The Fluffiest Brown Butter, Mashed Potatoes
Mashed potatoes were always one of my favorture dishes as a kid and even still as an adult they are something that I crave if I’m not feeling well or I want need comfort food because I had a bad day. I think mashed potatoes make almost anything better I mean in the mid-west nearly veryone loves mashed potatoes so this recipe is a staple for me, not just a thanksgiving one. This recipe is a culmination of all the techniques that I have picked up over the years that I have made mashed potatoes, and trust me I have tried a million different things. You can also use russets or Idaho potatoes they have a great starch content that makes them great for mashing. But I have found that I love the golden potatoes, they are just so light and fluffy. The chicken stock and salt in the boiling water adds a lot of flavor to the potatoes from the get go! Why use just plain ol’ boiling water? And the ricer is key, if you don’t have one you absolutely should invest in one from amazon. You can mash your potatoes but you can’t always get all the lumps and you risk overworking the starch creating a gummy or heavy texture. Honestly the ricer might “feel” like more work but I have found that it doesn’t take any longer than mashing the potatoes!
The brown butter just adds an extra layer of depth and nuttiness, it is absolutely not required but I LOVE IT. Heating all the ingredient before mixing the potatoes helps incorporate it much better and obviously keeps them warmer when you serve them.
Ingredients:
5 pounds of Yukon Gold yellow potatoes (peeled and cubed)
3 cups of chicken broth
1 stick melted butter that has been “browned”
2/3 cup heavy whipping cream (heated)
Herb butter
Salt
A “ricer”
In a large stock pot fill with water, chicken stock and salt. Bring to a boil and add cubed potatoes.
To brown the butter melt in a pan over the stove over medium heat, be careful not to burn the butter. After about 5-6 minutes you will start to smell a warm nutty aroma and the butter will start to brown, you will see little brown flecks in the butter. Reduce the heat and slowly squirl the pan around to keep it from burning. Once the butter looks brown and the aroma is stronger remove from heat.
Cook the potatoes until you can very easily pierce the potatoes with a fork. Drain the water and place potatoes in a large bowl, have an empty separate mixing bowl nearby to rice the potatoes into. Add a couple of spoonfool of potatoes to the ricer and squeeze them through until all the potatoes have been riced. With a wooden spoon or spatula fold in half the heated cream and all of the melted butter, scraping in the browned bits from the pan taste and add salt and pepper as neccesary.. Slowly fold the potatoes the less you handle them the more fluffy they are. Add cream as desired for a thicker or lighter potato consistency, the potatoes are pictured with a large pat of herb butter for more flavor! Or you can add more brown butter on top for a richer flavor, it just depends what flavors you reaching for with your perfect, lump free potatoes!
