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Basic question on mashed potates--has anyone tried the Cooks Illustrated
- Thread starter monj
- Start date
michael-in-phoenix
Well-known member
I use Cook's Illustrated's Buttermilk Mashed Potato recipe. My family ADORES this recipe...
...and it has you peel the potatoes before boiling.
Buttermilk Mashed Potatoes
11/2005
To achieve the proper texture, it is important to cook the potatoes thoroughly; they are done if they break apart when a knife is inserted and gently wiggled. Buttermilk substitutes such as clabbered milk do not produce sufficiently tangy potatoes. To reduce the chance of curdling, the buttermilk must be at room temperature when mixed with cooled melted butter.
Serves 4
2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes , peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
Table salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter (melted and cooled)
2/3 cup buttermilk , at room temperature
Ground black pepper
1. Place potatoes in large saucepan; add cold water to cover by 1 inch and 1 tablespoon salt. Bring to boil over high heat, then reduce heat to medium and simmer until potatoes break apart when paring knife is inserted, about 18 minutes. Drain potatoes and return to saucepan set on still-hot burner.
2. Using potato masher, mash potatoes until a few small lumps remain. Gently mix melted butter and buttermilk in small bowl until combined. Add butter/buttermilk mixture to potatoes; using rubber spatula, fold gently until just incorporated. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper; serve immediately.
...and it has you peel the potatoes before boiling.
Buttermilk Mashed Potatoes
11/2005
To achieve the proper texture, it is important to cook the potatoes thoroughly; they are done if they break apart when a knife is inserted and gently wiggled. Buttermilk substitutes such as clabbered milk do not produce sufficiently tangy potatoes. To reduce the chance of curdling, the buttermilk must be at room temperature when mixed with cooled melted butter.
Serves 4
2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes , peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
Table salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter (melted and cooled)
2/3 cup buttermilk , at room temperature
Ground black pepper
1. Place potatoes in large saucepan; add cold water to cover by 1 inch and 1 tablespoon salt. Bring to boil over high heat, then reduce heat to medium and simmer until potatoes break apart when paring knife is inserted, about 18 minutes. Drain potatoes and return to saucepan set on still-hot burner.
2. Using potato masher, mash potatoes until a few small lumps remain. Gently mix melted butter and buttermilk in small bowl until combined. Add butter/buttermilk mixture to potatoes; using rubber spatula, fold gently until just incorporated. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper; serve immediately.
Do you mash them with the skins on? Like the Black Eye Pea restaurant? Love their mashed taters
Or was it Cracker Barrel that mashed taters with the skins on?? We have neither up here, so I can't remember. I now leave the skins on, sometimes, when making mashed. Kinda rustic looking dish. I would still cut up the potatoes for more even and quicker cooking and easier mashing.
Or was it Cracker Barrel that mashed taters with the skins on?? We have neither up here, so I can't remember. I now leave the skins on, sometimes, when making mashed. Kinda rustic looking dish. I would still cut up the potatoes for more even and quicker cooking and easier mashing.
shaun-in-to
Well-known member
Depends on the skin and the type of potato ...
Tough or unscrubbably dirty, it goes. If I keep the skin, I often score it first -- a bit of a pain sometimes, but it ensures the skin ends up in shreds in the mash rather than big chewy pieces. But there's a lot of flavour and nutrition in the skins, so I like to keep them when possible. Gives more of a rustic look, if that's wanted.
Also, some potatoes, esp. floury ones, just suck up the water, so the skin aids in preventing waterlogging and falling apart.
I sometimes cook the potatoes whole but usually halve them. I wouldn't quarter or cube them because then they can become waterlogged.
Similar to the Cook's Illustrated recipe, I always mash them first with a masher and then stir in butter and milk with a wooden spoon. I don't know where I picked up this method, but people often comment on how smooth and tasty my mashed potatoes are. I used a food mill once and couldn't tell the difference, though people who use ricers rave about the texture.
Depending on the rest of the main dish, I'll add a clove of garlic or two to cook with the potatoes, and mash them in, and/or various other roots: carrots, parsnips, turnips, celery root.
Daniel Boulud has a recipe in which he cooks potatoes and celery root with half-and-half combo of water and milk, then drains them, purees in a food processor, and adds just butter, no more liquid. I want to try this one day, also with just potatoes.
Tough or unscrubbably dirty, it goes. If I keep the skin, I often score it first -- a bit of a pain sometimes, but it ensures the skin ends up in shreds in the mash rather than big chewy pieces. But there's a lot of flavour and nutrition in the skins, so I like to keep them when possible. Gives more of a rustic look, if that's wanted.
Also, some potatoes, esp. floury ones, just suck up the water, so the skin aids in preventing waterlogging and falling apart.
I sometimes cook the potatoes whole but usually halve them. I wouldn't quarter or cube them because then they can become waterlogged.
Similar to the Cook's Illustrated recipe, I always mash them first with a masher and then stir in butter and milk with a wooden spoon. I don't know where I picked up this method, but people often comment on how smooth and tasty my mashed potatoes are. I used a food mill once and couldn't tell the difference, though people who use ricers rave about the texture.
Depending on the rest of the main dish, I'll add a clove of garlic or two to cook with the potatoes, and mash them in, and/or various other roots: carrots, parsnips, turnips, celery root.
Daniel Boulud has a recipe in which he cooks potatoes and celery root with half-and-half combo of water and milk, then drains them, purees in a food processor, and adds just butter, no more liquid. I want to try this one day, also with just potatoes.
shaun-in-to
Well-known member
Right, same as for a potato salad. I think it's
so they don't absorb so much of the cooking water, enabling them to absorb the vinaigrette for potato salad or the milk and butter for mash. It's not a pain -- the skin slips right off.
Re: processing. Never having mashed celery root, I wondered if it might need a processor to puree it. Maybe it's too firm to use a masher? But probably Boulud just prefers ethereally smooth mashed potatoes.
so they don't absorb so much of the cooking water, enabling them to absorb the vinaigrette for potato salad or the milk and butter for mash. It's not a pain -- the skin slips right off.
Re: processing. Never having mashed celery root, I wondered if it might need a processor to puree it. Maybe it's too firm to use a masher? But probably Boulud just prefers ethereally smooth mashed potatoes.