The Easiest Trick for the Most Buttery Mashed Potatoes

I’m only exaggerating slightly when I say I run, elbows out, to the Thanksgiving table for two reasons: the stuffing and the mashed potatoes. Though the pies and the company aren’t bad either. And I know I’m not alone. Mashed potatoes often take the top spot in rankings of most popular sides in the country (with stuffing/dressing coming in second). While this mainstay is simple in theory to prepare, there are many ways to mess your spuds up. Luckily, we also have many tips to make the best versions of the dish as well. But whatever mashed potato recipe you use, from basic to studded with garlic to fully loaded, there is one tip that will give you the most buttery forkful yet.

It’s not what you add, but when you add it: We love adding butter to just-mashed potatoes before the milk, rather than alongside it. This easy tweak results in a big flavor difference that will have everyone asking for the secret.

How To Make the Most Buttery Mashed Potatoes

Throwing butter cubes into your hot potatoes first isn’t just a random act of kitchen rebellion. There’s some science to back it up. By adding butter before the milk, we are coating the starch molecules in fat to impart a smooth, silky feel. The rich butter has a moment by itself to meld with the potatoes for a noticeable butter-forward taste. The warmed milk then comes in to give a finishing, creamy touch—loosening things up in the process.

There are different schools of thought as to whether the butter should be melted or room temperature, but most agree the dairy products shouldn’t be cold. Cold milk will cause the starch to seize up.

Chef John uses this butter-first technique in his Ultimate Mashed Potatoes recipe, with a whole lot of European butter, for “Luxuriously creamy mashed potatoes that are perfect for a holiday dinner,” according to a review from Allrecipes member Sara.

In it, he whisks a pound of cubed, room-temperature butter into three pounds of smashed-up russet potatoes until they reach emulsified perfection—or as he says, until “really light, and creamy, and awesome looking.” Chef John finishes off his pomme purée with “a splash of hot milk…to loosen things up just a touch.” He goes on to say “At this point, you’re really, really going to want to grab a fork…to taste one of the most delicious things in the history of the universe” (and to make sure you have enough salt!). As Chef John points out, with this amount of butter, this is a “Not Your Everyday Mashed Potatoes Recipe.” But fear not, the same method can be used with less butter, in any recipe for equally decadent results.

You have to try this technique to believe it, it’s as easy as butter first, milk second. As Chef John says, “One taste and it will all make sense.” You’ll get mashed potatoes that aren’t merely mashed; they’re a velvety, buttery revolution. Trust the butter, it knows its way around those potatoes.