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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.
As always, better quality ingredients equals better tasting food. Heavy Cream - While you, hypothetically, could use whole milk or something, I don't recommend it. Part of what makes these the creamiest mashed potatoes is the CREAM! Use the cream, we aren't eating mashed potatoes for our health.
Overworking the potatoes will cause them to get gummy, potatoes should still be light and fluffy. 6. Add the butter first. Adding the butter first helps to coat the starch in the potato, resulting in a creamier potato.
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.
Soak the potatoes in water for at least 4 hours, up to overnight. This step is crucial to really get all of the excess starch off. Fill a large pot with water, rinse off the potatoes one last time and add them to the cold water. Salt the water, place the pot on the stove and turn on the heat.
Instead, it's better to use cold butter, so all of the starch is equally coated in the fat and milk solids. Whereas it's important to use cold butter for mashed potatoes, you'll want to add cream that's warm or room temperature.
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.
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.
This comes down to personal preference. Potato skins have great potato flavor. Not only do they add flavor, but some really like the texture of potato skins in mashed potatoes. If, however, you are looking for a super-light and fluffy mash with no color contrast, then you may want to consider peeling the potatoes.
The secret weapon, a good potato ricer (affiliate). This pushes the potatoes into strings, which helps them soak up every bit of the cream and achieve maximum fluffliness.
For most potato dishes it's important to add the potatoes to cold water and allow the water to come to a boil with the potatoes in the water. The potato starch can react as soon as it comes in contact with hot water, which will promote uneven cooking and mealy potatoes.
In a large pot, add potatoes, 1 tablespoon salt, and cold water to cover by 1 inch. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium, and cook uncovered until potatoes are tender and can easily be pierced by a knife, about 10 to 15 minutes (20 to 25 minutes for larger potatoes).
Rinsing potatoes with cold water prior to boiling helps remove excess starch. Rinsing with hot water immediately after boiling can remove even more starch.
Is milk or cream better for mashed potatoes? I use half-and-half: it gives the potatoes the perfect creamy texture and rich taste. As a half-and-half substitute, you could also use heavy cream or whole milk. Whichever you use, just start with a little and add more as you need it.
Heavy Cream: Makes these potatoes extra rich and creamy.Whole Milk: Adds moisture and flavor. Unsalted Butter: Enhances the richness of the potatoes. Salt + Pepper: Enhance the natural flavor of the potatoes.
If you don't have heavy cream, what are good alternatives for mashed potatoes? I can't think of a single reason to waste good cream on mashed potatoes—especially since a little milk of any fat percentage (I use whole milk), or a little butter with some chicken stock will do just as well.
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.
Introduction: My name is Dean Jakubowski Ret, I am a enthusiastic, friendly, homely, handsome, zealous, brainy, elegant person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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