Classic Homemade Mashed Potatoes

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Mashed potatoes are comfort food, plain and simple.  We serve them alongside elaborate holiday meals and humble weeknight dinners.  But what is the absolute perfect comfort food has been corrupted into preservative laden convenience foods with a dozen or more ingredients found in your mega mart’s cold cases.  Classic Homemade Mashed Potatoes has but 5 simple ingredients – potatoes, butter, milk, salt, and pepper.  That’s it!  

The classic homemade mashed potato is so good because it is so simple.  Mashed potatoes don’t really have a recipe, but rather a method or procedure that you can follow to get them exactly the way you like them each and every time.  But, I know some people want to know exact measurements and amounts, so I did my best to include them below.

Start by peeling your potatoes.  Give them a good rinse to remove any excess dirt or grit.  

Then, slice the potatoes into fairly uniform pieces.  You want them to all cook at the same time so you don’t have some pieces that disintegrate while others are still rock hard.  As you slice your potatoes, put them in a bowl/pot of cold water.  This will keep your potatoes from browning and will help to wash away the excess starch.  You can do this step up to a day in advance, just keep the peeled & sliced potatoes in cold water so they don’t discolor. 

When you are ready to cook your potatoes, drain off the water they’ve been sitting in, and refill your pot with clean, cold water.  Add one teaspoon of kosher salt to the potatoes, and put them on medium-high heat. 

Once your potatoes come to a boil, reduce the heat to medium, and set your timer for 10 minutes.  When your timer goes off, check your potatoes with a sharp knife.  You want to pierce the potato easily and have it break apart.  If your potatoes are still firm, cook them for a few minutes longer and check again.  Your cooking time will vary depending on how big your pieces of potato were.

When your potatoes have cooked through, drain the potatoes in a colander in the sink. 

Then, add the half-stick of butter and cup of milk to the pot and heat it slowly just to take the chill off.

Add your potatoes to the warmed dairy mixture, and using a hand-mixer, whip the potatoes to the desired texture.  You may need to add more milk at this point to get the potatoes really smooth.

Season with salt and pepper to taste, and serve immediately.