Thanksgiving Mashed Potatoes
By Melissa Clark · 40 minutes · 4 to 6 servings
A recipe by Melissa Clark from NYT Cooking: its ingredients and steps as published. The introduction, tips, photos and reader notes are on the original.
Details
- ⏲️ Prep time: 15 minutes
- 🍳 Cook time: 25 minutes
- ⏱️ Total time: 40 minutes
- 🍽️ Servings: 4 to 6
Ingredients
- Salt, as needed
- 2 pounds russet potatoes, peeled
- 3 to 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces, at room temperature
- ½ cup heavy cream or whole milk, plus more as needed
- Black pepper and nutmeg (optional), to taste
Directions
- Cut the potatoes into 1 ½-inch pieces. Place them in a bowl, cover with cold water and swirl them with your hands for a few seconds. Drain water and repeat one more time to remove some of the excess starch.
- Put potatoes in a pot and cover with cold water. Season water generously with salt.
- Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat to a simmer. Cook until potatoes are fork-tender, 15 to 20 minutes.
- Drain potatoes in a colander. Rinse under hot water for 30 seconds to wash off more starch. Let potatoes sit in the colander for a minute to steam off excess moisture.
- Mash the potatoes, preferably by passing them through a ricer or food mill. This gives you the fluffiest results. You can also use a potato masher or a stand mixer on medium-low speed. Do not use a food processor, blender, immersion blender or hand-held mixer, since you’ll risk them turning gluey.
- Return potatoes to the pot if necessary and gently fold in 3 tablespoons butter until combined (use the larger amount of butter if you want richer potatoes, or if you’re using milk instead of cream).
- Push potatoes to one side of the pot. Pour the cream or milk into the empty side of the pot. Over low heat, bring liquid to a gentle simmer. Turn off the heat, then fold into the potatoes, adding more cream or milk for a looser texture if you like.
- Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg to taste. Cover the pot if not serving immediately. If the potatoes get cold, reheat them over medium-low, stirring gently and adding more milk or cream to loosen the texture if desired.
- You can make these up to 5 days ahead and store them covered in the fridge. Do not freeze: They turn gritty when defrosted.
- To reheat from the refrigerator, you have three options: First, put them in a pot and reheat over medium heat for 5 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally. Second, spread potatoes into a casserole or gratin dish, dot the top with a tablespoon of butter, cover tightly with foil and bake at 325 degrees for about 15 to 20 minutes. Or, third, microwave them on high power, stirring every 2 minutes, until heated through.
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