My quest for funeral foods from all 50 states has not proven difficult. Every once in a while, however, I have been stymied by a state in which I know no one. Such was the case with Utah.
I wrote to Utah’s Own, a division of that state’s Department of Agriculture and Food that helps people identify and shop for local foods. I knew that Utahns were famous for a warm, filling casserole called Funeral Potatoes. I wanted an authentic recipe, and I hoped someone from Utah’s Own would have one.
Happily, the person who answered my email, Tamra Watson, grew up in Utah, was raised in the predominant Mormon (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) faith, and had consumed many a batch of Funeral Potatoes.
She gave me a recipe from Jessica Yescas, who won the first — but not I gather the last — Funeral-Potato bake off sponsored by Utah’s Own at a farmers market in Salt Lake City.
Tamra informed me that there are infinite varieties of Funeral Potatoes. She liked Jessica’s, in part because it was basic and affordable and in part because Jessica made her own Cream of Chicken Soup for the casserole, in contrast to many others who tended to use condensed canned soup.
Tamra explained that funerals and feeding the bereaved are an important part of her culture. “A strong part of the Mormon belief system is the idea that families can be forever,” she noted.
“Such beliefs give a great feeling of comfort and peace to family and friends who gather for the funeral. I remember my mother saying to me when I was little, ‘Tamra, funerals are not for the dead, they’re to comfort and give strength to the living.’”
Tamra described the Relief Society, the women’s service arm of the Mormon Church. It was established by Mormon founder and prophet Joseph Smith (1805-1844) and his first wife, Emma Hale Smith (1804-1879).
After receiving a “revelation” that polygamy was to be practiced in his religion, Joseph Smith is purported to have married at least 30 women, but Emma Hale was his first, his favored, and his only legal wife.
She was a fascinating figure who has undergone a great deal of historical revision over the years. In a male-dominated religion, she was a committed, active woman.
She helped her husband transcribe “The Book of Mormon” and put together the first hymnal used in the church. And she was the first president of the Relief Society.
“We are going to do something extraordinary,” Emma Smith told her fellow society members at their first meeting in 1842, urging them to “seek out and relieve the distressed.”
“Today,” Tamra, told me, “this ‘Relief Society’ is one of the largest women’s organizations in the world, helping women to increase in personal faith and righteousness, strengthen family and home, and provide for those in need.”
One of those needs, she added, is caring for the bereaved. The society feeds the families of the recently deceased for several days after a death and is responsible for preparing and serving a meal after the funeral and graveside service.
This work is not for the faint of heart. “When my mother was a leader in her Relief Society, in Spring City, Utah, they would feed groups anywhere from 75 to 200 people,” recalled Tamra.
Consequently, she observed, Mormon women have always kept their eyes open for easy, economical recipes that offered comfort to families suffering from emotional stress.
“Hence, the cheesy potato casserole was a perfect fit. The dish was prepared so much for funeral gatherings, over time it was culturally renamed Funeral Potatoes,” she told me.
“Today, you’ll find hundreds of recipes that combine the basic ingredients of potatoes (shredded, diced or au gratin — I prefer shredded), cheese, butter and cream.
“Some add meat, others spices, and most everyone adds a crunchy topping (from corn flakes to breadcrumbs). Each family, congregation, and community has their favorite varieties.”
The internet is rife with recipes for Funeral Potatoes and with TikTok stars mugging for the camera as they stir together this simple dish.
I made it for a recent nonprofit board meeting, and the combination of carbohydrates and fat was very well received, particularly given our recent cold spell. People particularly liked the contrast between the soft casserole and its crunchy topping.
If I were to make the recipe my own, I think I would cut back on the butter and sour cream and maybe add a little more cheese. I would also use more orange cheddar. Most of the cheddar I had (and therefore used) was white. This dish is very white overall and could use a little color.
I’d also consider adding a bit of bacon and/or blanched broccoli, plus some chives and parsley for a “loaded potato” feeling. And I’d throw in a little spice.
The recipe is much more authentic without those additions, however.
I did stray from Jessica Yescas’s recipe by not preparing the white sauce the way she did.
Her original apes the condensed cream of chicken soup by creating her own extremely thick cream of chicken soup and adding some of that to the casserole. Her soup included as much cream as stock, which seemed to me excessive.
Instead, I made a chicken-stock-based white sauce and threw in a little extra chicken for good measure. It was easy but had more of a “homemade” vibe — and taste — than condensed soup.
By the way, Funeral Potatoes are so popular in Utah that when the state hosted the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City in 2002, attendees were able to purchase a souvenir “Funeral Potato” lapel pin to commemorate the event.
I recently ordered one of these pins from eBay for far more than I’m sure it originally cost. Please don’t judge me!
Funeral Potatoes
The White Sauce
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
1-1/4 cups robust chicken stock, warmed
1/2 cup cream
1/2 cup milk (feel free to use 1 cup half and half instead of the cream and milk)
Creole seasoning to taste (you may use just salt and pepper, but I like the zip of the seasoning)
a handful of parsley, chopped (at this time of year, it’s fine to use 1 teaspoon dried parsley)
Instructions:
Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat, and whisk in the flour. Cook, whisking constantly, for 2 minutes.
Whisk in the stock and bring the mixture to a boil. Boil, whisking constantly, for 2 minutes more. Turn off the heat and stir in the milk and cream. Heat the mixture until it is warm; then remove it from the heat and stir in the seasoning and the parsley.
This makes enough for one batch of funeral potatoes. You may make it the day before, cool it to room temperature, and then store it in the refrigerator until you are ready to assemble the dish.
TINKY WEISBLAT/ For the Recorder
The Funeral Potatoes
Ingredients:
1 cup (2 sticks) sweet butter divided
1/2 cup diced onion (or more!)
1 30-ounce bag of frozen shredded hashbrowns, defrosted overnight in the refrigerator
2 cups sour cream
1 recipe white sauce (see above) or 1 can condensed cream-of-chicken soup
2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 cup panko breadcrumbs
Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a Dutch oven melt 1 stick of butter over medium heat. Add the onion, and sauté until the onion pieces become translucent. Remove the pan from the heat.
Stir in the hashbrowns, the sour cream, the white sauce, the cheese, the salt, and the pepper. Combine well. Taste, and add a little more salt and pepper if desired.
Spread the mixture into a 9-by-13 baking dish (or something similar).
Melt the other stick of butter, and mix in the breadcrumbs. Place the buttered crumbs on top of the casserole.
Cover the dish, and bake until it is warm and bubbly, at least 40 minutes (longer if you are using a round, high casserole dish, as I did). Uncover it and bake until the top turns golden brown. Jessica thinks this takes about 7 minutes. I waited 15, and my crumbs were still a little pale. They tasted fine, however.
Serves 10 to 12.
Tinky Weisblat is an award-winning cookbook author and singer known as the Diva of Deliciousness. Visit her website, TinkyCooks.com.