Boiling Potatoes With Skin On Vs Off: Which Method Makes The Hands-Down Best Mashed Potatoes?

There are countless tips for mastering great-tasting mashed potatoes, with some more effective than others. But if you start off by peeling your potatoes and then cutting them into cubes before boiling them, you may be sabotaging your mashed potatoes' potential greatness. One of the most overlooked chef-approved tips for the best mashed potatoes is to boil your potatoes with the skins intact. 

Henry Johnson, Chef de Cuisine at Palladino's Steak & Seafood in Dallas, Texas, tells The Takeout, "Boiling with the skin produces the best results, in my opinion. It prevents water-logging and also helps keep the natural sugar and starch inside the potato." Oftentimes, when potatoes absorb too much water, mashed potatoes can become soupy or even tasteless because excess moisture prevents them from fully absorbing butter, cream, and other flavorful ingredients. 

The homemade taste of Texas Roadhouse's mashed potatoes is said to be partly attributed to leaving the skin on while baking them. The skin acts as a barrier and helps lock in the natural flavors of the potato, as well as nutrients, that would otherwise be excreted into the boiling water if the skins were peeled off.

Before boiling potatoes, make sure to first thoroughly clean your potato skins by soaking in cool water. Use a clean kitchen scrub brush or soft scouring pad to scrub away any remaining dirt and impurities from each potato. Then give them a final rinse under running water before placing the potatoes in a pot of cold, salted water and bring to a boil. For traditional, American-style mashed potatoes, choose whole, unpeeled russet potatoes and boil them for 20 to 30 minutes or until they're easily pierced with a fork. For ultra-creamy, French-style mashed potatoes, also known as pommes purée, go for Yukon gold potatoes and boil until there's no resistance when poked with a fork.

And if you do decide to make your mashed potatoes without mixing in the skins, you can easily peel them after boiling by placing each potato in a clean kitchen towel held in one hand while peeling them, one at a time, with with a paring knife in the other hand. Alternatively, you can also run the hot potatoes under cool running water and gently rub the skins off with your fingers. In all cases, you're halfway to making the hands-down best mashed potatoes.