- [Woman] Mashed potatoes are a must.
Especially when it comes to the holidays.
It's 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 went through about 20 pounds of potatoes
to bring you the ultimate, creamy,
super smooth mashed potatoes.
They're seriously so good.
You're gonna wanna lick the plate.
(upbeat instrumental music)
There's two types of potatoes.
Starchy and waxy.
For mashed potatoes, you want a starchy potato.
A potato with higher starch and low moisture
will yield a fluffier inside.
We're using Yukon Gold potatoes.
They're actually somewhere in between
a starchy and a waxy potato.
They're harder to over-mash
and have a fool proof creamy texture.
We're gonna peel the potatoes before boiling.
Some people like to leave the skin on their mashed potatoes
which creates a little bit more texture,
but for really creamy, silky smooth mashed potatoes
with a uniform texture,
it's gonna work a lot better with the skin off.
Quick tip.
To keep your potatoes from discoloring and oxidizing
and they sit out, place them in a bowl
of cold water while you work.
After you've peeled your potatoes,
cut them into one inch cubes.
This way they're gonna cook more quickly and evenly.
Add your potatoes to a pot of cold water
and add a very generous pinch of salt.
This is gonna help build the layers of flavor
as the potatoes cook, which means
you'll need less salt down the line.
Now we're gonna bring the potatoes
to a soft boil over high heat.
Once you've reached a soft boil,
reduce the heat to low and simmer for about 12 minutes.
You'll know your potatoes are ready for mashing
when they're fork tender.
Go ahead and remove the pot from the heat
and drain the potatoes through a colander.
At this point you're actually gonna place the potatoes
back in the pot over medium-high heat
and stir them around for two to three minutes.
That's just gonna release any excess moisture.
At the end of this, the potatoes should be super dry.
When it comes to mashed potatoes,
most people use a potato masher or even a fork.
Some people use a potato ricer for a more uniform texture,
which we're also really big fans of.
If you don't have any of those tools
and wanna get a similar result,
you can use a fine mesh sieve.
Place the boiled potatoes in the sieve,
and use a spatula to gently push them down.
I'm not gonna lie.
This definitely takes more muscle and is more time consuming
but the potatoes are gonna be so silky smooth
and beautiful, it's really worth the effort.
Whatever you do, do not use a food processor
or a hand mixer.
This is gonna over-work the potatoes,
creating a gummy like paste.
And let's be real.
No one wants that.
Now it wouldn't be mashed potatoes
without adding some butter.
You wanna use unsalted butter
because it allows you to control the amount of salt
in your mashed potatoes.
We made so many variations of mashed potatoes
and taste tested all of them.
We tried cold butter, milk, melted butter,
sour cream, cream cheese, heavy cream,
and after all that we decided to stick
with melted butter and heavy cream.
While some people do like sour cream and cream cheese,
we found that the flavor really stood out
and took away from that uniform consistency and texture
that we were looking for.
Quick tip.
You always wanna add your butter
before adding any cream or milk.
This is gonna ensure that the texture of the potato
remains firm before being softened by all that cream.
If you add your butter and your cream all at once,
it's gonna create this really soupy texture,
whereas if you go gradually
it'll be nice and smooth and creamy.
So remember how we talked about building flavors?
This is another time where you're gonna season it with salt.
Add your heavy cream to a small saucepan
over medium-high heat.
This is also the moment when you can enhance the flavor
of your mashed potatoes.
We're gonna add some rosemary sprigs and garlic
but you can get creative with other
herbs and ingredients as well.
Bring the heavy cream mixture to a simmer.
Once it's simmering for a few minutes
and that cream is getting really infused with flavor,
you're gonna strain out the garlic
and the rosemary through a sieve.
And then add just the cream to the potatoes,
little by little until they're fully incorporated.
Remember if you add all the heavy cream at once,
it's just gonna become a soupy mess.
As you fold the heavy cream into the mashed potatoes,
you're gonna 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.
So because it's Tasty, we're gonna top it with more butter.
We're also gonna add some freshly ground black pepper,
some chives, you can really experiment with your toppings,
but this is a pretty classic preparation.
Or if it's that special time of year,
pass the gravy, baby.
I mean come on, what's not to love?
And there you have it.
The creamiest mashed potatoes you've ever laid eyes on.
Or in our case, our taste buds.
(laughs) It's like luscious.
They're really, they're luscious mashed potatoes.
- [Voiceover] They are luscious.
- [Woman] They're luscious.
That's the only way to describe them.
- [Voiceover] Like, kinda sexy.
- [Woman] Like, have we, I mean we ate so many of them.
(camera shutters)
It's insane.
So many.