em back in the oven until golden. "We have our boats and our tops...we're going to put a little cheese on these [tops] and deep-stuff the gang [the larger, more bowl-shaped scooped skins]," Ray explains.
Now it's time to crisp up some bacon. Rather than in a skillet on the stovetop, which splatters bacon fat and requires more hands-on time to flip and fuss with the meat as it cooks, Ray prefers baking up slices in the oven.
"You just want a slotted surface so you can bake your bacon and the fat drips away," Ray advises.
Either a slotted pan or a wire rack-lined sheet pan (like this one from Williams Sonoma) does the job beautifully. Cook until crispy, let the crunchy bacon strips cool for a few minutes and chop into bite-size pieces.
Return to that big bowl of potato filling and stir in a scoop of sour cream or crème fraîche, milk, butter, chives, horseradish, salt and pepper. The spud portion of the recipe is now ready for assembly!
Of course she—and we—didn't forget about the brisket. In a large skillet, heat beef stock or broth in a skillet, then toss in leftover brisket or brisket from your favorite local barbecue restaurant. (Or one fan commented on Instagram with a savvy substitute: "I made them tonight with leftover London Broil!😛") You'll want about 3 cups. Cooking it with the stock moistens the meat, Ray says, and infuses a little extra flavor. It also gives the meat a head start so it will cook at the same rate as the still-warm potatoes.
All that's left to do is assemble. "You can do this potatoes first and beef on top, or vice versa, beef on the bottom, potatoes on top. Really up to you," Ray says, as she scoops the chive-spiked horseradish mashed potatoes and brisket into the bowl-shaped potato bottoms. Top both the stuffed bowls and "lids" with shredded sharp Cheddar cheese, and bake until lightly brown.
"Then we're going to go to topping town," Ray says, as she pulls the fully-loaded cheesy, brisket-filled potatoes from the oven. Top the tops and bottoms with the reserved chopped bacon, pickled jalapeños and scallions.
Yes, we know this is a decadent meal, but Super Bowl Sunday is practically a holiday, after all, so we say indulge. If you are feeling as inspired as we are to add this trophy-worthy dish to your menu, score the Deep-Dish Stuffed Potatoes with Brisket recipe here.