The Technique Anthony Bourdain Used For Perfect Mashed Potatoes

Always a man of strong opinions, Anthony Bourdain was evidently no fan of lumps in his mashed potatoes. In an ode to the dish published by Food & Wine, Bourdain shared the tricks behind his favorite mashed potatoes, with an emphasis on achieving an ideal texture that is both light and creamy. For inspiration, he drew on the techniques of a chef whose name became synonymous with the world's silkiest spuds: Joël Robuchon, who happens to be the chef with the most Michelin stars in history and mastered many dishes over his illustrious career. However, he was perhaps most famous for making what many consider to be the finest mashed potatoes of all time.

Robuchon's mashed potatoes used just three ingredients: potatoes, milk, and butter. He was particularly famous for using a roughly 2 to 1 potato to butter ratio. Bourdain's take on the Robuchon classic makes a subtle change to the components of the dish, swapping milk for cream and adding (slightly) less butter. The ingredients are basic, but what really makes these potatoes stand out is their velvety smooth texture. To achieve this, he would pass the cooked potatoes through a ricer, which looks like a gigantic garlic press. While Bourdain and Robuchon used slightly different tools to make their mashed potatoes as creamy as possible, the goal — breaking the spuds down into tiny, granular pieces — was the same, and either option is great for home cooks.

Texture is everything with mashed potatoes, and achieving perfect creaminess is difficult. Many people's instinct is to boil potatoes in large chunks, then mash those chunks by hand. However, this method poses some serious issues, as it's likely to leave you with a chunky mash. Simply mashing the potatoes more won't fix the problem because overmixing makes mashed potatoes stiff. The trick that both Joël Robuchon and Anthony Bourdain used to avoid these issues was to pulverize the spuds before adding the other ingredients and mixing. This can be done using either a potato ricer or a food mill.

A food mill is a device for grinding various ingredients, particularly vegetables and fruits. It consists of a bowl with holes in the bottom and a crank that you turn by hand. Cranking the mill pushes food through the holes at the bottom, like a meat grinder for potatoes. This was the device favored by Robuchon, who would then strain the milled potatoes through a drum sieve, also known as a tamis, to make them into a puree. Bourdain's method is easier for home cooks, as it only takes one step. Plus, ricers are basically made for breaking potatoes into tiny pieces. By ricing or milling your potatoes before adding the other ingredients, you'll have a much easier time achieving the creamy mashed potato texture you desire.