Name: Buttermilk Ranch Mashed Potatoes
Total time: 55 min
Yield: Serves 4
Ingredients: 2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks; Table salt; 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled; 2/3 cup buttermilk, at room temperature; 1 medium clove garlic .minced; 3 scallions, white and green parts sliced very thin; 2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley leaves; 1/3 cup sour cream; Ground black pepper

Why This Recipe Works

Many buttermilk mashed potatoes recipes remove so much butter that the potatoes taste lean and lack creaminess, and suffer from curdling because of a simple substitution of buttermilk for cream. We restored just enough butter to make our potatoes creamy. Then we determined that we could prevent curdling by adding the melted butter to room-temperature buttermilk, coating the proteins in the buttermilk and thus protecting them from heat shock when added to the hot potatoes.

Before You Begin

To achieve the proper texture, it is important to cook the potatoes thoroughly; they are done if they break apart when a knife is inserted and gently wiggled (see photo below). Buttermilk substitutes such as clabbered milk do not produce sufficiently tangy potatoes. To reduce the chance of curdling, the buttermilk must be at room temperature when mixed with cooled melted butter.

Instructions

Place potatoes in large saucepan; add cold water to cover by 1 inch and 1 tablespoon salt. Bring to boil over high heat, then reduce heat to medium and simmer until potatoes break apart when paring knife is inserted, about 18 minutes. Drain potatoes and return to saucepan set on still-hot burner.

Using potato masher, mash potatoes until a few small lumps remain. Gently mix melted butter and buttermilk in small bowl until combined. Add butter/buttermilk mixture, garlic, scallions, parlsey, and sour cream to potatoes; using rubber spatula, fold gently until just incorporated. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper; serve immediately.