Get ready to amp up your side dish game, because with a few simple tips and basic techniques, you can easily make restaurant-style mashed potatoes in the comfort of your own home!
Mashed potatoes are one of the first things a lot of people learn how to make, so most of us are probably familiar with the standard process. But, there are a few simple things you might not know that can really improve your homemade mashed potatoes and make them restaurant-style!
How to Make Restaurant-Style Mashed Potatoes:
- Peel your potatoes and rinse them in cold water. This is an important step that a lot of people miss. When you soak them in cold water you'll notice the water becomes cloudy, this is because of the excess starch. If you skip rinsing, that excess starch will cause them to become over-worked, gummy, and gluey later on.
- Start potatoes in cold, salted water. Starting in cold water allows the potatoes to cook more evenly. The salt helps season the potatoes early on. Because the potatoes absorb a lot of water during cooking, it's harder for them to take on much more seasoning once they're cooked.
- Don't violently boil your potatoes. Keep your water at a nice gentle simmer. This allows the potatoes to become evenly tender without falling apart.
- Cook until just past fork-tender. You want your potatoes to be very soft and just slightly past fork-tender, this makes it easy to mash them without overworking. They should easily fall apart when you pierce them with a fork.
- Don't skimp on the butter. A big mistake a lot of people make when making mashed potatoes is not using enough butter. Really good mashed potatoes need plenty of butter!
- Heat your butter and cream before mixing them into the potatoes. The potatoes will absorb the warm butter and cream better and you won't have to overwork the potatoes to mix them in.
Best Potatoes for Mashed Potatoes:
Russet potatoes and Yukon gold potatoes are both great to use for mashed potatoes. They're less waxy and they have a fluffy, buttery texture. Yukon gold potatoes are slightly less starchy than russets, and most restaurants prefer to use them because of their nice golden color. If you prefer skin-on mashed potatoes, baby red or new potatoes have more tender skin that will crisp up better than russets or Yukon gold.
What is the Best Way to Mash Potatoes?
A potato ricer is best for light, fluffy potatoes without any lumps. It also minimally works the potatoes so they don't become gluggy. They aren't very expensive, so if you make mashed potatoes often enough it's definitely worth getting yourself one.
If you don't have a potato ricer, you can achieve similar results by pressing the tender potatoes through a sieve or fine mesh strainer. Just make sure they are very tender or it will be hard to get them through.
More Side Dish Recipes:
📖 RECIPE
Restaurant-Style Mashed Potatoes
Ingredients
- 10 Yukon gold potatoes, peeled
- 4 cups water
- ½ tablespoon salt
- ¼ cup butter, warm
- 1 tablespoon heavy cream, warm
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
- Peel and soak the potatoes. Drain and soak again until the water is clear.
- Add the potatoes to a pot and cover with cold water and the ½ tbsp. of salt.
- Cover the pot and bring to a gentle boil. Continue to cook until the potatoes are slightly more than fork tender.
- Drain the potatoes and return to the pot. In a small bowl, melt the butter with the cream.
- Add the warm butter and cream to the potatoes, along with ¼ tsp. kosher salt, and use a potato ricer to mash the potatoes. Taste and season as needed.
- Serve warm.
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