It doesn’t get much easier than this. It’s very difficult to screw up mashed potatoes; however, it can be done, and that’s usually due to overmixing.
This recipe focuses on not doing that. It’s also heavily based on Chef John’s recipe which I linked at the bottom of this post.
First, the ingredients:
Very, very simple. Just milk, butter, salt, white pepper, and garlic powder. Not shown here is cayenne pepper. I added a shake or two to the finished mashed potatoes. I used Yukon Gold potatoes, but you can just as easily use russets, and in fact, I recommend that you do. I just had the Yukon Golds and wanted to use them up.
First, it’s important to cut the potatoes evenly so that they all get cooked at the same time. To do this, I cut them vertically into halves. Then add them to your water and bring to a rolling boil.
Once the water came to a rolling boil, I turned the heat down a bit so that it was at a hearty simmer. I don’t remember how long it took for the potatoes to get soft, but given the size of these potatoes, it only took about 20 minutes.
Once fork tender all the way through, they’re done. Drain ’em, then put them back in the pot. Keep the heat on for another 30 seconds or so. You want all the moisture from the water gone.
Then, turn the heat off.
Mash once, in a circle, with a wire masher. After the initial mash, add your butter teaspoon by teaspoon, mashing in a circle after each addition. I ended up using a whole stick of butter, but you can use less. After that, add half a cup or so of warm milk (you can microwave it if you’d like) and switch to a whisk, mixing it all together. Then add white pepper, a tablespoon of garlic powder, and salt to taste and mix together. Like I said earlier, I added cayenne pepper, but you don’t have to.
I ate it with a stuffed pork chop I bought at the store. It was a yummy dinner that provided enough leftovers for the following day’s lunch and dinner.
And here’s Chef John’s video:
Peripheral Chew 