Here’s the secret to the best mashed potatoes for Thanksgiving

In his poem “Digging,” Irish poet Seamus Heaney describes the sensation of holding potatoes as “loving their cool hardness in our hands.” That “cool hardness” is the start to a proper mash, which should end with potatoes that taste deeply of themselves but avoid becoming pasty.

To preserve those tastes, I decided to try steaming potatoes first instead of boiling them and was so happy with the results. Letting potatoes tenderize in a pot of rapidly bubbling water works, of course, but tends to leave them waterlogged, diluting their natural flavor and causing the edges to slough off like a landslide. Keeping the peels on helps, but cooking spuds whole often results in a too-soft shell around a too-firm center.

Steamed potatoes end up just right. As I learned through my family’s Chinese cooking, steaming intensifies a vegetable’s truest flavor. Applied to potatoes, the process also allows them to soften while absorbing the right amount of moisture and, because they’re not salted, heightens their inherent sweetness.

I got the best results with Russet Burbank potatoes, also known as baking potatoes. This is because they have large starch granules that swell then separate during cooking, which means they can be easily smashed to bits and readily absorb butter and milk. The cells of white, gold and red potatoes — waxy and lower in starch — swell less and stick together, making them hard to crush (not ideal for mashing, but nice for potato salads and gratins).

Once the russets are steamed, they should not be overworked so they stay fluffy. A ricer is perfect for breaking down potatoes, but steamed russets fall apart just as easily under a dinner fork, which is finer than a potato masher and more common in any kitchen. Just be sure to avoid using a food processor or blender: Shearing potato starches with a blade causes them to go straight to gluey.

So does excessively beating crumbled spuds to incorporate other ingredients. Smoothing just-mashed potatoes with a splash of milk before folding in cold salted butter — ideal for creaminess — helps the golden pats fade quickly into the blend. The rest of the milk then gets whipped into the mix to help aerate it. The fork shouldn’t violently and erratically slice through the mash, but instead circle like a Ferris wheel, steady and gentle, up and down and back around.

Seasoning at the very end gives you a chance to taste how savory the mash is already from the salted butter, and then you can sprinkle on just what you need. This end-stage seasoning runs counter to the heavy-and-constant-salting camp of potato cooks but actually intensifies the potatoes’ distinct deep earthiness. So does white pepper, which also keeps the creamy mound speck-free.

Perhaps the greatest secret to fluffy, not pasty, mashed potatoes is that they’re even better when made a day or two ahead. In “CookWise,” Shirley O. Corriher explains how cooked potato starches “retrograde” when chilled, ensuring that they don’t become gooey when reheated. It takes a little attention to detail and a lot of science to arrive at great mashed potatoes, but nothing’s easier than pulling the cool hardness of a container of mashed potatoes out of the refrigerator to heat up on a busy holiday.

Fluffy Mashed Potatoes

For the silkiest fluffy mashed potatoes, start with firm, cool Russet Burbank spuds, also known as Idaho or baking potatoes. They’re the easiest to mash without becoming pasty and are even tastier steamed instead of boiled. Boiling potatoes can leave them waterlogged, diluting their earthy subtle sweetness, but steaming them preserves their inherent flavor. As the potatoes soften, they absorb just the right amount of moisture. Seasoning the dish only at the very end heightens their intrinsic subtle sweetness. If you have a ricer, use it for an exceptionally smooth texture: Press the steamed potatoes through the ricer back into the pot, then gently fold in the butter and milk with a wooden spoon or flexible spatula.

Yield: 6 to 8 servings

Total time: 40 minutes

Ingredients:

3 pounds russet potatoes

1 cup whole milk, plus more as needed

1/2 cup cold salted butter, cut into pats

Salt

Freshly ground white or black pepper

1/4 cup heavy cream, plus more as needed (optional)

Preparation:

1. Prepare a steamer: Arrange an insert or basket (or a large colander, if you have neither) in a large pot, and add enough water to come just below the base of the steamer. Bring water to a boil over medium-high heat.

2. Rinse potatoes well, then peel. Rinse again, then cut into 1-inch chunks. Spread evenly in the steamer, cover, reduce heat to medium and steam until the potatoes are very tender, 20 to 25 minutes. A fork should slide easily into a piece and break it without effort. Turn off the stove, carefully remove the steamer insert and drain the water from the pot. Pour the potatoes back into the pot and spread evenly.

3. Let the potatoes stand until their surfaces are dry, about 3 minutes. Meanwhile, heat the milk in a small saucepan over medium-high until steaming, then keep warm over low. Set the potatoes over low heat and mash thoroughly with a dinner fork. Add about one-quarter of the milk and mash until the milk is incorporated.

4. Scatter the butter evenly over the potatoes and mash in until all traces of butter disappear. Add half of the remaining milk and mash to incorporate, then add the rest of the milk and gently whip until smooth, circling the fork as if beating eggs. If you don’t want your mashed potatoes so thick, beat in more milk. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, taste, and season more if you’d like.

5. Serve immediately, keep warm over low heat for up to 1 hour, or transfer to airtight containers and refrigerate for up to 2 days. Mashed potatoes thicken as they cool, so they need cream to regain the right consistency. If kept warm, gently mash in heavy cream until smooth and loose again, adding more if you’d like. If cold, heat the cream in a large pot until steaming, then add to the potatoes. Gently mash and whip, adding more cream as needed. Season to taste again before serving.

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