Avoid This Hasselback Potato Mistake Unless You Want A Mushy Mess

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If you're looking for an easy-to-prepare, showstopping appetizer that will impress at your next get-together, Hasselback potatoes are right up your alley. The concept takes a humble spud and transforms it into a buttery, fanned-out work of art that's right at home as part of a holiday spread or as another must-have snack for game day (For the record, Martha Stewart wouldn't serve snacks, she'd serve game day hors d'oeuvres because, you know, she's bougie). Yet, as straightforward as Hasselback potatoes are to make, one wrong move can spell disaster for those tubers.

According to Tara Teaspoon, cookbook author and blogger at Tara Teaspoon, parboiling is a detrimental mistake that will turn your Hasselback potatoes to mush. Given that it's a fruitful technique to apply in many other recipes, one might think that parboiling potatoes would speed up the cooking process. It very well may, but Teaspoon suggested avoiding shortcuts with this appetizer. "I don't parboil my potatoes before cooking them Hasselback style," she said. "Parboiling softens the potatoes too early and causes them to collapse, break, or lose that wonderful Hasselback shape."

Hasselback potatoes are delicious in their own right (especially when topped with herbs and cheese), but the primary appeal lies in their iconic, accordion-like composition. Getting those uniform, thin slices in place can be a time-consuming process. All that effort put into creating a visually stunning dish is wasted if the potatoes are too mushy to hold their structure.

Besides foregoing a parboil, picking the right type of spud for Hasselback potatoes is essential. Russets may be the best potato for homemade french fries, but Tara Teaspoon argues that folks should steer clear of Idaho's finest when making this alluring little appetizer. "Russets are very starchy and my favorite for mashed or whipped potatoes, but they split easily and don't hold nice clean slices for Hasselbacks," she said. "I reach for yellow potatoes the most when making Hasselback potatoes because they are creamy inside, but hold their shape."

Picturesque, uniform slices are vital for any Hasselback potato worth its starch, so save those russets for perfectly crispy baked potatoes. Teaspoon mentioned that there is a serviceable alternative to yellow potatoes, but it's not her first choice. "Red potatoes work well too, but I find them too small, and can usually find large yellow or Yukon Golds for the Hasselback style," she said.

If you're having trouble getting thin slices, there is a chopstick hack for cutting Hasselback potatoes that's pretty foolproof. Or you can just throw some money at the problem and purchase a bona fide tool like the PTAHAN Hasselback Potato Slicing Rack. It can be used for other tasks like cutting uniform veggies and bread for crostini, but it is specifically designed to assist folks with spuds.