25 years or so back.... misjudged the roast time on a chunk-o-beef. had the mashed potatoes all done up and roast was still way too rare.
chucked the potatoes in their serving (metal) bowl on the bottom of the oven shelf while the roast 'finished'
the peanut gallery proclaimed the mashed potatoes the best this side of Pluto. so I've been doing 'em like that since.
needed: mashing volunteers to test out this theory.
there's nothing magic about it, no secret ingredients, but that oven time does seem to make a real difference.
mashed potatoes:
russet potatoes is my choice.
peeled, boiled in salted water, drained, allow to 'air dry' aka steam off any surface wetness.
toss in a bowl, add 2-3 tbsp (unsalted) butter.
mash. now, I've done it with hand mixer and done it with a ricer, so takes your pick....
either way I prefer to start the mash without adding any extra liquid - get the potatoes broken down and smooth before adding the milk. the theory is to avoid making potato glue....too much mixing/mashing with added liquid makes for potato paste.
lightly salt, fresh ground white pepper, add milk and mash / mix for consistency. milk here is typically 1%.
put in oven proof serving bowl, use the back of a spoon / doohickey of choice to pat/create 'peaks' of mash if you want - depending on oven heat the peaks may color and make for pretty.
into oven - anywhere from 300-425F for roughly 10 minutes.
I'm not sure of the exact mechanism - a short "aging" time appears to make the mash more homogeneous and somehow 'creamier' -
mebets everyone has had rubber chicken and three day old mashed potatoes that have been kept too long - too long is not good.....
so the question is: is this a repeatable method and does is seem to make a difference?
any testers?
chucked the potatoes in their serving (metal) bowl on the bottom of the oven shelf while the roast 'finished'
the peanut gallery proclaimed the mashed potatoes the best this side of Pluto. so I've been doing 'em like that since.
needed: mashing volunteers to test out this theory.
there's nothing magic about it, no secret ingredients, but that oven time does seem to make a real difference.
mashed potatoes:
russet potatoes is my choice.
peeled, boiled in salted water, drained, allow to 'air dry' aka steam off any surface wetness.
toss in a bowl, add 2-3 tbsp (unsalted) butter.
mash. now, I've done it with hand mixer and done it with a ricer, so takes your pick....
either way I prefer to start the mash without adding any extra liquid - get the potatoes broken down and smooth before adding the milk. the theory is to avoid making potato glue....too much mixing/mashing with added liquid makes for potato paste.
lightly salt, fresh ground white pepper, add milk and mash / mix for consistency. milk here is typically 1%.
put in oven proof serving bowl, use the back of a spoon / doohickey of choice to pat/create 'peaks' of mash if you want - depending on oven heat the peaks may color and make for pretty.
into oven - anywhere from 300-425F for roughly 10 minutes.
I'm not sure of the exact mechanism - a short "aging" time appears to make the mash more homogeneous and somehow 'creamier' -
mebets everyone has had rubber chicken and three day old mashed potatoes that have been kept too long - too long is not good.....
so the question is: is this a repeatable method and does is seem to make a difference?
any testers?