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Creamy Mashed Potatoes is the best mashed potatoes recipe ever! Learn chef Anthony Bourdain's secrets for the fluffiest and creamiest homemade mashed potatoes.
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Mashed Potatoes Recipe
This creamy mashed potatoes recipe yields the best mashed potatoes ever! The recipe is from the late celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain.
He adapted Joel Robuchon’s recipe by using heavy cream, making the potato mash perfect, extra creamy, buttery and rich.
Other Potatoes Recipes You Might Like
Joel Robuchon’s Mashed Potatoes
Crispy Leaf Potatoes
Garlic Herb Roasted Potatoes
Ingredients for Mashed Potatoes
You need four simple ingredients to make this easy recipe:
Yukon Gold potatoes.
Kosher salt.
Cold, unsalted butter.
Heavy cream.
How to Make Mashed Potatoes?
Use a food mill or potato ricer, if you have it. This is what Michelin-star chefs use.
The best mashed potatoes in the whole world is all about texture: smooth, without any chunks or grains, buttery, creamy, silky, light and fluffy. If you don’t have a food mill or potato ricer, make sure you use a metal masher.
This Anthony Bourdain’s recipe uses heavy cream instead of full milk.
Boil and cook the potatoes thoroughly. DO NOT under cook, especially if the potatoes are big and the center is not 100% cooked. This will yield sticky, slimy and gummy potatoes as raw potatoes have a sticky substance.
Use potatoes that are about the same size. If you have them in various sizes, cut them up into equal-sized pieces before boiling.
Homemade Mashed Potatoes
What’s the best type of potato for mashing? What are the best potatoes to use?
The rule of thumb is to use high-starch potatoes such as russet potatoes or Yukon gold potatoes for creamy and fluffy texture.
Do not use red or white potatoes as they are waxy in texture.
How Long to Boil Potatoes for Mash?
It takes about 15 to 20 minutes to boil potatoes in a dutch oven. Make sure you add enough water to cover the potatoes and cover the lid while boiling and cooking.
Best Uses for Leftover Mashed Potatoes
This is a common question asked by home cooks. What to do with leftovers? Here are a couple of ideas:
Mashed Potato Balls – this is the easiest and most delicious recipe. Freeze the leftovers in the refrigerator and add cheddar cheese, bacon bits and breadcrumbs and you’ll have golden and fried mashed potato balls.
Potato Rolls – make soft, fluffy and buttery potato rolls with leftover mashed potatoes. They are so delicious.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I Freeze the Leftover?
Yes, for leftover, just wrap it up with plastic wrap and freeze it. You can freeze it for a few days. Reheat in the microwave for 1 minute before eating.
How Many Calories per Serving?
This recipe is only 332 calories per serving.
What to Serve with This Recipe?
Serve this dish with main dishes. For a healthy meal and easy weeknight dinner, I recommend the following recipes.
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Creamy Mashed Potatoes
Creamy Mashed Potatoes is the best mashed potatoes recipe ever! Learn chef Anthony Bourdain's secrets for the fluffiest and creamiest homemade mashed potatoes.
5 from 9 votes
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By Bee Yinn Low
Yield 10people
Prep 30 minutesmins
Cook 1 hourhr
Total 1 hourhr30 minutesmins
Ingredients
4pounds (120g)medium Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and halved
kosher salt
6stickscold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch (1cm) cubes
1/2cupheavy cream
Instructions
In a large Dutch oven, cover the potatoes with water and bring to a boil. Add 2 tablespoons of salt and simmer until tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Drain well and let stand in a colander for 3 minutes.
Pass the potatoes through a ricer into the large saucepan.
Cook over moderate heat, stirring with a wooden spoon, until the potatoes are hot and steam starts to rise, about 2 minutes; they’ll start to stick to the bottom of the Dutch oven.
Add one-fourth of the butter cubes at a time, stirring constantly until incorporated. Stir in the heavy cream and season generously with salt. Serve immediately.
