Mashed Potatoes = Comfort Food
At least, to me! My grandma made an amazing roast and gravy and of course you HAD to have creamy mashed potatoes to go with all that goodness! Whether I eat them with pot roast and gravy, creamy chicken gravy, or just plain, I want my mashed potatoes creamy and light. Here’s how I make mine.
The Method
I use 5 lbs potatoes per 10 people, as a rough guesstimate (adjust as needed for your family). I don’t boil my potatoes; I steam them. (Pressure steam, to be exact.)
To pressure steam: Cook peeled, cubed Russet potatoes for 8 min on HI in the Instant Pot in a steamer basket (should be easily fork tender) over a cup or two of water, then QR and proceed as usual:
Mash with a masher or ricer, then add butter (at least half a stick, maybe more!), salt to taste, and a dollop of sour cream — just enough for flavor and a slight creaminess. Stir with a wooden spoon to mix, then stir in heavy cream a little at a time to the desired consistency.
Don’t have a pressure cooker? You can still steam them over water in a covered saucepan — just check them at about 18-20 minutes for tenderness. Don’t skimp on time or they’ll be lumpy.
Want to boil them like your grandma probably did? Cover with cool salted water, bring to boil, cover and simmer till tender (15-20 min). Drain; return potatoes to empty pan over low heat and stir gently to help reduce moisture in the potatoes. Then remove from heat and continue as above.
Scroll down for more tips.
Need some ideas of what to serve with your potatoes?
(Most recipes pictures below are from Everyday Cooking cookbook.)
(There may be affiliate links in this post. If you click on those links and purchase within 24 hours or so, I do get a slight credit for your purchase — helps my site keep going! — but your price does not change at all. Thanks!)TIPS:
- I use a masher that has a ricer appearance, with small holes; to me, that works more efficiently than an S-shaped masher and it’s a very versatile kitchen tool that takes up minimal space. (I use it to mash eggs for egg salad, smash chicken or tuna for salad or mix-ins, mash avocado for guacamole or avocado toast, and more.) (Yes, there are cheaper ones than the one at the link — I was blessed to marry into a Cutco stash because my husband sold the stuff in college. Just scroll Amazon from there!)
- I don’t normally use a mixer to mix at the end because the starch tends to get gluey, but if I feel a need to use the mixer, I use a paddle type attachment (not a balloon whisk) and mix on low to be as gentle as possible.
- Room temp or warm ingredients help minimize gluey-ness and make mixing easier.
- When I mix in the cream at the end, at first it will seem like a bit much, but as it absorbs into the potatoes, it fluffs them up and makes them, well, creamy. It’s better to start with not enough and then add as needed; if you add too much, you’ve got potato soup, or your only recourse is to add some instant potato flakes!
- At holidays, when I am mashing at least ten pounds of Russets, I will cook them in batches and either divide into foil pans (buffet section of the grocery) to reheat, or I’ll pop into a 7-or-8 quart slow cooker to keep warm. If you cook potatoes ahead of time and opt to reheat in the oven the-day-of, be aware that it takes FOR.EVER. to reheat them. If you are going to reheat them, make them originally moister than desired as they will dry out a bit in the oven (even covered); be prepared to add a bit more cream after reheating. Also, make a hole in the center of the potato “casserole” before reheating to minimize a cold center. Plan on at least 90 min or longer to reheat; better to have them warmed early and hold in the oven for 30 min than to have cold potatoes with your turkey. (Ask me how I know.)
