Roast potatoes are a Sunday roast dinner staple, however, they can be difficult to make. Undercooked roast potatoes can be greasy and hard while overcooked roast potatoes can become too brown and taste burnt.
Everybody has their own method of making roast potatoes but the basic ingredients are potatoes, vegetable or animal fat, seasoning and herbs.
Adding extra ingredients and seasoning can overcomplicate the recipe and could result in an unpleasant roastie.
With this in mind, BaxterStorey chef manager Chris Tanton has shared six steps for making the “perfect roasties”.
1. Choosing the right potato
The chef said cooks should be careful when choosing their spuds at the supermarket as not all potatoes are suitable for roasting.
Chris said “for guaranteed results”, cooks should try King Edward, Maris Piper, or Desiree potatoes.
2. Quantity of potatoes
The cooking expert said home cooks should aim for 250g of raw potato per portion.
When preparing your potatoes, peel, cut evenly and flatten the edges of the potatoes for better cooking.
3. Remove starch
Before cooking your potatoes, wash them under the running tap to remove excess starch. Then, simmer the potatoes for 10 minutes without salt before draining.
4. Freeze your potatoes
After boiling your potatoes, drain and cool them before freezing them for an hour. Alternatively, you can pop them in the fridge uncovered overnight to dry out.
Freezing or refrigerating your cooked potatoes dries out the potato which means you’ll get a crispier potato with a soft, fluffy centre.
Some experts claim you can freeze your parboiled potatoes for up to one month ahead to save time.
5. The right fat
For a “luxurious roastie” Chris suggested opting for goose or duck fat. Preheat the oven to 130C and place the parboiled potatoes into a roasting tray.
Pour the fat into the tray so it covers two-thirds of each potato and pop them in the oven for 10 minutes.
Once they’ve been in the oven for 10 minutes, take them out and carefully turn over each potato before returning them to the oven for another 10 minutes.
When they’re cooked, put them on a cooling rack and put them in the fridge.
6. Add garlic and rosemary
Roast the potatoes at 200C with the same fat and add some smashed garlic and chopped rosemary for the last five minutes. Don’t mince the garlic as it burns.
Once fully cooked, drain them, season them to taste and enjoy with your roast dinner.
