I made these duch*ess potatoes for PW Cooks in early November, but decided to wait to post them at Christmastime once I decided to make them on the Christmas special instead of mashed potatoes. I decided to make duch*ess potatoes instead of mashed potatoes on the Christmas special because…well…I’d already taken the liberty of making my mashed potatoes on the very first episode of Season 1 (I’ve always been really good with patience) so I knew they were out the window. Second, Christmas dinner is the perfect time to make duch*ess potatoes if you’re going to make duch*ess potatoes, because they’re fancy and frilly and lovely while still having the yummy comfort-food factor of the mashed ones. Third, they go swimmingly with roast beef. And fourth, they’re chock full of egg yolks, which…well, there’s nothing more to say.
Egg yolks.
Egg yolks, egg yolks, egg yolks.
There is no substitute.
By the way, an annual reminder of the homeschooling slogan I made up about eight years ago that I invite all of you plaster on t-shirts as you wish:
Homeschooling. There is no substitute.
Get it?
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- Yields:
- 16 serving(s)
- Prep Time:
- 45 mins
- Cook Time:
- 20 mins
- Total Time:
- 1 hr 5 mins
Ingredients
- 5 lb.
russet potatoes, peeled and boiled until fork tender
- 8
whole egg yolks
- 1
stick butter, softened
- 2 tsp.
salt, more or less to taste
plenty of black pepper
- 1/4 tsp.
nutmeg, plus more to taste
- 1 1/4 c.
heavy cream
- 1
whole egg
Directions
- Step1Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lay boiled potatoes on a baking sheet and place into the oven for 10-15 minutes, or until slightly dried on the surface.
- Step2Remove the potatoes from the oven and process potatoes through a ricer or food mill. Allow to cool in a bowl for about 5 minutes. Add egg yolks, butter, a couple of generous pinches of salt, a generous pinch of pepper, a pinch of nutmeg and 3/4 cup cream. Stir with a rubber spatula to combine. Taste and make sure the potatoes have been adequately salted.
- Step3Transfer to a large pastry bag and pipe through a large star tip in a circular/upward spiral motion.
- Step4Make an egg wash by mixing 1 egg with 1/2 cup heavy cream. Lightly brush the piped potatoes with egg wash. (This is a little easier if you chill the piped potatoes for half an hour or so.)
- Step5Bake at 375 until golden brown around the edges. Serve on a pretty platter!
- Step6Make the potatoes ahead of time and store in the fridge, then bake them at the last minute!
Peel a bunch of potatoes, then boil ’em until they’re fork tender. Drain ’em and give yourself a steam facial.
Pour ’em out onto a couple of large baking sheets, then put the pans in a preheated 375 degree oven for about 10 minutes just to dry them out a bit. When I make mashed potatoes, I always mash them over low heat before adding in all the butter, cream, and good stuff. This step serves the same purpose.
Next, process the potatoes through a food mill OR a ricer, and I realize that food mills and ricers aren’t something everyone has lying around. But they’re really handy in cases like this, because they ensure that the potatoes are lump-free and gives the duch*ess potatoes a nice, smooth texture.
If you don’t have a ricer or food mill, no biggie! Just mash them, making a point to get all the lumps out.
Stir the potatoes around for just a minute to cool ’em off a bit more…
Then close your eyes and make peace with what you’re about to do.
Add softened butter, heavy cream, and whole bunch of egg yolks, which are one of the defining ingredients of duch*ess potatoes.
By the way, I was reviewing the pages of my new cookbook the other day and boy, oh boy does it require a lot of egg yolks.
Egg yolks, egg yolks, egg yolks.
There is no substitute.
Stir in the yolks a bit, then add quite a bit of salt (you’re seasoning a lot of taters)…
Quite a bit of black pepper (you’re seasoning a lot of taters)…
And a little nutmeg if you have it. Yum and yum and yum yum yum.
Now just stir the mixture around, using a rubber spatula to gently fold and smear until it’s all combined. Give it a taste and make sure it’s decadent and adequately salted and divine, then put it into a pastry bag with a large star tip.
Then do this.
Basically, you just want the potato mixture to fall out onto the pan while you sort of guide it into a circle that…well, circles in on itself.
Lovely!
Keep going till you have them all piped (you’ll probably need to refill the bag halfway through; it’s quite a lot of potatoes! Then just place them in the fridge, uncovered, for at least 20-30 minutes or so.
Mix together an egg and some heavy cream.
And okay, fine. You can use milk. But only if you be skinny and unadventurous.
Pull the potatoes from the fridge…
Then very lightly dab on a small amount of egg wash.
Pop ’em back into the oven and bake them for about 20 to 25 minutes, or until the potatoes are nice and warm and they have golden brown edges.
Pull ’em out before they get too brown.
Delightful. Just delightful. All the goodness of mashed potatoes (and with the addition of the egg yolk richness!) but with a fancy-schmancy edge.
Impress your friends! Impress your guests! Impress your Uncle Festus!
These are ta die fer.
(Brussels Sprouts coming tomorrow.)
