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Garlic Mashed Potatoes

By America's Test Kitchen

Published on July 13, 2011

Time

55 minutes

Yield

Serves 8 to 10

Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Ingredients

4 pounds russet potatoes, peeled, quartered, and cut into ½-inch pieces12 tablespoons (1 ½ sticks) unsalted butter, cut into pieces12 garlic cloves, minced1 teaspoon sugar 1 ½ cups half-and-half ½ cup water Salt and pepper

Before You Begin

Cutting the potatoes into 1/2-inch pieces ensures that maximum surface area is exposed to soak up garlicky flavor.

Instructions

  1. Place cut potatoes in colander. Rinse under cold running water until water runs clear. Drain thoroughly.
  2. Melt 4 tablespoons butter in Dutch oven over medium heat. Cook garlic and sugar, stirring often, until sticky and straw colored, 3 to 4 minutes. Add rinsed potatoes, 1 1/4 cups half-and-half, water, and 1 teaspoon salt to pot and stir to combine. Bring to boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer, covered and stirring occasionally, until potatoes are tender and most of the liquid is absorbed, 25 to 30 minutes.
  3. Off heat, add remaining butter to pot and mash with potato masher until smooth. Using rubber spatula, fold in remaining half-and-half until liquid is absorbed and potatoes are creamy. Season with salt and pepper. Serve.

Garlic Mashed Potatoes

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By America's Test Kitchen
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Time

55 minutes

Yield

Serves 8 to 10

Ingredients

4 pounds russet potatoes, peeled, quartered, and cut into ½-inch pieces
12 tablespoons (1 ½ sticks) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
12 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon sugar
1 ½ cups half-and-half
½ cup water
Salt and pepper

Test Kitchen Techniques

Ingredients

4 pounds russet potatoes, peeled, quartered, and cut into ½-inch pieces
12 tablespoons (1 ½ sticks) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
12 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon sugar
1 ½ cups half-and-half
½ cup water
Salt and pepper

Test Kitchen Techniques

Ingredients

4 pounds russet potatoes, peeled, quartered, and cut into ½-inch pieces
12 tablespoons (1 ½ sticks) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
12 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon sugar
1 ½ cups half-and-half
½ cup water
Salt and pepper

Test Kitchen Techniques

Why This Recipe Works

Infusing mashed potatoes with the flavor of roasted garlic is easy—if you have an extra hour to roast a head of garlic. Is there a faster way? Yes, and it’s in our Garlic Mashed Potatoes recipe. We cut the potatoes into small pieces to allow them to soak up garlic flavor and to promote even cooking. To eliminate excess starch, which produced gluey mashed potatoes, we gave the raw, cut russets a good rinse under running water before adding them to the pot. They then simmered in the fat and seasonings to avoid the “washing away” of flavor that can come from boiling in just water, using just enough liquid to prevent them from scorching. For the final touch on our Garlic Mashed Potatoes recipe, we sprinkled in a little sugar while sautéing the garlic, to quickly mimic the sweet flavor of the roasted garlic without an oven.

Before You Begin

Cutting the potatoes into 1/2-inch pieces ensures that maximum surface area is exposed to soak up garlicky flavor.

Instructions

  1. Place cut potatoes in colander. Rinse under cold running water until water runs clear. Drain thoroughly.
  2. Melt 4 tablespoons butter in Dutch oven over medium heat. Cook garlic and sugar, stirring often, until sticky and straw colored, 3 to 4 minutes. Add rinsed potatoes, 1 1/4 cups half-and-half, water, and 1 teaspoon salt to pot and stir to combine. Bring to boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer, covered and stirring occasionally, until potatoes are tender and most of the liquid is absorbed, 25 to 30 minutes.
  3. Off heat, add remaining butter to pot and mash with potato masher until smooth. Using rubber spatula, fold in remaining half-and-half until liquid is absorbed and potatoes are creamy. Season with salt and pepper. Serve.

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