Crispy Roast Potatoes | Easy

Who doesn’t like Crispy Roast Potatoes, golden brown chunks of potato, coated with garlic-infused oil and roasted till they’re crisp, and crunchy on the outside, and soft and fluffy on the inside?

They’re roasted in a garlic-infused extra virgin olive oil, then when golden they’re tossed in the fried garlic that infused the oil, and dusted with salt flakes and fresh pepper. Add a smidge of finely chopped parsley, and you’ve got the best Crispy Roast Potatoes. We seriously mean the best!

These Are The Ultimate Crispy Roast Potatoes

Now we know that’s a big claim but just hang on a minute and we’ll tell you why!

We discovered the secret for making Crispy Roast Potatoes from J. Kenji Lopez-Alt who goes into great detail as to why this method works by adding bi-carb soda (baking soda) into the cooking water.

At a Glance This Is What You Need To Make Crispy Roast Potatoes

Why This Works (In A Nutshell)

Parboiling the potatoes with salt and bicarb soda (baking soda) which is alkaline, breaks down the potato surfaces,  creating tons of starchy slurry for added surface area and crunch.

When the potatoes are just cooked you drain them and then give them a good toss to make all of the edges fluffy. Fluffy equals crunch!

The Trick Of How To Make Roast Potatoes Crispy – With Easy Steps

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1. Bring a large pot of water to the boil
2. While the water comes to the boil peel and cut the potatoes into roughly the same sized pieces
3. When the water comes to a rolling boil add the salt, bi-carb and the potatoes
4. While the potatoes cook add the oil to a frying pan and using a medium heat fry the garlic until it is a light golden colour
5. Strain the garlic and reserve both the garlic and oil
6. Finely chop any herbs that you are using and reserve

What Is The Best Potato For Roast Potatoes

Potatoes are categorised into 3 basic types starchy, waxy, and all-purpose. For this recipe, Kenji uses Russet (also known as Idaho potatoes), or Yukon gold. Both of these potato varieties are considered starchy.

Other suitable varieties to use:

• King Edward – the best common variety for roasting
• Desiree – ranks with King Edward as one of the best roasting potatoes

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7. Using a knife, test that the potatoes are cooked, the potato should offer little resistance as the potato should be soft but still holding together
8. Strain the potatoes and leave for a minute to steam dry
9. Place the potatoes into a large bowl and season with the black pepper, a good pinch of salt and then pour over the reserved garlic infused oil
10. Toss the potatoes in the bowl until the potatoes are roughed up as shown
11. Using a flat tray or low sided pan spread the potatoes out so they are not crowded.
12. Bake in a preheated oven for approximately 45 minutes, turn the potatoes frequently during this time

Hot Tip – Boiling Potatoes

Ordinarily, you would start to cook your potatoes in cold water which ensures the potatoes exterior doesn’t cook before the inside cooks.

However, we actually want the outside of the potatoes to cook and soften before the inside cooks fully to give us the fluffy, and craggy exterior once the potatoes are drained then shaken. So we add the potatoes once the water is boiling.

Boiling and Shaking The Potatoes

These are the key steps to achieving potatoes that are crunchy with a soft tender centre. The potatoes are boiled till they’re just tender. Once you’ve drained them allow the steam to evaporate off for 30-60 seconds.

Now comes the bit that makes them so crunchy. What you’re wanting to achieve here is to shake the potatoes until there is a thin slurry of what will look like mashed potatoes covering each piece. This potato slurry is what makes the exterior crisp and crunchy.

Infusing The Oil To Roast Potatoes

Infusing the chopped garlic into the olive oil allows the oil to take on the garlic flavour without the garlic burning.

Tossing the potatoes with the golden brown garlic and parsley builds up the flavour and allows the garlic and parsley to cling to the hot cooked potatoes.

Roast Potatoes In Duck Fat

Instead of using oil, you could switch it up by making the Crispy Roast Potatoes using duck, or goose fat for a truly memorable potato. Once only found in high-end deli’s and gourmet stores at a ridiculous price. Both of these fats are now widely available in supermarkets and are very affordable. Go ahead and give it a try, you won’t be sorry.

You can reuse the fat by simply straining and removing any bits of potato and refrigerate in a glass jar ready to use. The fat lasts for months, and months if kept refrigerated. Duck or goose fat also freezes well.

Watch How To Make Crispy Roast Potatoes

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Use A Low Sided Baking Sheet

The potatoes need to be baked on a baking sheet, not a deep sided baking tin otherwise the high sides will create steam which makes the potatoes soggy. Got It!

Can I Par Boil Potatoes For Roasting The Day Before ?

Yes, you can. Potatoes can be prepared 2 days ahead.

Prep the potatoes and cook up to the stage of boiling then draining and shaking the potatoes to rough them up and toss them in the oil (up to step 11). Refrigerate covered preferably on a tray in a single layer. When you’re ready to bake them remove the tray from the fridge and bake away.

Check Out Some More Winning Potato Recipes:

• Crispy Hasselback potatoes

• Crispy Smashed Roast New Potatoes

• Candied Sweet Potatoes

• Orange Glazed Sweet Potato Slices

• Pommes Anna

• Whipped Creamy Mashed Potatoes

Don’t forget to rate this recipe and let us know what you thought when you make these fabulous Crispy Roast Potatoes in the reviews below. 

Cooper at 14 weeks

We came across these photos recently and had to think about where they were taken, then we realised it was here at home. It has been so long since we have had any meaningful rain, the lawns are dead, and the shrubs and gardens are either dead, or dying!

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