Roasted Garlic IPA Mashed Potatoes

For beer and food recipes, ’tis no better source than The Homebrew Chef, Sean Paxton. Sean has been cooking with beer for years and spreads his message across the country: beer is a great cooking ingredient, even better than wine.

But BillyBrew readers already know that, right?

Now on to this recipe. The roasted garlic IPA mashed potatoes are one of a few dozen recipes Sean has on his Homebrew Chef website, but being a garlic guy, and an IPA guy, this one caught my eye first.

How to Make Roasted Garlic IPA Mashed Potatoes

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs potatoes. I used Russet, but you could use any kind really. What do you like?
• 2 heads of garlic.
• 1 stick (8 tbsp) unsalted butter.
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream.
• 4 sprigs of thyme.
• 2-4 tbsp IPA. I went with Avery’s IPA. It uses Columbus hops which have an earthy flavor that works well with the potatoes and garlic.
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• salt
• pepper

Process:

For the potatoes:

1. Skin and chop the potatoes into large chunks. Put them into a pot with water so that they are completely submerged, and then add 1/4 cup of salt.
2. Boil the potatoes for 15-20 minutes until soft.
3. Drain the water and put the potatoes back into pot.
4. Mash with a potato masher, or punch into oblivion.

For the garlic sauce:

1. Preheat oven to 300°F.
2. Remove the outermost layer of skin from the garlic heads.
3. Cut the top 1/5 of the garlic heads off, trying to leave the rest of the head intact.
4. Place each head on a small, square piece of foil. Drizzle 1 tbsp of olive oil and add 1 sprig of thyme to each. Add some salt and pepper. Wrap up the foil.
5. Place the foil balls in the oven and roast for 20-30 minutes.
6. Take the garlic out of the oven, open the foil, and let it cool for 5 minutes.
7. Using a paper towel so you don’t burn yourself, squeeze the garlic cloves into a bowl and mash them with a fork.
8. Put the cream, butter, and 2 sprigs of thyme into a sauce pot and bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Simmer for 10 minutes.
9. Add the garlic and simmer for another 3 minutes.
10. Add the beer and season with salt and pepper.
11. Pour the garlic mixture into the mash potatoes and mix well.

As I say in the video, these are the best mashed potatoes I’ve had. I can’t even think about eating them now unless they are made in this way.

About the beer: It’s an important part to the recipe so I want to say a few things about it. What the IPA brings to the table is balance. This is a heavy dish with all the butter, cream, starch, and fat. The IPA adds just a touch of bitterness that cuts through these flavors and brings some relief to the weight of the meal.  It’s a small thing that makes a big difference. Also, the earthy flavors from the hops do a great job of seasoning the potatoes. They act just like an herb, sprucing up the potatoes with a little green flavor.

Look for an IPA with Columbus hops for that earthy flavor. I don’t think one brewed with citrusy hops like Cascade would do as well. I’d really like to try this with Oskar Blues Gubna. Gubna uses Summit hops which some people (including me) think taste like onions and garlic. I’ll get shot for saying this, but I don’t like Gubna for that reason, but maybe this recipe will bring it back into my kitchen.

Thanks Sean for the recipe. Check out his new show, The Homebrewed Chef on the Brewing Network. I’ve listened to every minute of it so far and it’s fantastic for craft beer fans and foodies.

Have you made roasted garlic mashed potatoes? Ever use beer in it?