Alton Brown's Easy Step For Next-Level Garlic Mashed Potatoes

When it comes to mashed potatoes, every cook will tell you his or her mashed potatoes are the best, and they probably are, at least as far as the cook's taste buds are concerned. In fact, it seems as if every celebrity chef has a version of this dish and each one has its merits. Ina Garten uses a flavor packed cheese for her mashed potatoes or mixes it up and adds lemon zest, according to Today; Bobby Flay has a secret ingredient for his mashed potatoes that just so happens to be crème fraîche; And when it comes to the Pioneer Woman, Ree Drummond, she uses a brick of cream cheese to make this dish delicious and creamy (via Food Network). 

There are plenty of variations when it comes to good old mashed potatoes. However, when garlic mashed potatoes are on the menu, Alton Brown's recipe is what you should be reaching for. Brown's mashed potatoes are fairly straightforward, but he adds one easy step to create next level mashed potatoes you can't help but gobble up. 

In a Food Network video, Brown demonstrates how simple it is to make mashed potatoes by peeling, cutting, boiling, and mashing up the tubers. But there is one step Brown does that is a game changer. The "Good Eats" host takes six garlic cloves and smashes them up before poaching them in some heavy cream. Once they are done, Brown pours the garlic-infused cream straight into the potatoes and mashes and mixes it together to create a velvety, creamy product that is perfect for a steak dinner or Thanksgiving Day dinner.

Six garlic cloves may sound like a lot of garlic, but as Local Aromas explains, when you boil garlic in milk, you cut the bitterness that comes with it. The end result is a much more subtle and mellow taste that leaves you wanting more. The site further states that prepping your garlic this way can help with digestion. But Brown is not the only celebrity chef who likes to infuse the cream with garlic for mashed potatoes. Martha Stewart uses a similar technique, only Stewart caramelizes the garlic with a little butter before adding the cream.