A Brand New Old Way to Cook Potatoes

I wonder if my sisters will recognize this pseudo recipe?

One of my fondest memories is of Mom slicing potatoes onto the woodstove to blister. The slices were about an eighth to a quarter inch thick, just blackened and flipped onto the plate. A bit of salt to finish it off. When hot, the outside just bit your fingers a bit. My teeth would go through the salty, sweet layer outside to get to the more resistant and just cooked inside. It was better than potato chips or french fries.

If they had sat for a while when waiting for the whole potato to be cook, the potato soaked in the salt and they became more pliant. Like a sitting steak, it continued to cook. It never got to the softness of a fried or boiled spud. The texture is unlike any other potato I had ever had.

Eventually, the cookstove was retired for a more block like woodstove. For a while, we would put them on the electric elements where cool patterns would emerge. It was fun to try and create a nice crosshatch like you see on burgers.

This eventually caused problems with keeping the burners clean and the fire alarm from going off. Waving a tea towel every time you cook gets old fast. When you are young and the ceilings are more than nine feet, you have to jump and wave. I guess it was good exercise.

I remembered this snack and tried to recreate it for my Christmas dinner as the starch element. It worked. I used a non stick pan once and a cast iron another time. Both worked well but the problem of smoke still remains. So thick that the exhaust fan could not remove it quickly enough. However, the flavour and texture were as I remembered. The juices from the turkey burger enhanced the salty and starchiness. I wonder why I had never tried this before.

My next attempt will be using the broiler and seeing if I can get a good cook that way. I may have to cut the potatoes thicker and turn on the exhaust on high but we will see if we can do this.

My younger sister should remember this. We would wait together as Mom would only take a potato or two to create a good snack. My youngest sister might not as she was there in the transition from cookstove to electric. Her memory might not go back that far.

I bet she could recreate it though. She does have a fireplace. I wonder if putting these things on one of those racks for cooking... oh, or maybe the BBQ. Maybe a plancha.

I will get this down. It is worth doing. It isn't just nostalgia. This is a really old and good way of eating tubers.