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Mashed Potatoes for a Crowdby Christophe K in Rouxbe Videos Simple light and fluffy mashed potatoes.
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Step 1: Prepping the Potatoes
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To start the potatoes, peel and remove any eyes with the edge of your peeler, or use a small paring knife. This is to ensure you have perfectly white mashed potatoes. Rinse the potatoes, cut in half lengthwise, and dice into 1 ½ inch cubes. For light and fluffy mashed potatoes, it’s important to cut them into smaller, evenly-sized pieces. This will help them cook faster and more evenly. If you were to cook the potatoes whole, the outside would be overcooked and absorb too much water by the time the inside was fully cooked. Place the potatoes into a pot with cold water and then top up, making sure they’re fully submersed. |
Step 2: Cooking the Potatoes
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To cook the potatoes, add the salt and bay leaves, and bring to a boil over high heat. Skim occasionally, and as soon as the potatoes come to a boil, turn the heat down and let simmer for about 15 to 17 minutes. Test the potatoes by inserting a paring knife. You should feel the same resistance all the way through, and they should slide easily off the knife. Alternatively, remove one of the potatoes and mash it with a fork. If it mashes easily, and looks fluffy and light, they’re done. Remove the bay leaves and drain. Return the potatoes to the pot and mash while hot. For extra fluffy mashed potatoes, a ricer works really well, but when cooking for crowd, a masher will do the job just fine. Cover and set aside, while you heat up the butter and cream. |
Step 3: Mashing the Potatoes
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In a small pot, bring the butter and cream to a gentle boil over medium heat. Whisk in the salt, pepper, and nutmeg, and set aside. Add the cream, a little bit at a time, and mash together. The potatoes should look a little bit wet, because, as they sit, they’ll absorb some of the liquid. Taste for seasoning, adding more salt and pepper, if desired. Place thin slices of butter over the top, then cover the surface with plastic wrap. This will prevent a crust from forming. Cover and let sit, until ready to serve. |
Notes
Two important things when cooking potatoes: 1) don’t over cook them; and, 2) drain them right away. If they are left to sit in the water, they’ll become waterlogged and you will end up with watery mashed potatoes.
Feel free to put them through a ricer or food mill. The reason we don’t here is there are simply too many. It would take a long time to rice them all, and they would cool down considerably. By all means, rice potatoes when making them for a smaller crowd. Ricing ensures light, fluffy and ultra-smooth mashed potatoes.
The options for flavoring mashed potatoes are endless. Add different spices and things like bacon bits, minced chives or green onions, truffle oil, different cheeses, cream-cheese, sour cream, and cream; or keep them low-fat and use skim milk.
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Comments
The most important component of mashed potatoes is the variety of potato used (floury instead of waxy). I have found a limited selection of potato varieties in Vancouver, none of which appear to be that floury. Joel Robuchon, for example, uses Ratte potatoes cooked (baked) in their skins.
I also prefer to use a potato ricer.
Yes for potatoes a "ricer" is the best. But when cooking for 12 people it is a bit overwhelming. Believe me I should know, each time I am in charge of making the potatoes I use a ricer, but I curse myself each time as I squish those potatoes through that little ricer...there I am hot and flustered thinking..."why oh why, did I not use a masher".
So yes, a ricer is better but when cooking for so many, go ahead and use a masher.
Also, a nice combo for potatoes is half mashed potatoes, 1/4 sweet potatoes and 1/4 yams. If you want to get really fancy you can add a head of roasted garlic.
Am I the only person who ever uses a hand mix-master to mash potatoes?
Many people use a hand blender to mash potatoes (including half my family), but there are also many people that say you should never use any kind of blender to whip potatoes.
Here's were I am going to give you a little of Rouxbe's philosophy, well...at least some of my philosophy...Do what makes you feel good! There are a million ways to do things. Some perhaps are better than others, but generally if it makes you feel good and you are happy with the end result then no one should care how "you" do it.
There are many people in the cooking world that "cannot believe, how someone made this or that" but honestly, does it really matter. The fact that you are in your kitchen cooking and not ordering out is what really matters.
So go ahead and do what makes you feel good and if you hear something or see something down the road that makes you re-think "your way" then you can try it...if you like.
Mmmm. Adding well-cooked and 1/4 mashed turnips or parsnips is really nice too, along with a big dollop of warmed sour cream to balance the sweetness of the root vegies.
I make mashed potatoes when serving large, caveman size roasts to big dinner parties (more than 10 people). So, this recipe is great for the quantity it produces. Usually there is some guy lurking around the kitchen who wants to help with dinner preparations so I enroll him in mashing the potatoes. The nutmeg in this recipe packs a powerful punch so go light on it. And the potatoes really absorb the moisture as they sit so I found it helpful to hold back a little of the cream/butter mix to fold in right before serving. My pet peeve when dining out lately is the over emphasis on garlic mashed potatoes so thank you for making these the "old fashioned" way.
At my last cave man sized roast fest, I made the mistake of using some of the left over melted cream and butter to make the gravy. Baaaaaaaddd idea. Worst gravy I ever made. But the potatoes were great (these are so good, they really don't need gravy).
Here is where a good sized food mill probably comes in really handy (I really like mine). I probably wouldn't use it for my own purposes because I don't cook for a large number of people, but anyone who routinely cooks for 4 or more people should really invest in a food mill.
I'm going to try a cutdown version of this recipe next week and I'm going to substitute ghee for the butter and see how that works. I'm guessing that it will give a slight nuttiness that would set it apart from the norm.
Just realized that I should have said "wouldn't use it for my own purposes _for this recipe_. I use the food mill quite a lot for other things though...
looks like potato creme:(
VERY EASY TO MAKE AND DELICIOUSE!!
I want to make this recipe, but make only half. Does that effect the cooking time, because I use less potatoes?
You should be fine with the same cooking time. But don't follow the cooking time exactly, no matter what amount you are doing. Cooking times are always just estimates. Follow the indicators (in the video) that tell you when the potatoes are done and you should be just fine.