My Secrets to Perfect Mashed Potatoes

With the holidays right around the corner, I thought this would be the ideal time to share my Secrets to Perfect Mashed Potatoes… Now you can WOW your friends and family with the best mashed potatoes they’ve ever had!!

Just one word of caution, I believe very strongly that potatoes and other similar tuber starches should only be consumed in moderation. Not every day, Not even once a week… but as an occasional treat… Tubers, by design, are sugar storage for the plants and we all know that excess sugar/carbohydrates are not beneficial to our health. So enough about that.. so go easy and not all the time, is all I’m asking 🙂

I bet you thought you’d get a measured out and precise recipe for my mashed potatoes, right?? Well.. um… You’re not so lucky my friends!

Mashed potatoes have too many variables that would totally undermine any recipes you try to follow…. Instead I’m going to give you my process, my procedure, my tools and what I do…. and I seriously promise if you make your mashed potatoes like mine, the will be the talk of dinner! No lumpy, starchy, mess. Beautifully smooth & creamy, nicely whipped and seasoned perfectly! Oh and BTW – if you want to know where to buy my tools/ingredients just click on the orange words, they are links!

POTATOES – Which potatoes you use is the single most important factor to the texture of your mashed potatoes. I always use Organic Yukon Gold potatoes for both flavor and texture. (Organic is important because potatoes are heavily sprayed with pesticides and not only get loaded with toxic pesticides through the leaves but also they leach into the potato itself through the soil – Never Eat Conventional Potatoes!) Yukon Gold potatoes are a light golden yellow color, super smooth and creamy.  Of course peel & cube your potatoes, I use a palm peeler.

TASTE, SEASON, TASTE, SEASON – Not only for mashed potatoes but for everything you cook… Taste everything along the way, seasoning as you go, layering the flavor, each component needs to be flavorful!  Lay a solid foundation for your mashed potatoes by generously seasoning your potato cooking water with sea salt.. I use one or two heaping tablespoons of sea salt… boil your potatoes until they are completely cooked.

 

POTATO RICER – After your throughly drain your boiled potatoes, rice your potatoes using a potato ricer. Using a potato ricer makes them smooth and fluffy, once you rice your potatoes you’ll never use a hand masher again!

 

BUTTER – Only use the best butter you can find, preferably Organic from grass fed cows, raw if possible. The main flavor in mashed potatoes is butter, you want a full robust butter flavor.. spare no expense. And don’t skimp on it, use MORE than you think you need and don’t be afraid to use more later if you feel like your potatoes don’t have enough flavor! If you do not consume dairy or have a caesin intolerance, use ghee or schmaltz in place of butter.

CREAM OR HALF & HALF  – Just like with butter, spare no expense! Use Organic Grass Fed Cream or Half & Half, raw if possible. The full fat flavor will make your potatoes taste above compare. In a pinch you can also use milk + sour cream. For a dairy free option, use coconut milk.

WHIP’EM UP – So you’ve got your beautifully cooked and riced yukon gold potatoes, butter and cream… add Sea Salt and Fresh Ground Black Pepper – remember Season, Taste, Season, Taste.. Whip up your potatoes using a hand mixer, to blend everything together, Taste, Season, Taste, Season… Since you riced your potatoes you won’t need to work out lumps and bumps, don’t over do it you’ll make your potatoes starchy, just whip them enough to blend everything together and get them fluffed up!

Oh  – and I always mix up my potatoes in the cooking pot (because it’s nice and warm) then transfer them to a serving bowl if I wanna be fancy, but mostly we just serve them up right out of the pot on the stove! Enjoy!!