Buzz
I tend to over-prepare when hosting Thanksgiving dinner. I create lists, practice ahead of time (my job helps with this), and even map out the day to make room for every dish. (You can do the same with our customizable timeline.) Even with all this preparation, I still welcome time-saving tips. One of my best Thanksgiving time-saving tricks involves mashed potatoes: steaming them cuts down the cooking time significantly.
Steam potatoes to soften them quickly.
Mashed potatoes are simple to make and even simpler to eat, but they take quite a while to cook. A gallon of cold water with potatoes can take about 30 minutes to boil with the lid on, depending on the type of stove you have. If you need more water, it will take even longer. Once the water starts boiling, it can take an additional 10 to 20 minutes for the potatoes to cook through, depending on whether you chop them or leave them whole.
Steaming potatoes is the quickest way to cook them. Rather than waiting for several quarts of water and potatoes to come to a boil, you only need about half an inch of water. Regardless of the number of potatoes, the amount of water remains the same. In this steaming method, the potatoes rest on a raised platform (a steaming basket), and the pot is covered with a well-fitting lid. The small amount of boiling water beneath the platform never touches the potatoes, but the steam fills the pot and cooks the potatoes evenly.
These steamer baskets feature adjustable sides to fit a variety of pot sizes:
OXO with extendable handle
Expandable steamer basket
How long should potatoes be steamed for mashing?
A half-inch of water takes only two or three minutes to boil in a standard pot. For a cast iron or Dutch oven, like the one shown in my picture, it takes about five minutes. Once it boils, the potatoes begin cooking, significantly reducing the boil time and leaving only 10 to 20 minutes of cooking time. With a tightly fitting lid, there's no need to add more water. The small amount of water results in less waste, and a cup of water is much easier to pour out.
A Guide to Steaming Potatoes
1. Get the potatoes ready
Prepare the potatoes as you typically would—whether that’s peeling and chopping, keeping the skins on, or leaving them whole. The amount of water you need will depend on your steamer basket. Make sure the water level isn’t high enough to submerge the potatoes at the bottom, or you’ll end up with boiled potatoes, which cook at a different pace than those on top. You can check the height of the basket foot first, or just eyeball it. In my case, the ridges on my basket measure about three-quarters of an inch, so I use about a half-inch of water in the pot.
2. Begin Steaming
Place the basket into the pot. If the water begins to spill over or comes close to the edge, remove a bit of water. Load the basket with potatoes—feel free to stack them all the way up to the pot’s lid if necessary. Secure the lid tightly, ensuring no gaps. Turn the heat to medium or high and let it come to a boil. Once you hear the water boiling, start your timer.
3. Check for Softness
After about 10 minutes for cubed potatoes and 15 minutes for medium whole ones, check the potatoes. Be cautious when lifting the lid, as the steam will escape quickly—wear an oven mitt and keep your face back. Test a potato by poking it with a knife or fork. It should slide in easily to the center. If it’s still firm, cover the pot and check again in 3 to 5 minutes.
Once the potatoes are tender enough to pierce with a fork, turn off the heat and let them rest for a few minutes with the lid off. Then, transfer the potatoes to another pot, or wherever you plan to mash them. Now you can follow your favorite mashed potato recipe (don’t forget to incorporate these tips for better mashed potatoes), and enjoy the time saved from steaming your potatoes instead of boiling them.
