Omaha Steaks Scalloped Potatoes

Home reconstruction

Most people searching this are not looking for a recipe. They have the frozen tray in the freezer and want to know how to cook it so it comes out right, because the first attempt came out watery in the middle or pale on top.

So this page covers the tray first, and a from-scratch version second for when you have run out.

Cooking the frozen tray

Omaha Steaks print instructions on the packaging and those instructions override anything here — they change formulations and pack sizes, and the box in your hand is more current than any web page.

That said, the two things people consistently get wrong:

It takes longer than you think from frozen. Roughly an hour at 200°C / 400°F for a standard tray, not the 30 minutes people assume. Potato in a cream sauce heats slowly, and the middle is the last thing to get there.

The foil comes off for the last stretch. Covered for most of the bake so the sauce does not split and the top does not burn before the middle is hot, then uncovered for the final 10–15 minutes to brown. Leave it covered throughout and you get a pale, slightly soupy tray.

How to tell it is actually done

Not by the timer. Push a knife into the centre and hold it for three seconds — it should come out hot to the back of your hand. A warm knife means the middle is still cold, whatever the top looks like.

Why it comes out watery

Undercooked, almost always. The sauce thickens as the starch in the potatoes gelatinises, and that happens late. A tray pulled at 40 minutes will be thin in the middle even if the edges are bubbling.

Making them from scratch

If you want the same dish without the tray:

• 900 g floury potatoes (Maris Piper, russet), peeled
• 300 ml double cream
• 150 ml whole milk
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 150 g sharp cheddar, grated
• 30 g butter
• 1 tsp salt, black pepper
• a scrape of nutmeg

1. 1. Heat the oven to 180°C / 350°F. Butter a baking dish.
2. 2. Slice the potatoes about 3 mm thick. A mandoline is worth it here — even slices cook evenly, uneven ones give you raw patches next to mush.
3. 3. Warm the cream, milk and garlic in a pan until steaming, not boiling.
4. 4. Layer the potatoes in the dish, seasoning as you go, and pour the cream over.
5. 5. Cover with foil and bake 45 minutes.
6. 6. Uncover, scatter the cheese, and bake another 20–25 minutes until browned and a knife slides through with no resistance.
7. 7. Rest 10 minutes before serving. Straight from the oven it runs.

Do not rinse the sliced potatoes. The surface starch is what thickens the sauce — rinsing it away is why some scalloped potatoes never set.

Storing

Four days covered in the fridge. Reheat covered at 160°C for 20 minutes; the microwave makes the sauce grainy.

They freeze, cooked, for two months, but the texture softens noticeably. Better to make less.