How to Make Crispy Roast Potatoes

For me, roast potatoes are the making of a successful roast. Get them crispy on the outside, and fluffy on the inside, and any other disasters will be forgiven. Stuff up the roasties, or (perhaps the ultimate crime) don’t make enough, and the roast is a failure, no matter how good everything else is!

Roast potatoes should be golden brown. They should crunch when you bite into them. And they should still be light and fluffy in the middle.

But before you even peel a potato in anger, there are a few things to get right to ensure success!

Choosing the correct fat

To get roast potatoes crispy, you need a fat that can reach high temperatures without burning. I remember my mum would keep the beef fat from the previous Sunday’s roast in a roasting tray in the oven. It would solidify on cooling and sit there until the following Sunday when she would then roast the potatoes in it. These days, duck or goose fat are readily available and work really well, although my favourite is pork dripping. But vegetable oil works very well too and I always keep a bottle in the cupboard just for roast potatoes.

Olive oil, extra virgin olive oil, and other speciality oils have quite a low smoke point, so they just make your potatoes soggy and greasy. You’ve been warned.

Choosing the right tray

People underestimate the importance of the right roasting tray when cooking roast potatoes, but it can be the difference between success and failure. Here are a two important tips:

1. Use the Correct Size: You need a roasting tray big enough for the amount of potatoes you want to cook. Every potato needs to be in contact with the bottom of the tray and there should be plenty of breathing space. If the potatoes are touching, or if you overcrowd the potatoes, they won’t go crispy.
2. Thick Base The pan needs to have a thick bottomed base capable of being heated with direct heat. One of the biggest causes of soggy potatoes is that the fat cools when you take roasting tray out of the oven to add the potatoes or to baste them. A roasting tray with a thick base can be taken straight out of the oven and put on the stove over direct heat when you first add (and later baste) the potatoes. The stove keeps the fat in the tray very hot, and the oven has time to get back up to temperature.

Pre-heating the tray

The potatoes need to roast in the oven. If you put them into a cold pan or into cold oil, they will just go soggy. It’s the hot pan and hot oil in combination that seal the potato and create the crispy edges.

Cutting the same size

The potatoes need to be cut to the same size or they will not cook evenly or you will end up with either undercooked large potatoes or smaller ones burnt to a crisp.

Pro Tip: if buying your potatoes loose at the market, select individual potatoes of roughly the same size. It’s much easier to keep them the same size when quartering them.

Par-boiling

It is essential to par-boil the potatoes. Put the potatoes in a large pan of salted cold water, then bring to the boil. Once boiling, reduce to a medium simmer and cook until the potatoes are soft enough to be pierced by a fork, but still quite firm. Usually 8 – 10 mins from when the water boils.

Basting

Toss the potatoes every 15 minutes to make sure they crisp up evenly on all sides. Make sure you shut the oven door immediately, and if possible, baste the potatoes on the hob to keep the fat hot.

Here’s how I make them!

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How to Make Crispy Roast Potatoes

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Ingredients

• 1 kg potatoes (peeled and cut into equal sized pieces)
• 3 tbsp pork dripping, goose or duck fat, or vegetable oil
• 2 tbsp salt ((or to taste))

Instructions 

• Preheat the oven to 200°C
• Add 3 tbsp fat to an appropriately sized roasting tray and put on the top shelf of the oven.
• Add the potatoes and 2 tbsp of salt into a large pan and fill with cold water.
• Bring the pan to the boil then simmer for about 10 minutes, or until the potatoes are soft enough to be pierced with a fork but still firm.
• Drain the potatoes and allow to drain well, and then shake the potatoes in the pan to fluff up the outside of the potatoes.
• Remove the roasting tray from the oven and put it on the stove, making sure you shut the oven door straight away. Add the boiled potatoes to the roasting tray and add 2 tbsp salt.
• Stir well to ensure each potato is evenly coated with the oil and salt, and that all the potatoes are in direct contact with the bottom of the roasting tray.
• Return to the oven and roast for 45 – 60 minutes, removing the pan every 15 minutes to toss the potatoes, so that the potatoes brown and crisp up on all sides.
• After 30 minutes, reduce the heat to 180°C if the potatoes look like they are roasting too quickly.
• Remove from the oven when the potatoes are golden brown and crispy all over. Dont be scared to leave for longer if you like them extra crispy.