On the Sunday before Thanksgiving, we gather with friends to do what has become known as "Thanksgiving Run Thru". This is this a great opportunity to see as many of our friends as possible, and the leftover potential is awesome.
We also get chance to try out new recipes before serving them to our families at the big event. My addition to the menu was Bacon Mashed Potatoes and I have to say that they were just "good". I used a recipe from Food Network's 50 Mashed Potatoes booklet and it had me drooling in anticipation, but left me wanting more once we made them.
Bacon Mashed Potatoes:
2 lbs. Yukon golds or russets
1/2 stick of butter
1 cup hot milk
1/2 lb. chopped bacon
2-4 tablespoons bacon drippings
salt & pepper
Cover 2 lbs of whole potatoes with cold water; simmer 45 minutes.
Cook bacon until crisp then chop. Retain 2 - 4 tablespoons of drippings. Set bacon and drippings aside.
When potatoes are fork tender (stick a fork into one, if it goes in easily, they are done) drain, peel and add butter, milk, bacon drippings and 3/4 of the chopped bacon and mash until smooth and fluffy. Season with salt & pepper to taste. Put into a bowl and garnish with the rest of the bacon.
Cook bacon until crisp then chop. Retain 2 - 4 tablespoons of drippings. Set bacon and drippings aside.
When potatoes are fork tender (stick a fork into one, if it goes in easily, they are done) drain, peel and add butter, milk, bacon drippings and 3/4 of the chopped bacon and mash until smooth and fluffy. Season with salt & pepper to taste. Put into a bowl and garnish with the rest of the bacon.
I made my dish with the Yukon golds which I happen to prefer over the russets. I find the russets to be a bit grainy. Since I was timing the dish around the standing time of the deep fried turkey, I cut the potatoes into cubes to have them cook faster and left the skins on as well. I ended up adding almost a full stick of butter and an extra tablespoon of the drippings. I used a hand masher rather than a hand mixer to keep a bit of texture (read as "slightly lumpy") although either method will work when mashing.
The end product was less than stellar. The flavor just was not there. I expected the salty smokey bacon and the creamy butter to blend into a mouthwatering delight that would have me undoing my belt and loading up the seconds, but alas no. So needless to say we had regular mashed on Thanksgiving. Since we all know everything is better with bacon, I plan on trying this dish again and tweaking the ingredients a bit to hopefully get better results.
Who knows, maybe a thick cut maple bacon, peeled potatoes and a hand mixer will do the trick.
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