Alton Brown's Whipped Yukon Gold Mashed Potatoes

Mashed potatoes are turkey's best friend, so you must have them at Thanksgiving. Most people don't think much about the potatoes. They just grab some at the store and boil them up at the last moment. But potatoes can be so much more. I decided to try a couple new recipes this year. The first one is a new one by Alton Brown for whipped potatoes. It's from this new Thanksgiving special - Alton's Countdown to T-Day. These potatoes (Yukon Gold for this recipe) are soaked in the fridge overnight to remove excess starch. Then they are cooked in milk and a ricer is used to create a great texture. For the full recipe, visit Food Network's website. Below you will find my notes from this recipe.

1. I decided to only do a half recipe this time, so I just halved everything.

2. my Oneida Mandolin made quick work of the potatoes. By slicing them with a mandolin, you have more surface area, making it easier to wash away excess starch. The whole point of getting rid of some starch is to make light, fluffy potatoes that are not gummy.

3. Make sure you take the potatoes out of their bath without much water coming with them. Also if you have a salad spinner, use it! When I gave them a spin in my spinner, I got quite a bit of water in the bottom.

4. Be careful not to let the potatoes boil over. Milk tends to cause boil overs if not careful. I took my eyes off the pot for a few minutes and had to hurry back to it to prevent milk from spilling over all my stove top.

5. After using my ricer on the potatoes, I only added a little bit of milk. I didn't want as much milk in mine as Alton used.

Read my post on Why Use a Ricer for Mashed Potatoes

6. Alton said not to over whip and I think that can't be stressed enough. You go to all the hard work of making the potatoes and if you whip them too much, you won't have the return on your time invested.

Delicious potatoes! They have a nice, creamy texture. The thing I like the best about them is the potato flavor. It's more pronounced than in any other mashed potatoes I have made. A richer flavor and lighter texture make this dish a winner in my mind (and my house!).