Michael Symon's Ratio Trick For The Perfect Mashed Potatoes

We love how interactive Michael Symon is with his social media followers, especially when they are asking about mashed potatoes. Mashed potatoes can be a tricky dish to get right because to put it gently, people have preferences. Some like their mashed potatoes with lumps, while others are partial to a smooth, velvety consistency. Others prefer you leave the potato skins in the mash, while plenty more find this practice to be sacrilege. Don't believe us? Just head over to Reddit and you can read threads from community members debating these very serious topics that will most certainly impact your taste buds. 

Mashed potatoes can be pretty heady stuff, but regardless if you are team lumps or team smooth, Symon has a great ratio trick up his culinary sleeve to ensure that this side dish always turns out buttery delicious. He shared it on Twitter after this fan tweeted, "@chefsymon so i heard u talk about ur mashed potatoes & i remember it was a crazy ratio of butter to potatoes & no milk or 1/2 & 1/2. Pls give me that recipe. Gonna make them later today & wanted to give urs a try! Using Yukon golds Happy Healthy New Year!"

The newly anointed host of "Throwdown with Michael Symon" responded to the Twitterverse by saying, "You can go 2 parts potato ..1 part butter.. boil in salted water till soft .. rice potatoes then whip in butter with whisk .. I add a touch of nutmeg also .. happy new year!" The individual who asked the question clearly got the vapors just thinking about this mashed potaotes because she responded, "Ok trying not to faint! Like 2 lbs potatoes to 1 lb butter??? Seriously??? Oy- nobody get ur cholesterol checked anytime soo."

But don't get too bent out of shape over all that butter. Symon's wife apparently had a similar reaction and still fell in love with the recipe's golden goodness. Symon shared how his wife was "horrified" after falling in love with his mashed potoates, only to learn the ridiculous amount of butter he used to make them (per Cooking in Quarantine). The first time his wife ate the dish, she reportedly said, "Oh my god, these things are so good, I've never had mashed potatoes this good." Fast forward 8 years when she stumbled upon him making the potatoes and was forced to ask, "Did you always put in that much butter?! Jesus Christ, what are you doing to me?!" Sometimes ignorance is (mashed potato) bliss!