Adding the butter first helps to coat the starch in the potato, resulting in a creamier potato. Once the butter is absorbed; add the rest of the dairy.
You can use what you have on hand: Flour, cornstarch, or powdered milk are all solid options that are probably already in your pantry. Potato flour and potato starch would work as well. Stir in the thickening agent gradually, about a tablespoon at a time, until the potatoes have reached your desired consistency.
The best potatoes for mashed potatoes are a starchy varieties like russet, Idaho or Yukon gold. Starchy potatoes are best for mashed potatoes because they have a fluffy, almost airy texture that breaks down easily.
Heavy cream will make for the creamiest mashed potatoes, but whole milk or half and half will also work. Don't use anything with less fat than whole milk, otherwise, your potatoes won't be as flavorful or creamy.
For the very best result every time, always gently warm the butter and milk before adding to the potatoes, rather than adding cold dairy straight from the fridge. Here's why: Warm dairy is absorbed faster and more easily, with less stirring than its cold counterpart.
TIP: You need to take one more step with the butter and dairy before you add them to your steaming spuds. Nothing should go in cold. Indeed, butter will mix better if it's at room temperature, so leave it out to warm up while the potatoes tenderize in the water.
Runny potatoes can happen for a few different reasons. Too much liquid: This is the most common reason. In the mashing process you may have added too much milk or broth. Boiled too long: Boiling your potatoes for too long can make them water-logged, which (you guessed it) can contribute to runny mashed potatoes.
For mashed potatoes that are smooth without being gummy, a potato ricer is your best bet. It gently presses the potato into fine pieces, so all that's left to do is add your liquid and a pat or two of butter.
This is the most common, and perhaps the simplest way, to thicken mashed potatoes. You can use what you have on hand: Flour, cornstarch, or powdered milk are all solid options that are probably already in your pantry.
The ricer is the most efficient tool because one single pass is all it takes to get the job done. Epicurious food editor Jesse Szewczyk is a staunch advocate for the kitchen tool: “A ricer is something that can't be replicated or replaced.
Garlic – For savory depth of flavor. Unsalted butter – For richness and buttery flavor. Milk – It smooths the starchy potatoes into an incredibly creamy mash. Use whole milk for the creamiest results.
The Mistake: Cutting Potatoes Into Too-Small Pieces
They'll absorb too much water during cooking, preventing them from soaking up all the yummy butter and cream when it comes time for mashing. The best-size chunks for boiling: about 1 1/2 inches.
Cream cheese: Use full-fat for a rich, luxurious texture. Sour cream: Adds a subtle tanginess and creamy texture. Butter or margarine: Softened to work easily into the potatoes without overmixing. Milk: Adds moisture and helps thin the potatoes for a perfect consistency when baked.
Buttermilk mashed potatoes have the same consistency as traditional mashed potatoes. Buttermilk is substituted for the typical milk, half and half, or heavy cream. Buttermilk lends them a slight tang while keeping the overall dish a tad bit lighter, due to its lower fat content.
According to The Kitchn, butter should always go before cream. The reason for this is that cream contains a high amount of water, and when combined with the starch molecules in potatoes, it creates a gummy texture.
The butter adds extra fat to the milk, making its fat percentage similar to that of heavy cream. Combine 1/4 cup (57 grams) of melted butter with 3/4 cup (178 mL) of milk and mix thoroughly to make 1 cup (237 ml) of heavy cream.
Instead of regular milk, pro chefs generally use a generous helping of buttermilk and plenty of half-and-half or (even better) heavy cream in their potatoes. If you think the bartenders up front are pouring heavy, they've got nothing on the cooks in the back who are in charge of the mashed potatoes.
A word about butter: Don't melt butter before stirring it into the potatoes because the milk solids and fat will separate. You can add cold butter to your hot potatoes since the butter will melt as a whole and distribute the fat and milk solids evenly.
Introduction: My name is Melvina Ondricka, I am a helpful, fancy, friendly, innocent, outstanding, courageous, thoughtful person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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