Crispy Roast Potatoes

Crispy Roast Potatoes

What’s the secret to making crispy roast potatoes that are fluffy on the inside? You just need the right potato variety and a really hot oven! 

There’s no need to add flour or polenta to your spuds if you follow this method to crispy potato heaven and you don’t have to use goose fat either!

I love crispy roast potatoes and I can’t help but make more than I need to – leftover roasties are just amazing!

Ingredients for 4-6 servings

1.5 – 2kg	Maris Piper Potatoes
2-3 tbsp	Vegetable Oil (see notes)
	Or
2-3 tbsp	Goose Fat
	Salt

Equipment

• Large Sauce Pan
• Colander
• Large Roasting Tray (don’t use a disposable one, see below)
• Large Metal Spoon

Method

• Pre-heat your oven to 200°C fan/400°F.
• Peel the potatoes and cut them so that they’re approximately the same size.
• Place a large sauce pan onto the heat and fill with boiled water.
• Be sure to salt the water before adding the potatoes to par-boil.
• Add the potatoes and set the timer for 10 minutes.
• In the meantime, add your chosen fat (vegetable or goose) to your roasting tin and place it in the oven to heat up.
• If after 10 minutes the sides of the potato seem soft and floury then it’s time to move onto the next step, but if your potatoes are large and haven’t reached this stage then leave them to cook for a further 5-10 minutes until they reach this stage.
• Place the colander in the sink and drain the potatoes.
• Remove the roasting tray from the oven and place it onto the hob with one of the rings on to keep the tray hot.
• Give the potatoes a little jiggle in the colander to ‘rough up’ the sides and carefully tip the potatoes into the hot fat.
• [*] Use the large spoon to baste the potatoes before leaving them to roast for 30 minutes and add a little seasoning to taste.
• After 30 minutes check the potatoes and turn them over so that you crisp the other side.  Add another tablespoon of fat to the pan if you feel it’s a little dry.
• Continue to roast the potatoes until they are golden and crispy.  The ones in the picture above took approximately an hour of cooking time in total.
• When the potatoes are cooked to your liking, remove them from the oven and serve them with the rest of your feast!

Notes

• I’ve mentioned that you can use a vegetable oil instead of goose fat, but you should choose your cooking fat wisely. You need an oil with a high smoke point like Sunflower Oil. You may think Olive Oil is a healthier option, but its smoke point is much lower and not suitable in this recipe.
• You need your roasting tin to be really hot to get a crispy potato. Use a regular metal roasting tin instead of a disposable one. The disposable tin won’t hold the heat you need to get a roast potato that’s crisp on the outside and fluffy on the inside.
• Buying the right variety of potatoes really is key, so check the packaging as to what’s recommended by the supplier.
• The amount of potatoes I used would feed 4-6 people, but adjust the amount accordingly.
• The potatoes in the picture took an hour to roast in the oven.
• If you’d like to prepare the potatoes ahead of time, follow the method until you get to instruction marked [*].  Reduce this initial roasting time to only 20 minutes before removing the roasting tray from the oven and covering with foil.  On Christmas Day, finish roasting the potatoes adding more goose fat if necessary.