Monday, November 25, 2013

Ultimate Mashed Potatoes - Not Your Every Day Recipe

Every year around holiday time, I see people posting recipes for low-fat and no-fat mashed potatoes, which I find as sad, as I do perplexing. There’s no sane doctor alive, or bartender for that matter, who will tell you eating a scoop of these mashed potatoes a few times a year will, in any way, negatively effect your health.

So what’s up with the reduced-fat holiday potatoes? Isn’t that the reason we try to eat well all year, so on Thanksgiving we can bathe guilt-free in gravy? Sure, serving your loved ones potatoes with a pound of butter in them on a regular basis would be cause for alarm…or at least a glance at any recently purchased life insurance policies…but for truly special occasions, it’s crazy not to enjoy such a pleasure.

By the way, this is no viral-video gimmick. Those star chefs you see Anthony Bourdain dry-humping every week (sorry, I was channeling my inner Anthony Bourdain) all use at least this much butter, and as legend has it, some even flirt with equal parts. Of course, they call it pomme purée, and say it with a French accent, but it’s the same stuff.

Nobody says you have to go full Joël Robuchon and actually use this recipe, but please try to force yourself to add more than the few meager tablespoons that get us through the rest of the year. Anyway, if you’re never experienced this ethereal pleasure, I hope you make them a part of your next special occasion menu. Enjoy!


Ingredients for 8 portions:
3 1/4 pounds russet potatoes (3 or 4)
Note: this will not work with red potatoes, as they are too waxy
1 pound unsalted butter
1/4 cup hot milk
salt and pepper to taste

Note: Thanksgiving gravy warning! For obvious reasons, these aren't very sturdy mashed potatoes, so be careful with the gravy. If you totally drench them they'll basically melt.

54 comments:

Unknown said...

Chef what;'s your feeling on these being made ahead of time and either kept overnight and oven reheated or early in the day and kept warm in a crockpot?

Unknown said...

Look like its so delicious and I want to try them and add it to my personal chef in austinlist.

God Bless!

Unknown said...

Is that a Wüsthof Precision knife you're using?

KingKoopa said...

No nutmeg?! I will be putting some for sure. I use a potato press instead of the wired potato masher since it is easier. Also it looks like a really big garlic press and therefore very fun to use ;)

Unknown said...

There is nothing wrong with Butter --- use it. Will not clog arteries, will not cause death. Get butter from grass-fed cows and enjoy the beautiful natural fat. Good for health and brain power!

TheProf'sWife said...

Yes, yes, please answer MrOCT31's question! I was planning to do the original mashed potato recipe Thursday morning and carrying it in a pre-warmed crock-pot to our feast location. Before serving, I figured I could mix in a little warm milk to loosen them if needed.

Thank you for keepin' it real, Chef John!

Pilsen_9 said...

Hi Chef John, yes, your recipe is wonderful, try adding warm cream instead of the milk... that's real heaven...

PhillyBear said...

you are my hero!

blogagog said...

Tasty looking. But I don't think it's fair to say that lumpy potatoes are worse than Satan. Have you read any Steven King novels? Frankly, Satan sounds kind of frightening. Even more frightening than uncooked potatoes.

blogagog said...

Also, that English bald guy who runs 'The Fat Duck' says use a ridiculous 50% butter/potato ratio. I only mention it because you are my two favorite chefs and you very clearly think alike.

Heston. That's his name. I think. Maybe. It might be Horton.

Chef John said...

Not sure how these would travel in a crock pot, but don't see why it wouldn't work.

Chef John said...

blogagog, I've had the 1 to 1 before, and it just not enough potato for me!

Chef John said...

Jordan Johnson, yes it is!

Anonymous said...

I'm seriously bummed about the lame-ohno! ads on your vids. :( definately sad face!

Unknown said...

I hope that you said that it's worse than seitan -- and not Satan. That being said, this mash looks most scrumptious, thank you very much for sharing it with us!

Best regards,
-DeathMetalIstKrieg666

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...

Best part about this is that on the blog the video title gets abbreviated to "Ultra Luxurious Butt"

edward said...

My dad makes these every year and they are awesome! But, my friend, those are not mashed potatoes they're whipped potatoes - but you did use the word whipped in the video so I'm letting you off the hook. Someone asked about making them ahead of time then reheating - they're good that way but not nearly as good as just whipped. Happy Thanksgiving.

Unknown said...

im making this right now I know its going to be good

Unknown said...

well I severed them with your pork chop recipe my wife loved this and so did I thx Chef john for another great recipe

Anonymous said...

Dude, that's like 46 grams of fat for a single serving!! Well, I guess Thanksgiving only comes once a year...

Unknown said...

no nutmeg???

Russ said...

This is exactly how I was taught to make my mashed potatoes as a kid in Idaho. Except for whipping in the butter and hot milk. We always just used the potato masher to do that.
I have had many people who claim they hate mashed potatoes fall in love with them with this recipe. Very well done Chef! Try these with chicken (or Turkey) noodle soup after Thanksgiving. Yum!

Aaron Brown said...

Just made these tonight for Thanksgiving and everybody loves them! Definitely a keeper recipe, but only for special occasions!

Rosa said...

We made these for our TG dinner and, yes, the amount of butter is staggering when you see it on a plate waiting to mix it into the potatoes. But darn if these aren't super super tasty. Four of us ate an entire eight-serving recipe. So good! Definitely not an everyday dish though! :)

Larry said...

Well Chef John you have done it again. These potatoes were everything you said they would be.

As usual with your ideas I just did what you said. I didn't add anything I didn't subtract anything. Just cooked, served, ate, enjoyed and accepted compliments. Thank you.

