Here's What Made Anthony Bourdain's Mashed Potatoes Top Tier

I've thought way more about perfect mashed potatoes than what's considered probably normal. I've tested recipe after recipe, tweaking here and fine-tuning there, to create my ideal recipe for holiday mashed potatoes. And no matter what your perfect fluff taters look like, you'll get there faster if you start with Anthony Bourdain's mashed potato recipe.

His recipe is top-tier for three reasons: butter, Yukon gold potatoes, and butter. Bourdain's mashed potatoes have such exceptional creaminess and richness because there is far too much butter for the mash to get gummy. He used a 4-to-1 ratio, though some chefs, such as Chef John of Food Wishes fame, use 3-to-1 with no trouble. And considering what Bourdain's least favorite meal was, he most likely wasn't worried about the butter content of his mashed potato recipe. However, the potato variety matters. Yukon golds are best for mashers because they have enough starch to stand up to boiling and mashing but not so much that the potatoes release tons of sticky starch molecules that can give that dreaded gluey texture. And even if they do, the butter lubricates everything.

All of that said, despite Bourdain's culinary bad-boy reputation, his overall method is unnecessarily fussy and hopelessly conventional. But it does have its merits, and if you're looking to achieve your ideal mashed potatoes, it's helpful to understand where you can break the rules.

Bourdain doesn't call for a pre-boiling soak because it's unnecessary with less starchy potatoes. But goodness knows a bowl of water is a great place to put potato pieces when you're bustling around a holiday kitchen. So it's okay to soak them for a bit. That will allow more room for error later — and it's a must if all you have are russets. 

But drying the boiled potatoes isn't optional. What is optional is letting them sit in the colander for a few minutes. You can also just drain the water and then turn it around the pot over medium-low heat for a minute before mashing. Additionally, you'll only need to peel them or use the ricer if you like them ultra-smooth.

As Bourdain suggests, it's ideal to put cold butter into steaming potatoes. Bakers know butter temperature matters for texture. But in a pinch one day, I dumped steaming-hot Yukons into a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, turned the mixer on high enough to mash the potatoes without flinging volcanic starch everywhere, and tossed in the butter a little at a time, stopping once it was mixed. I don't necessarily recommend that, but there's literally so much butter in this recipe, that they still weren't gummy. As it turns out, Anthony Bourdain's fussy-sounding mashed potato method is actually a forgiving and near-foolproof recipe for delightful mashed potatoes, even in a hectic holiday kitchen.