A chef has shared his insight on which fat makes the best roast potatoes. Roast potatoes are a quintessential element of the beloved Sunday roast dinner, with plenty of recipes and methods recommending the perfect way to cook them.
New Zealand chef Andy, who posts across social media as Andy Cooks, recently experimented with making roast potatoes with two different types of fat to see which provided the tastiest results in a video on YouTube. In the footage, Andy whipped up a batch of roast potatoes drizzled in duck fat and another batch made with beef tallow.
Beef tallow is rendered beef fat which is typically made by melting and purifying the fatty tissue surrounding a cow’s organs. Duck fat is rendered from duck and is famed for its savoury flavour.
In Andy’s video, the chef speaks directly to the camera and begins: “What’s better for roast potatoes, duck fat or beef tallow? Let’s find out.”
He then preps both sets of roast potatoes before completing a taste test.
Kicking things off, Andy said: “We’ll start with the duck. It smells like a roast potato,” he then takes a bite and continues: “Good crunch, I think they’re about as well roasted as you’re going to get.
“I do feel like some of them are starting to go soft. Good flavour, though.”
He then samples the potatoes cooked in beef tallow.
Andy concludes: “Richer flavour, good crunch. Feels like they’re holding the crunch better. I don’t know if there’s any science to that or if it’s a straight placebo but for me, the tallow wins.”
In the comments section, people shared their thoughts. One person said: “My wife just got me our first tallow from the markets this past weekend. Can’t wait to experiment.”
Another joked: “Duck can now breathe in relief.”
A third said: “Goose fat is the answer.”
Someone else asked: “What about lard and clarified butter?”
Offering a different perspective, another YouTube user commented: “I tried roasting potatoes in duck fat. I found I actually preferred the flavour of them done in olive oil.”
Agreeing with this line of thought, another person said: “I’m sure there is a scientifically best roast potato out there, but for me, the magic my dad pulls with parboiling them and heating up a pan of vegetable oil to scorching will always be the winner.”
Beef tallow has been making waves in cooking for a long time but it’s also been praised on social media for its supposed benefits in skincare – but experts caution against it.
The trend isn’t new, with skincare enthusiasts giving it a try and documenting their experiences more than a decade ago but a recent resurgence of clips and recommendations across multiple social media platforms has got many people trying it as an acne and anti-ageing treatment.
Lesley Reynolds, skincare expert and co-founder of the Harley Street Skin Clinic, said: “While [beef tallow] does contain moisturising factors, there are actually many downsides to using beef tallow as an everyday skin care product.
“Unlike your regular moisturiser, beef tallow is heavy and can block pores by trapping moisture, bacteria and dirt, which can lead to blackheads and sebaceous filaments.
“This can be triggered further if you’re someone with sensitive skin. The use of beef tallow can cause breakouts and irritation, and this is due to the fact that it’s an unrefined animal product.
“This means that it hasn’t gone through the necessary processes to remove impurities that may damage your skin. Therefore, I do not recommend using this as a means to combat acne.”
