Looks Delic
It seems to me that every family has their own tried and true method for making the best mashed potatoes. It’s one of those rare foods that nearly every home cook has made at least once in their life and no two cooks do it quite the same way. They’re all relative versions of the same recipe but everyone has they’re “secret sauce” so to speak. Can you hear your grandmother instructing 8 year old you while prepping the potatoes for Thanksgiving dinner? Did she tell you that they have to be mashed while they’re still boiling hot? Did she tell you not to use a mallet but rather the back of a spoon? Add a little of the boiling water?
No matter what your method is we all have a similar goal in mind when making mashed potatoes – creamy and smooth texture with all the fluffiness. If you over mash, mix, work the potatoes you will end up with a dense, stiff as a board, lump. So the key here is how do you get all the lumps out before hitting the massive lump stage?
Recipe Tips
My mashed potato method is fairly basic. I use the word basic because you don’t need to be a great cook to follow the recipe and get great results. I would not describe my method as standard though. Standard would elude to lots of people using a similar method. In reality, more people than not would likely advise you against using any type of electric mixer for the mashing. Hand mixers, stand mixers and immersion blenders will all mash your potatoes but they can also very quickly over do things and then there’s no coming back from it. So the key to perfect mashed potato bliss is to keep a close eye on things and DO NOT OVER MIX.
If you haven’t guessed by now, my method involves an electric mixer. I use my Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer, which you can read more about in my post here. I can pretty easily control the speed and the bowl holds a large amount of potatoes making it my go-to tool for mashing potatoes.
How to Make Creamy Mashed Potatoes
Like most mashed potato recipes I start by peeling the potatoes. Cube them into about 1 -1 1/2 inch cubes and place them in a pot of room temperature water. Bring the water to a boil and boil the potatoes for 12-15 minutes. When done, transfer to the bowl of stand mixer using a spider. (*If you don’t have a spider you can of course use a colander. I prefer the spider because the soft potatoes tend to mush into the mesh of the colander and I feel like I’m losing too much goodness. Spiders like this one on Amazon cost under $10.) Add the butter, sour cream, salt and pepper and mix until JUST smooth. If you feel like the potatoes aren’t getting smooth enough, stop and add a splash of milk. And mix for 30 seconds more. Don’t over mix though! For all of the exact details check out the recipe below.
The Recipe for Creamy Mashed Potatoes
If you give this recipe a shot leave me a note in the comments below and let me know how it went. And if you were reminiscing over how your family taught you to make the perfect mashed potatoes please share your family’s secret tricks too! Enjoy!
Classic Mashed Potatoes
Ingredients
- 6 Yukon gold potatoes
- 4 tbsp butter
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
- Bring 6 quarts of water to a rapid boil.
- Meanwhile, peel and cube potatoes into 1½ inch cubes.6 Yukon gold potatoes
- Once water is boiling add 2 tablespoons of salt, stir, then add the potatoes.
- Bring the water back to a boil and boil potatoes for 15 minutes.
- Place the butter in the bottom of the bowl of a stand mixer. When the potatoes are ready, transfer them to the bowl. Add the sour cream, and a pinch or salt and pepper on top of the potatoes. Mix on medium low speed until smooth.4 tbsp butter, 1/4 cup sour cream, salt & pepper
