Perfect Roast Potatoes
The Sunday lunch obligation: shaggy-edged, crisp-shelled, fluffy-centred potatoes roasted in goose fat or beef dripping. The trick is parboil-until-falling-apart, then shake hard in the colander to rough up the edges. Those edges become the crust.
Overview
Maris Piper potatoes peel and chunk, parboil in well-salted water until just past the point of holding together, drain, shake aggressively in the colander to fluff up the surface. They go into smoking hot fat in a roasting tin, get turned a few times, and emerge with a crust that holds against gravy.
Ingredients
- 1 ½ kg Maris Piper (or King Edward potatoes, peeled, cut into 4-5 cm chunks)
- 6 tablespoons goose fat (or beef dripping)
- 1 tablespoon semolina (optional; helps the crust)
- 4 sprigs fresh rosemary (or thyme, optional)
- 4 garlic cloves (skin on, smashed; optional)
- Sea salt
Method
Stage 1 - Parboil
- Place the cut potatoes in a large pan; cover with cold water; add 2 tablespoons of salt.
- Bring to the boil; cook 8-10 minutes until the edges are softening and a knife slides in with little resistance (the potatoes should be just past cooked through; ALMOST falling apart).
Stage 2 - Fluff up
- Drain in a colander.
- Let steam off for 1 minute.
- Shake the colander vigorously back and forth - the edges of the potatoes should rough up into a fluffy coating.
- Sprinkle with semolina if using; toss once more.
Stage 3 - Heat the fat
- Heat the oven to 220°C (200°C fan).
- Put the goose fat in a large roasting tin (one big enough that the potatoes can sit in a single layer).
- Heat the tin in the oven for 8-10 minutes until the fat is shimmering and almost smoking.
Stage 4 - Roast
- Carefully tip the parboiled potatoes into the hot fat (it spits).
- Turn each potato to coat in the fat.
- Roast for 30 minutes; turn them.
- Roast another 25-35 minutes, turning twice more, until deep golden and crisp.
- Add the herbs and garlic in the last 10 minutes (if using).
Stage 5 - Serve
- Salt generously the moment they come out of the oven.
- Serve immediately while crisp.
Notes
- Past-cooked parboil: Underdone potatoes don't fluff up. They should be on the edge of falling apart when you drain them.
- Smoking-hot fat: Cold fat steams the potatoes; you get pale, soft, sad spuds. The fat must be hot enough to crackle on contact.
- Semolina is the secret: A light dusting between the parboil and the roasting tin gives an extra layer of crispness. Optional but a serious upgrade.
Storage
- Eat the moment they're out. Reheating gives crisp-but-leathery potatoes.
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