How To Make The Creamiest Mashed Potatoes

Mashed

potatoes

are a must, especially when it comes to the holidays, they're basically the side dish that keeps on giving, am I right? Surprisingly, there are quite a few mistakes when it comes to mastering the art of

mashed

potatoes

. We go through about 20 pounds of potatoes to bring you the best creamy, super smooth

mashed

potatoes. They are actually so good that you will want to lick the plate. There are two types of starchy and waxy potatoes for mashed potatoes. You want a starchy potato. A potato with more starch and little moisture. produce a fluffier interior we are using Yukon Gold potatoes, they are actually somewhere between a starchy and a waxy potato, they are harder to over mash and have a foolproof creamy texture, we are going to peel the potatoes before boiling, to Some people like to leave the skin on the mashed potatoes, which creates a little more texture, but for really creamy, silky smooth, evenly textured mashed potatoes, it will work much better without the skin.

Quick tip to prevent the potatoes from discoloring and rusting as they sit, place them in a bowl of cold water while you work, after you have filled the potatoes, cut them into one inch cubes this way they will cook faster and more uniform, add the potatoes to a pot of cold water and add a very generous pinch of salt, this will help build the layers of flavor as the potatoes cook, meaning you will need less salt in the future. Now we are going to bring the potatoes to a gentle boil over high heat once it has reached a gentle boil, reduce the heat to low and simmer for about 12 minutes.

You will know your potatoes are ready to be mashed when they are tender. Go ahead and remove the pot from the heat and drain the potatoes through a colander at this point. You're actually going to put the potatoes back in the pot over medium-high heat and stir them for two or three minutes, that will release any excess moisture. At the end of this, the potatoes should be super dry when they arrive. To

make

mashed potatoes, most people use a potato masher or even a fork, some people use a ricer to get a more uniform texture, which we also love if you don't have either of those tools and want to get a similar result.

You can use a fine mesh strainer, place the boiled potatoes in the strainer and use a spatula to gently push them down. I'm not going to lie, this definitely requires more muscle and takes more time, but the potatoes will be silky smooth and beautiful. It's really worth the effort, whatever you do, don't use a food processor or hand mixer, this is going to overwhelm the potatoes creating a gummy paste and let's face it, no one wants it to be anything other than mashed potatoes without adding a little butter. You want to use unsalted butter because it allows you to control the amount of salt in your mashed potatoes.

We made many variations of mashed potatoes and taste tested them all. We tried cold butter milk, melted butter, sour cream, cream cheese, heavy cream, and after all. We decided to stick with melted butter and heavy cream, while some people like sour cream and cream cheese. We found that the flavor really stood out and took away from that uniform consistency and texture we were looking for. A quick tip you always want to add. your butter before adding any cream or milk, this will ensure that the texture of the potato remains firm before being softened by all that cream.

If you add the butter and cream all at once, you'll create this really thick texture, whereas if you add it gradually it'll be nice and smooth and creamy, so remember how we talked about developing flavors. This is another time you will season it with salt. Add the heavy cream to a small saucepan over medium-high heat. This is also the time. When you can enhance the flavor of your mashed potatoes, we'll add some sprigs of rosemary and garlic, but you can get creative with other herbs and ingredients and also bring the heavy cream mixture to a simmer once it's simmering for a few minutes. and so.

The cream is getting very rich in flavor. You will strain the garlic and rosemary through a sieve and then add just the cream to the potatoes a little at a time until fully incorporated. Remember if you add all the heavy cream at once. it's just going to turn into a thick mess as you add the heavy cream to the mashed potatoes, you'll see this really smooth texture start to come together, I mean it's so beautiful, it's that easy your potatoes are finally ready to serve, like this which because tasty, we'll top it with more butter, we'll also add some freshly ground black pepper, some scallions, you can really experiment with your toppings, but this is a pretty classic preparation or if it's that special time of year, pass on the sauce .

Honey, I mean, come on, what's not to love and there you have it, the

creamiest

mashed potatoes you've ever seen or in our case, it's taste buds, it's delicious, they're really, they're delicious, mashed potatoes , they're delicious. The only way to describe them is something sexy, like we eat so many of them it's crazy.