If steakhouses offered bottomless mashed potatoes there's a good chance they'd have to change their name to potato houses. There's just something about those velvety smooth, luxuriantly creamy, full-flavored mashed potatoes that have most homemade versions beat beyond comparison. As it turns out, there is a pretty simple reason why steakhouse mashed potatoes are so much better than other versions: They don't skimp on the salt or fat.
Whereas most home cooks will use a pinch of butter, a couple of shakes of salt, and a bit of milk, steakhouse chefs aren't afraid to go all out with the dairy. There's no room for 2% or even whole milk in their mashed potatoes -- the thinness of plain milk just isn't creamy enough to cut it. And creaminess is key! There's no going light on the seasoning either, not when it comes to whipping up mashed potatoes worthy of being served in a restaurant, at least.
Steakhouse Mashed Potatoes Go Heavy On The Heavy Cream
The ingredient list for mosthomemade mashed potatoes pales in comparison to what's used in steakhouses. Instead of regular milk, pro chefs generally use a generous helping of buttermilk and plenty of half-and-half or (even better) heavy cream in their potatoes. If you think the bartenders up front are pouring heavy, they've got nothing on the cooks in the back who are in charge of the mashed potatoes.
Butter is used just as liberally. This is super important for achieving that buttery texture steakhouse potatoes are known for, as well as imparting just the right flavor. Cream cheese is another common ingredient and there's a good reason why. Not only does it add its own share of salt, but cream cheese has a rich, decadent flavor that melts down and blends perfectly with the pureed potatoes, adding to that smooth, fluffy consistency that everyone craves.
Going easy on the salt leads to bland mashed potatoes and that's something that would never fly in a steakhouse. Salt is an important part of drawing out the potato flavor, after all. Without it, they just won't taste like what you expect when you sit down to a steak dinner. Garlic is also commonly used for seasoning -- and the chefs don't go easy on it either.
Superb Mashed Potatoes Are Worth The Effort
There's a good reason why steakhouses take their mashed potatoes so seriously. The side dish has to be able to hold its own next to a perfectly aged and heavily seasoned cut of beef. Otherwise, it's just a boring waste of space that you could get anywhere. And when you're forking over good money for a multi-course meal, the steakhouse's sideshave to be just as good as the main dish (which is probably why a lot of steakhouses are stepping up their potato game -- and their side dishes in general). For instance, at St. Anselm, a steakhouse in Brooklyn, New York, the mashed potatoes are pan-fried in lard for extra richness and a contrast of fluffiness and crispness.
Naturally, this same idea can be just as true at home as it is in a restaurant. So why not turn your mashed potatoes up a few notches next time? Doing so will elevate your entire meal, and the improvement will be well worth the cost for extra butter and cream. Once you get the hang of it there'll be no going back to the same bland potatoes that never had enough salt or dairy anyway.
As it turns out, there is a pretty simple reason why steakhouse mashed potatoes are so much better than other versions: They don't skimp on the salt or fat. Whereas most home cooks will use a pinch of butter, a couple of shakes of salt, and a bit of milk, steakhouse chefs aren't afraid to go all out with the dairy.
The secret to achieving this is a hefty dose of salt. Steakhouse chefs cover their baked potatoes in salt before sticking them in the oven, often helping the crystals adhere with a generous coating of oil.
If their kitchen isn't put together well enough to make mashed potatoes from fresh potatoes it would leave me wondering what other corners they are cutting. Restaurant mashed potatoes often taste better due to the use of higher-fat content ingredients like butter and cream, which enhance the flavor and creaminess.
Garlic – For savory depth of flavor. Unsalted butter – For richness and buttery flavor. Milk – It smooths the starchy potatoes into an incredibly creamy mash. Use whole milk for the creamiest results.
Blanching: The Reason Why French Fries Taste Better
The fries are then drained, cooled and chilled in the fridge. At this point, the fries should be pale with no browning. The final step browns and crisps the fries at a higher temperature for a shorter period of time (about 350°F for one to three minutes).
Restaurants prepare the potatoes ahead by boiling and mashing just the potato, then just before serving, it is mixed into boiling cream (or milk or even broth or a combination thereof) to reheat it and make it nice and creamy.
Why does it happen? You could be using the wrong potatoes. Potatoes are generally considered "waxy" or "starchy." Waxy potatoes (like white potatoes and red potatoes) are more prone to gumminess when mashed, as opposed to starchy potatoes (like Yukon Golds and russets).
Soaking potatoes in water helps remove excess starch. Excess starch can inhibit the potatoes from cooking evenly as well as creating a gummy or sticky texture on the outside of your potatoes. Cold water is used because hot water would react with the starch activating it, making it harder to separate from the potatoes.
"Homemade" may not be an ingredient, but it's something you can taste. That's why we hand roll our biscuits and make our mashed potatoes and gravy from scratch all day long in each of our restaurants.
To help offset the PH neutrality of potatoes and keep them from turning gray, here are some other secret ingredients… add in something acidic such as a teaspoon of concentrated lemon juice, white wine vinegar, cream of tartar or even a vitamin C tablet.
These simple mashed potatoes are silky-smooth and rich, no heavy cream required. To achieve this, we simmer the potatoes in milk, allowing them to absorb the dairy's flavor while retaining their starch, as opposed to washing it away with boiling water.
Gordon Ramsay's mashed potatoes are known for their richness and flavor. He typically adds butter, heavy cream, and sometimes crème fraîche to his mashed potatoes for a creamy and indulgent texture. Additionally, he often incorporates roasted garlic or chives for extra flavor.
Potatoes from Kato Nevrokopi are known all over Greece for their superior taste and quality characteristics. The cultivation begun in the Kato Nevrokopi basin in the mid-1920s. In 2002 Nevrokopi Potatoes became a PGI product.
Mealy potatoes have a thick skin and low moisture content. Mealy potatoes are drier and have a more concentrated potato flavor because of that. The drier russet potato bakes into a fluffy light texture compared to a waxy potato with its higher level of moisture which ends with dense result when baked.
However, unlike some of the baked potatoes we normally make, jacket potatoes are cooked for upwards of an hour to ensure the skin is crispy and the inside starch is tender and fluffy. So, no microwaved potatoes for the Brits. The beauty of a jacket potato is that the topping options are endless.
The soaking, Mr. Nasr said, is the secret to the crisp texture of the fries. It draws out the starch, making them more rigid and less likely to stick together. The cooks fry them twice, first blanching them until slightly limp in peanut oil heated to 325 degrees, and again in 375-degree oil to crisp and brown them.
Introduction: My name is Kerri Lueilwitz, I am a courageous, gentle, quaint, thankful, outstanding, brave, vast person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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