Loaded Mashed Potatoes Recipe

Do The Mash

Mashed potatoes are a vital part of every restaurants repertoire. Not only are they served on their own, but they are also one of the most versatile food bases available. For classic French cooking, mashed potatoes start as potatoes purée. From there they are made into mashed or whipped potatoes, potatoes duchesse, and potato croquettes or used as the top crust of Shepherd’s pie or sometimes potpies. The process for making potatoes purée is the most dependable and consistent method for getting creamy, fluffy mashed potatoes. And, of course, if you are making a loaded mashed potatoes recipe, you want to start with the best potato purée you could get.

The Potatoes Have Eyes

When selecting potatoes for your loaded mashed potatoes recipe, you want to go with starchy potatoes, like good old russets or chef potatoes, rather than waxy or new potatoes.

I like to use the russets or chef potatoes because of their actual makeup. Waxy potatoes have a high moisture content, a high sugar content, and a low starch content. They are best for boiling whole, in salads and soups, making hashed browns, or basically any use you can think of where the potato needs to hold its shape. Russets, on the other hand, are high in starch and low in moisture and sugar. They become light, dry, and mealy when they are cooked. This is what we are looking for to make a superior mashed potato.

When choosing your potatoes, look for spuds that are:

• Firm and smooth skinned
• Have dry skins
• Have shallow eyes
• Have no sprouts
• Have no green color
• Are free of any rotten spots, cracks, or blemishes

For the Purée of Heart

Now that we have selected our potatoes, lets purée them.

Ingredients

• 2 pounds of potatoes
• Salt

Instructions

1. Wash, peel, and carefully remove the eyes from your potatoes.
2. Cut the potatoes into uniform-sized pieces. We do this so the pieces of potato cook at the same rate. This reduces the incident of undercooked or overcooked potatoes.
3. Simmer the potatoes in well-salted water until they are tender.
4. Do not let the water boil.
5. Test the potatoes by probing them with a knife. If the knife is easily inserted into the potato, the potato is done. Alternately, you can try biting into one of the potatoes after removing it from the water and letting it cool. If the potatoes are tender to the bite, they are ready.
6. Drain the potatoes well in a colander.
7. Using the paddle attachment of your stand mixer, mix the potatoes until smooth.
8. Periodically stop the mixer and use a rubber spatula to scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl.

Now you have a potato purée. If you taste this now it will be rather bland because we didn’t season it yet. At this point, if you just wanted to make standard mashed potatoes you would add some butter, salt, pepper and cream and mix until the seasons were fully incorporated. Now, let's get those mashers loaded.

Loaded Mashed Potatoes Recipe

Once you have your potato purée ready, you can load them with whatever you happen to like. The traditional ingredients for loaded mashed potatoes recipes are:

• Shredded cheese. Cheddar is generally the cheese to use, but Gruyere makes for a nice change.
• Caramelized shallots.
• Chopped crispy bacon.
• Minced garlic that has been lightly toasted in butter.
• Sour cream
• Cauliflower that has been blanched and chopped into small bite sized bits.
• Minced Rosemary.

Add the ingredients to your mashed potatoes and mix until fully incorporated. If you are adding something bite sized, like the cauliflower, mix it in by hand so the paddle of the mixer doesn’t crush it.

Tips and Hints

You will need about 2 pounds of potatoes to make four servings of loaded mashed potatoes. A rather largish potato is about 1 pound. Although you could add as much of the ingredients as you like, about a cup of each will mix in well. A quarter cup of garlic will nicely flavor the potatoes.