THE BEST MAK E -A he A D R E CIP E Make-Ahead flavor, and despite their graininess, everyone pre- ferred them. Mashed Potatoes We quickly discovered that buying the pota- M A she D P O TAT O es A R E the U LT IMAte S ID E toes loose, rather than in 5-pound bags, is better dish for all of the big holidays such as Thanksgiving because the quality of prebagged russet potatoes and Christmas. But standing over a pot of boiling is very inconsistent. The potato sizes within the water hoping that you are not making the mashed bags can vary widely, and several times we found potatoes too soon nor too late, while at the same them wet and rotting (old, soft potatoes make for time keeping an eye on your gravy, pies, roast, and a grainy, less-flavorful mash). By contrast, when we an assortment of other side dishes, can be one of the chose them ourselves from the bin of loose bak- most stressful parts of holiday cooking. We figured ing potatoes, we were able to pick the best of the that being able to make a large batch of mashed lot—evenly sized, firm, nongreen, bruise- and rot- potatoes a day ahead of time without sacrificing any free potatoes. The resulting difference in the qual- flavor or texture would be a lifesaver for any time- ity of the final mashed potatoes makes a few extra crunched cook. minutes spent shopping well worth the effort. To start, we turned to our classic recipe for Next we wondered if using heavy cream instead mashed potatoes, which calls for boiling 2 pounds of half-and-half (used in our classic recipe) would of russets in their skins, then peeling them and make any difference in the texture of the reheated passing them through a ricer or a food mill. One potatoes. Those made with half-and-half lacked stick of melted butter and 1 cup of half-and-half depth of flavor and tasted almost watery when are then gently folded into the processed potatoes, reheated, while those made with cream tasted resulting in the smoothest, creamiest, richest- richer and less grainy. Up to now, we had been fol- tasting mashed potatoes you ever dreamed of. lowing a ratio of one stick of butter for 2 pounds These were everything we wanted our make- of potatoes, but we wondered if we should review ahead mashed potatoes to be. Unfortunately, stor- this—especially since we were now using heavy ing these mashed potatoes overnight and simply cream instead of half-and-half. Testing various reheating them didn’t work; they turned into ratios of cream to butter, we found it best to cut the something else entirely with a dry, super-grainy ratio of butter by more than half; additional butter texture and off-flavors. Based on this failure, it was made the potatoes just too heavy and obscured the clear to us that we needed to start from the begin- earthy potato flavor. ning and retest everything we thought we knew Up until now, we had been adding just enough about mashed potatoes in order to find a great cream to make a decent-textured mash (not too make-ahead version. watery, not too stiff), but found that the mashed Could we solve any of these second-day texture potatoes continued to absorb liquid overnight; issues by using a different type of potato? We tested mashed potatoes that were at the perfect consis- mashes made with several lower-starch potatoes, tency the day they were made would be dry and such as Yukon Gold, red, and white potatoes against stiff when reheated the following day. To eliminate those made with our standard: russet potatoes. The this problem, we found we needed to make the ini- Yukon Golds were the worst of the lot: stiff, heavy, tial consistency of the mashed potatoes quite loose. and a little gluey. The red and white potatoes both To confuse the issue further, we noted that various had slightly better textures than the russets; they tasters preferred mashed potatoes with different were smoother, less grainy, and felt almost velvety consistencies (some liked them stiffer, while others on the tongue. While their texture was better, their liked them looser). Plus the quality of the potatoes flavors were not; the red potatoes tasted dirty and as well as how carefully they were scooped out of a bit stinky (one taster described the taste as fishy), their skins affected how much cream was necessary. while the white potatoes tasted hollow and bland. Luckily, our final solution to this problem turned Only russets provided the classic, mashed potato out to be quite simple. First, adjust the consistency 56 SIDE DISHES of the mashed potatoes to your preferred texture. TES T I N G N O T ES Then, add an additional ½ cup of cream to make them looser so as to accommodate their overnight GEtting THE TEXtuRE storage. When reheated the following day, the con- RigHT sistency will once again be ideal. We found that the hardest part of making Next, we wondered if the order or time in which mashed potatoes in advance was achieving a the butter and cream were added to the potatoes smooth, silky texture. Here is how we did it: would make a difference. Adding the butter first made the potatoes grainier, and left an oily tex- ture on the tongue. Adding the cream first made 1. Microwave, the mash taste creamier and less mealy. Wondering then Bake the if some or all of the dairy should be stirred into Potatoes the reheated mashed potatoes before serving for This two-step process, rather than just boiling a fresher flavor, we tested a variety of batches side the potatoes, prevents the by side—the results were dramatic. Storing a batch reheated mashed potatoes of cooked, mashed potatoes without any butter or from tasting grainy. cream was a disaster. The reheated potatoes refused to incorporate evenly with the dairy and resulted in a chunky, gritty texture. Adding just a portion of 2. Beat the Potatoes the cream or butter to the reheated potatoes fared After the cooked flesh is a little better, but these potatoes didn’t taste nearly scooped out of the baked potatoes, we found it necessary as smooth and cohesive as the batch where all of to beat them in a standing mixer the dairy had been incorporated while the potatoes until smooth. Merely mashing were freshly mashed and still hot. As we learned the the flesh wasn’t enough and left hard way, there is little you can do to enhance the unwelcome lumps. texture of mashed potatoes once they have cooled down. Our make-ahead potatoes had gotten marginally 3. Add Cream, better since we started, but we were still plagued then Butter by an annoying grainy texture. Up until now, we Adding the cream and butter had been faithfully using our standard mashed quickly to already smooth, beaten potatoes is key for a silky—not potato–cooking method: boiling the potatoes in gluey—texture. their skins in gently simmering water until tender, then peeling them and ricing them back into the warm pot used for cooking. It was time to put this 4. Add Extra method to the test against some other cooking Cream methods, including peeling, slicing, and rinsing To prevent the mashed the potatoes before simmering, twice-boiling the potatoes from drying out potatoes (a technique touted in a few other books), as they sit overnight, it’s and even microwaving the raw potatoes in a large necessary to make them quite soupy. Add cream bowl (we thought they would steam themselves). to your desired serving While none of these methods proved perfect, one consistency, then add method clearly stood above the others—micro- an additional 1/2 cup of waving. Although we were not fond of microwav- cream to accommodate ing the potatoes on high for about 45 minutes and their overnight storage. the texture of the final mash was a little rubbery, we had finally lost that annoying grainy issue. 57 THE BEST MAK E -A he A D R E CIP E Taking a closer look at why the microwave had technique itself. We tried twice-ricing the cooked worked better, we wondered if it was because most potatoes, ricing them directly into hot liquid (so of the water had been eliminated; the microwave the potatoes would incorporate with the liquid was basically a waterless cooking method. We then without having a chance to clump), and lastly tested two other potato-cooking methods that whipping them in a standing mixer. Whipping didn’t submerge the potatoes in water: steaming was the only method that got rid of the chunks, and baking. Steaming 5 pounds of potatoes turned but it also tended to turn the potatoes a bit gluey. out to be a logistical problem requiring a large Smashing the potatoes up a little by hand before pot, a large steamer, and a cook with tough skin whipping helped reduce the whipping time (and who could stir the 5 pounds of steaming potatoes corresponding gluey texture), and using the paddle as they cooked. Baking the potatoes then mash- attachment rather than the whip attachment also ing them was much easier—we simply baked the helped. Working with the paddle, we noted that it potatoes until tender, then cut them open while was best to beat just half of the cooked potatoes on hot and scraped out the potato flesh.