So I tried making crash potatoes last night....

[artvandalay]

and they did not turn out at all! I heard about them here a week or so ago, looked up the recipe, and thought they would go good with the bbq chicken I made for dinner last night.

I followed the directions exactly. I even had some fresh chives from my garden and was excited to use them. Boiled small red potatoes until they were fork tender. Put them on an olive-oiled sheet. When I went to smash them with the potato smasher, the potato smasher completley stuck to the potato. I couldn't get it out. My attempts to get it "unstuck" made a mess and the potato fell apart. I thought it was a fluke, but it happened to the next 4 potatoes. I gave up and just threw them all in a pot and made mashed potatoes.

Oh, I even tried putting a little EVOO on the masher to see if that helped, but it didn't. What went wrong? I really want to make this because they look really good!

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2008/06/crash-hot-potatoes/

[mjs64]

Does your masher look like hers in the picture? Or is it something else (like a disc with holes in it)? That could be the problem. Check also the size of potato against her pics?

[Claki]

I tried once to make them a few years back. Disaster...

[pastrygirl]

That happens to me, too. I have the same masher as in the photos. I just push the potato stuff out of the masher. There's no way I can turn 90 degrees, either.

I've made them twice, and my potato-hating husband really likes them! I'll continue making them, though I'd love to figure out how to do it so that they aren't just mush atop skins...

[artvandalay]

Yes, I have the same masher as she does. I also could not do the whole "rotate 90 degrees" either. It just wouldn't work for me.

I kept wondering if I overcooked the potatoes? Anyway, glad to see I'm not the only person that had trouble... it just looks like such a simple recipe I can't figure out why I couldn't make it.

I tried to push the mashed part out of the masher, but it was stuck so good (and I didn't smash it completely, either) and started falling apart and made a mess. My mashed potatoes came out pretty good, at least!

[ohiomom1121]

So funny, I just made them too. I couldn't find my potato masher (lost in some random box from the move I'm guessing) so I was trying to use various kitchen tools. Mine kept breaking apart the potatoes all together so I just kind of smooshed them back together and on the next ones I barely smashed them and that seemed to work better. They didn't look really pretty but they tasted great and the whole family loved them. My plan was to buy a masher but now I'm wondering if I'm still going to have trouble?!

[mjs64]

I kept wondering if I overcooked the potatoes?

That was another thought I had. Try cooking until *just* fork-tender. As in just until you can get a fork through them. I'm trying this recipe now!

[staramama]

The recipe I've used for that comes from an old issue of Fine Cooking. Instead of using a potato masher, you press down on them with a kitchen towel. The end result is not as open on the top as Pioneer Woman's, but still seriously delicious.

[mrshalco]

I've never heard of crash hot potatoes and now that I opened the link - I HAVE to make them! They look sooooo yummy!

[sunshine873]

After reading your post & then checking them out on Pioneer Woman's website - I just had to try them. Made them tonight. OMG - crash hot potatoes, where have you been all my life? The crispy peel, the mushy potato, the salt, olive oil, etc. Yum!!! That said, I couldn't find my masher either. I used the bottom of a glass (like she mentioned on her website.) They weren't pretty & some got pretty mutilated, but it didn't matter - they tasted incredible!!!

[twowhat?]

The recipe I've used for that comes from an old issue of Fine Cooking. Instead of using a potato masher, you press down on them with a kitchen towel. The end result is not as open on the top as Pioneer Woman's, but still seriously delicious.

I tried the Fine Cooking recipe back when it first came out. I was a little disappointed - it just didn't come out as yummy as it should have. I will have to try it again. They mashed just fine with the kitchen towel approach but I couldn't get them all caramelized/crispy.

[elbenn]

I made these last night and they were sooo good! I used the bottom of a glass (Picardie Duralex!) to smash them. I would recommend that method since it wasn't messy at all. I did a couple potatoes that were barely tender and they didn't smash well, and I boiled the rest until they were very tender and they worked better. I served them with sour cream and they were delicious!

[BabyBearsMom]

I made these last night and they came out delicious. They didn't end up in the perfect little crowns the PW had but so yummy, who cares what they look like! I sprayed my smasher with cooking spray and then just tapped it to get all of the bits of potato off of the smasher. Not perfect but it worked. Even DD who is not a huge potato fan was gulping them down. I adore the bits of potato skin that got crispy from the oil. DH took the printed recipe and put it into our family recipe book himself, he liked it so much!

[PunkyBoo]

Rachael Ray had a very similar recipe in the October magazine, and she used the bottom of a drinking glass to smush the potatoes. They look delish I'm hoping to try them soon!

[pastrygirl]

I used the bottom of a glass tonight and it worked much better! Though, a lot of the skin stayed on the top. I just pulled them out of the oven so I haven't tried one yet, but they seem very crispy!

[Sweetum]

O
M
G
!

These are awesome!! I had fingerling potatoes that I wanted to do something with and I decided to make this. I don't have a masher that PW has but I used 2 forks (one in each hand) and it worked great! They smooshed in form and sat pretty as they baked and we could pick up each individual piece. I happened to have rosemary and used it and it's delicious...mmmm, soooo making it again. thanks OP for posting this recipe!

[mjs64]

Does your masher look like hers in the picture? Or is it something else (like a disc with holes in it)? That could be the problem. Check also the size of potato against her pics?

Ha. Sometimes I think I know everything.

So I tried making them tonight, and I usually think pretty well of my cooking skills (as maybe you could tell by the confidence with which I replied to your original post, not ever having tried the recipe).

Um, they did not work. They were, as you described OP, a mess. I cooked the potatoes until *just* fork-tender. I used the "right" masher. I see no way that this process could go as described and photographed. They basically exploded on contact with the masher. I ultimately used the bottom of a glass, as some PPs recommended, and had better results, but still, nothing like PW's. They were definitely edible, pretty good even, but not awesome.

My new thoughts/things I will try next:
1) choose really, really tiny potatoes?
2) pierce potatoes with a fork before boiling?
3) most likely to be successful: let potatoes cool completely before mashing?

I'll try them again in a week or so and update. Lately, the world has been trying to teach me a lesson. Okay, lessons.