Erin Aleida said...

Wow, I should have watched your video before I started my own cooking! It would have saved me a lot of incidents. You had many helpful tips in there that I will definitely use in the future!

Unknown said...

Try using evaporated milk instead of regular milk.

Also, instead of putting salt put in some parmegiano. Makes a difference! ;)

Unknown said...

Also, one thing to keep in mind is that potatoes absorb 1/3 of their weight in water. So it's almost like you are left with 4 "pounds" of potatoes at the end when adding the 1 pound of butter

Unknown said...

Great recipe.

I plan on making this for my holiday meal, which will be simple braised short ribs. I am however going to take these up just a bit. I was lucky enough to get a fresh winter truffle and will be shaving a bit of this in at the end to take them up just a bit.

One thing I typically do with the potatoes is to run them through a ricer. Makes for the smoothest potatoes.

KenFitz said...

This sounds absolutely delicious. Is there a way to make this ahead of time and then how would you reheat. We are going to our daughters home for Christmas dinner and we are bringing the potatoes.

Chef John said...

You can microwave to reheat, but some the butter does kind of separate. best made fresh!

Unknown said...

Could you please list an exact recommended measurement for the salt, pepper, and cayenne rather than simply to taste. I've never made mashed potatoes yet and plan on making these for Christmas but I like to follow recipes exactly and not try and guess how much of something to add.

Unknown said...

why not a ricer? also as you mix what prevents it from being over mixed?

Chef John said...

Sorry, but that's impossible!! Everyone palette is quite different, especially for salt! You must learn to season by taste. A tsp for some is way to much and for the next person way too little.

Chef John said...

Very few have or even know what a ricer is. With that much butter, over mixing not an issue.

Unknown said...

What brand of butter did you use? Was it Kerrygold by any chance?

Unknown said...

I don't mind using that much butter in my food.

Unknown said...

I don't have enough butter, would it turn out ok? I'm short 1/4 stick.

Unknown said...

I don't have enough butter, would it still turn out ok? I'm short 1/4 stick.

Unknown said...

Hi chef john...
Would it be ok if i use potato that colored yellow?!

Krešimir Cindrić said...

I was a bit negligent, so I made this with cold butter, straight out of the refrigerator. I somewhat expected a disaster to happen, but no, nothing bad happened. In fact, a wonderful thing happened (though probably unrelated to the coldness of the butter) - the mashed potatoes turned out perfect, so creamy and delicious... :D

Thanks for making this great argument in favour of butter. Butter is really the key to delicious mashed potatoes!

Mark DeLong said...

Did this exactly the same with European butter and everything...it was amazing!! I'm gonna try out heavy cream instead of milk next time though as one of the posters mentioned it was good.

Thanks for the great recipe!!

Unknown said...

My first time cooking I made this for my wife as a side dish. They were the best she ever had now each time it's my turn to cook she always request the ultimate mash potatoes thanks a lot for the recipe will be browsing for more

archana chanana said...

Hi John,
The recipe is great and tastes heavenly.
Just one question, what did you sprinkle at 4.39 minutes?
It seemed like light brown powder.
Kindly clarify.
Thanks a ton .
archana chanana

Unknown said...

archana chanana - That's his "obligatory shake of cayenne" that he uses in pretty much every single recipe, including the sweet ones!! He mentions it as he sprinkles it on.

Russ 2022 said...

Chef John,

I was wondering your opinion on mashing potatoes with the old school masher you use here vs a food mill. I've used a food mill for a few years and like the consistent "mash", for lack of a better word. They are a lot of work though.

Russ 2022 said...

Chef John,

I was wondering your opinion on mashing potatoes with the old school masher you use here vs a food mill. I've used a food mill for a few years and like the consistent "mash", for lack of a better word. They are a lot of work though.

thanks

Unknown said...

Russ 2022,
I am not Chef John but, I always use a ricer or a food mill when making mashed potatoes. A sophisticated, rich, and decadent dish like this should be (in my opinion) uniformly smooth and creamy. The "old school" masher is fine but, might leave you with a few lumps giving you a slightly more "rustic" result. Your choice I suppose.

Unknown said...

Chef John always makes me laugh in his creative videos.

I laughed so hard when he suggested the name for this awesome mashed potato recipe: Buttatoes...

He's so funny.

Gary Hardwick said...

Made you mashed potatoes recipe and it went fine. Then I mad a cauliflower mashed using your method and it was good as well. so of course I combined them into a Cauliflower/mashed potato and it is fantastic.

I basically used hals a head of cauliflower and one russet potato. It's so good, I don;t think I will ever eat just plain mashed potatoes again.

Thanks Chef for your great recipes.

DallasFoodie said...

Best mash I have ever made. Also I must disclose I did not make this for a holiday 😂

MSfood'Slife said...

My daddy would have approved of this recipe since his mashed potatoes were always butter rich. His wonderful, silky, milk gravy was ladled generously on to the potatoes so he may not have used as much butter as you; these potatoes never dissolved under all that gravy. Rich potatoes and gravy are perfectly suitable for a Feast and that is what holiday main meals are suppose to be. Thanks for reminding me of that and of my daddy's cooking that I've missed for 48 years.

Tom in NJ said...

Hi Chef John.....just made these tonight for the first time.....didn't let anyone see the butter all piled up ready to go it. :) Came out wonderfully! Not a "holiday" in the middle of October, but a family celebration. Also served the 2 hour slow cooked string beans and they were a hit as well. The sides almost outshone the prime rib! Thanks for all your recipes!