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Brown Butter Mashed Potatoes

September 25, 2012 by 8 Comments

So, I have one little issue with this here blog…I cook a lot more than I blog.  I cook almost every day, and I have a towering stack of recipes and recipe notes and recipe ideas which means I’m usually cooking something new, and anything new that comes out the way I hope and dream it will makes it to the blog.  Eventually.  Because of the whole cooking-more-than-I-blog thing, there’s a long line of recipes waiting for their turn on Framed Cooks.

However, what with Twitter and Instagram and Facebook and all, I do mention here and there what I am making for dinner at the moment, and last week I mentioned that I had just made brown butter mashed potatoes.  Under normal circumstances these potatoes would have politely waited their turn and shown up on the blog, say, around December or so.  But there was something about the words “brown and butter and mashed potatoes” that made my Instagram and Twitter and Facebook friends react the same way I did, which was basically I need brown butter mashed potatoes RIGHT NOW!  And so I am letting these potatoes jump the line.

First of all, can I talk about the wonderfulness that is brown butter?  Brown butter is just plain old butter than you have melted on the stove and stirred for a few minutes until it turns a deep golden brown.  But there’s something about the browning process that gives the melted butter a rich, almost nutty taste that is kind of indescribably amazing.  I won’t even try – you just have to trust me and make it.  I’ve made brown butter lots of times in the past as a topping for pasta, so it’s kind of mysterious why it took me so dang long to get it together with potatoes, but better late than never.

The potatoes themselves are a basic mashed potato recipe.  You have to use Yukon Gold potatoes…they are the absolute best for mashed potatoes.  Peel and boil them up, and mash them up with some cream (I know, I know, but if we are going to make mind-blowingly good mashed potatoes we gotta go the whole way).  Once they are all nice and mashed to your liking (I like mine with a few little lumps) then stir in the brown butter, saving a little bit for drizzling on top.  Taste.  Add salt and pepper if you need it.  Taste again.  Close your eyes and wonder how you ever lived without brown butter mashed potatoes in your life.  Consider eating them all yourself before letting the rest of the people who live with you know there are brown butter mashed potatoes in the house.  Relent, divide them among the plates, drizzle the rest of the brown butter on top and dig in.

Be very happy.

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Brown Butter Mashed Potatoes

Yield: 6 servings

Brown Butter Mashed Potatoes

Ingredients

1 cup butter
3 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 2 inch chunks
2 teaspoons salt
3/4 cup cream, room temperature
Fresh ground pepper

Directions

1. Make the brown butter: melt the butter over medium heat in a small pot and stir continuously until the butter is golden brown, about 5 minutes (although watch it carefully as it may go faster). As soon as it is brown, remove from heat and pour it into a separate bowl, don't leave it in the pot.
2. Put the potatoes and 1 teaspoon salt into a large pot and fill with water. Heat to boiling and cook the potatoes until they are tender when you pierce them with a fork, about 15 minutes. Drain, return them to the pot and mash them with a potato masher until they fall apart.
3. Add cream in 1/4 cup increments and continue to mash until they are a consistency that you like. If you like stiffer potatoes you may not need all the cream.
4. Stir up the brown butter (some of the solids may have settled to the bottom, remove 2-3 tablespoons and set aside, and pour the rest into the mashed potatoes. Stir well. Add the remaining salt and a generous grinding of pepper and stir again. Taste and add more salt and pepper as needed.
5. Transfer to a serving bowl or individual plates, drizzle with remaining butter and serve at once.

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Comments

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  1. Lori says:
    September 25, 2012 at 10:06 am

    I make my potatoes this way and they are loved in my home. Sometimes I even put in some roasted garlic.

    Reply
  2. Malori says:
    September 25, 2012 at 2:02 pm

    I spy a perfect Thanksgiving recipe! Can’t wait to add this to my Turkey Day table.

    Reply
  3. Bill says:
    September 26, 2012 at 12:19 pm

    I read your blog way more than I cook so there should be some balance here, but, I need brown butter mashed potatoes RIGHT NOW!
    Thanks

    Reply
  4. susan d. says:
    September 28, 2012 at 1:21 pm

    How many pounds of potatoes??? The recipe says: 1 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes

    Reply

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