Garlic Mashed Potatoes
Rinsed russet cubes simmered in butter, half-and-half and a little water with a dozen cloves of garlic that were first cooked with a pinch of sugar until sticky and golden, then mashed with more butter.
Garlic mash is a restaurant and home favorite with no clear birthday. Julee Rosso and Sheila Lukins, of The Silver Palate, printed garlic mashed potatoes in "The New Basics Cookbook" in 1989 (ckbk listing:). By 2010, the United States Potato Board reported 2,256 mashed potato items on the menus of the top 350 chain restaurants, up from 1,749 in 2006, and named garlic among the classics still selling (PotatoPro, July 7, 2010:). Cook's Country's version cooks the potatoes right in the garlic butter and dairy so none of the flavor goes down the drain.
🇺🇸 This one is American
Rinsed russet cubes simmered in butter, half-and-half and a little water with a dozen cloves of garlic that were first cooked with a pinch of sugar until sticky and golden, then mashed with more butter.
🇮🇪 The original
Ireland's colcannon is floury potatoes mashed with butter and milk and folded with cooked cabbage or kale, a well of melted butter in the middle. See the Irish Colcannon recipe.
Why it works the kitchen science
Cooked in the flavor
Simmering the potatoes in the garlic butter and dairy instead of water means the garlic soaks into every piece, and none of it is poured away.
Sugar for roasted taste
A teaspoon of sugar cooked with the garlic browns it gently and imitates the sweetness of roasted garlic without turning on the oven (ATK).
Step by step
- Step 1
Put the potato pieces in a colander and rinse under cold running water until the water runs clear. Drain well.
- Step 2
Melt 4 tbsp of the butter in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the garlic and sugar and cook, stirring often, 3 to 4 minutes, until sticky and straw colored.
- Step 3
Add the potatoes, 1 1/4 cups of the half-and-half, the water and 1 tsp salt and stir. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
- Step 4
Lower the heat to low, cover and simmer 25 to 30 minutes, stirring now and then, until the potatoes are tender and most of the liquid is absorbed.
- Step 5
Take the pot off the heat, add the remaining 8 tbsp butter and mash with a potato masher until smooth.
- Step 6
Fold in the remaining 1/4 cup half-and-half with a rubber spatula until absorbed and creamy. Season with salt and pepper and serve.
Garlic Mashed Potatoes
Serves 8 · about 8 cups · 55 min total
Potatoes
- 4 lb russet potatoes, peeled, quartered and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
Garlic butter
- 12 tbsp (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
- 12 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tsp sugar
Liquid
- 1 1/2 cups half-and-half
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 tsp salt, plus more to taste
- Black pepper
Method
- Put the potato pieces in a colander and rinse under cold running water until the water runs clear. Drain well.
- Melt 4 tbsp of the butter in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the garlic and sugar and cook, stirring often, 3 to 4 minutes, until sticky and straw colored.
- Add the potatoes, 1 1/4 cups of the half-and-half, the water and 1 tsp salt and stir. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
- Lower the heat to low, cover and simmer 25 to 30 minutes, stirring now and then, until the potatoes are tender and most of the liquid is absorbed.
- Take the pot off the heat, add the remaining 8 tbsp butter and mash with a potato masher until smooth.
- Fold in the remaining 1/4 cup half-and-half with a rubber spatula until absorbed and creamy. Season with salt and pepper and serve.
Adapted from Cook's Country (America's Test Kitchen), "Garlic Mashed Potatoes" (July 13, 2011), as written, with 8 servings from its "8 to 10". America's Test Kitchen. Ingredient list follows the source; the method is in our own words.
All sources (3)
Tips
- Rinsing the cut potatoes washes off surface starch that would otherwise make the mash gluey (ATK).
- Keep the heat low once covered; the dairy can scorch on the bottom.
- Use a hand masher, not a mixer or food processor.
The rules people argue about
What the sources agree on, what they don't, and what is just a good story.
- Roast the garlic first. Disputed: many cooks roast whole heads; ATK gets a similar sweetness on the stovetop with sugar. Both work.
- Garlic mash is a restaurant invention of the 1980s or 1990s. Folklore: we found a 1989 cookbook recipe and 2010 chain-menu data, but no source that dates the trend.
- Never cook potatoes in dairy. Folklore: this recipe and ATK's French purée both do it on purpose, over low heat.
Every other mash
Pommes Purée (Robuchon-Style French Mashed Potatoes)
Waxy yellow potatoes boiled in their skins, milled, dried over the heat, then beaten with cold butter, a quarter of the potatoes' weight, and loosened with hot milk until glossy and almost pourable.
Irish Colcannon
Floury potatoes steamed in their jackets, mashed with hot milk until fluffy, then folded with an equal volume of buttered Savoy cabbage and served with butter melting in the middle.
Irish Champ (Scallion Mashed Potatoes)
Potatoes boiled in their skins and mashed with milk that has simmered with chopped scallions, then beaten with butter and served in warm bowls with more butter melting in a well on top.
Scottish Clapshot (Orkney Potatoes and Rutabaga)
Floury potatoes and rutabaga ("neeps") boiled together, dried in the pan so the mash is not watery, then mashed with butter, salt and pepper and finished with chives.
Dutch Boerenkool Stamppot with Rookworst
Potatoes and curly kale cooked in one pot under a smoked sausage, roughly mashed with braised bacon and onions, butter, a splash of vinegar and lots of black pepper, served with the sausage on top.
Himmel un Ääd (German Heaven and Earth)
Mashed potatoes ("earth") with lemony apple compote with thyme ("heaven"), topped with fried slices of blood sausage and crisp floured onion rings.
Aloo Chokha (Bihari Mashed Potatoes with Mustard Oil)
Boiled potatoes mashed by hand with raw red onion, green chilies, cilantro, a spoonful of pickle masala and a drizzle of pungent mustard oil, served warm with litti, roti or rice.
Causa Limeña (Peruvian Layered Potato Cake)
Riced yellow potatoes kneaded with lime juice, oil and ají amarillo into a bright yellow dough, layered with chicken in mayonnaise and avocado, chilled and topped with egg and olives.
Classic American Mashed Potatoes
Whole russets simmered in their skins, peeled hot and riced, then stirred with melted butter first and warm half-and-half second for a fluffy, creamy holiday mash.
Loaded Mashed Potatoes
Skin-on russets mashed with warm half-and-half and butter, then loaded like a baked potato with crisp bacon, cheddar, sour cream and chives.
Skin-On Smashed Red Potatoes
Small whole red potatoes simmered with a bay leaf, dried, lightly smashed with a spatula and folded with a tangy binder of melted butter, cream cheese and starchy cooking water, so pink skins and chunks remain.
Sweet Potato Casserole with Marshmallows
Sweet potatoes cooked down in butter and cream instead of water, mashed with a little cream cheese, then covered with halved marshmallows and baked in a hot oven until they puff and brown.
25-Minute Weeknight Mashed Potatoes
Yukon Golds sliced 1/4 inch thick so they cook in about 12 minutes in a single quart of water, then mashed with butter and half-and-half; dinner-ready in 25 minutes.
Kentucky-Style Mashed Potatoes and Gravy, Inspired by KFC
Ultra-smooth riced potatoes enriched with whole milk, heavy cream and butter, under a peppery brown chicken-and-beef gravy, the fried chicken side at home; inspired by, not official.
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