To me, the perfect roast potato has a thick, golden, super crunchy crust, it is fluffy and moist on the inside and perfectly seasoned. How many times have you gone to the effort of making a spectacular roast dinner, only to be let down by less than perfect roast potatoes?
Here’s why this recipe makes Truly Crunchy Roast Potatoes:
1) par boiling the potatoes and roughing up the potatoes creates more “suction” for the surface to absorb fat which is how you make potatoes crunchy and creates the extra thick crust;
2) the potatoes are lightly coated with semolina which creates extra crunch;
3) the potatoes are poured into a pan preheated with hot oil; and
4) the oil used is a high smoke point oil (peanut, safflower, rice bran, sunflower oil)- the hotter the oil when the potatoes go in, the better the crust.
Above all else, the 3rd and 4th points are the key. It makes all the difference and doesn’t take any extra time because the oil is heated in the pan while the oven is preheating. If you don’t have time to par boil, then cut the potatoes up smaller and dust with semolina (but it doesn’t stay on well as when you do this after par boiling), use the preheated hot oil method and you’ll notice the potatoes are a lot crunchier.
This recipe for roast potatoes came after I watched Nigella on a Christmas Special a number of years ago making her perfect roast potatoes. It changed the way I made potatoes forever, and I have never looked back.
Nigella’s recipe is rather indulgent. It is made using goose fat – A LOT of it, around 2 cups (640g/1 1/4lb). I remember reading in the news that the first year her Christmas Special aired, goose fat sold out all over the UK!!
We didn’t have that problem here in Australia because goose fat is expensive – it’s around $15 to $20 per can and you need TWO of them. So basically, making Nigella’s roast potatoes would cost close to $40! Duck fat is the closest substitute, but it is expensive as well, around $12 to $15 per can.
I have made this with both goose fat and duck fat, and it is sensational. I used fat rendered from roasting goose and duck, not store bought fat – I don’t think I could ever justify such a cost, not even for potatoes!
There is a distinct flavour using goose or duck fat that can’t be replaced with any bottled oil. BUT you can still achieve the same level of crunchiness, using the same method as Nigella does but with specific types of cooking oils instead of goose fat. And using a lot LESS oil too.
I call this Perfect Roast Potatoes for Normal People. Nigella’s Perfect Roast Potatoes is for wealthy people who can afford $40 roast potatoes! (Or if you live in the UK, where goose fat is MUCH cheaper!).
I’ve provided directions for Nigella’s recipe in the notes. Just in case you are one of “those” people!
I made these roast potatoes to go with a Slow Roasted Rosemary Garlic Lamb Shoulder. You can’t bake them at the same time because of the different oven temperatures required, but lamb shoulder can be set aside to rest for up to a couple of hours before having to reheat it. So the timing works very well!
Oh, the other thing worth noting is that the potatoes will be crunchy when they are a golden colour with only a few bits of dark brown parts. Standard roast potato recipes are typically darker brown.
Love to hear what you think if you try it! Shout out if you have any questions at all. 🙂
– Nagi
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Truly Crunchy Roast Potatoes
Ingredients
- 2/3 cup / 165 ml oil - it must be one of the following: Safflower Oil , Rice Bran Oil, Peanut Oil, Corn Oil, Sunflower Oil. I used peanut oil. (Note 1)
- 3 lb / 1.5 kg potatoes (Note 2)
- 2 tbsp semolina (best substitute is polenta)
- 2 tsp salt (increase to 3 tsp if you have a salty palette) (Note 3)
Instructions
- Pour the oil in a metal or cast iron baking dish and place in the oven. Crank up your oven to as high as it will go (mine is 250C/480F fan forced).
- Boil a large pot of water. Peel and cut the potatoes into large pieces, about 6cm/2.2" wide. (Note 4)
- Boil the potatoes for 10 minutes. Drain then return to the pot.
- Scatter over the semolina and salt. Clamp the lid on and give the pot 5 good shakes to rough up the potatoes. Leave the lid on and set aside.
- The oil should be hot enough by the time the oven comes to temperature. Test it by tossing in a pinch of potato - it should sizzle straight away.
- Pour the potatoes in (be careful of oil splashing). Working quickly, use an egg flip to toss the potatoes in the oil, spread them out as best you can then put the pan to the oven.
- Turn the oven down to 220C/425F. Roast for around 50 minutes, possibly up to 1 hr 15 minutes (Note 5), turning once during baking. They are ready when they are a golden brown with some browned edges and they are crunchy. (Note 6)
- Serve immediately! They will stay crunchy for around 30 minutes, but the faster you get them on the table, the better! They also crisp up pretty well when reheated - reheat @220C/425F for around 15 minutes (from room temp, add 5 min from fridge).
Recipe Notes:
US - russet is ideal. Yukon Gold is not suitable.
UK - Maris Piper is a good all rounder which is suitable and readily available in all the supermarkets. King Edwards and Desiree are also great. 3. This might seem like alot of salt but you lose some of it in the roughing up. 4. Size matters. If the potato is too small, they will overcook before the outside becomes crunchy. 5. The roasting time depends on the strength of your oven, oil, how much you preheated the oil, and how heavy based the roasting pan is. 6. These potatoes do not roast to a dark golden brown that you may be used to with ordinary roast potatoes. They will be crunchy when they are a golden brown colour with only some browned edges. 7. Nigella's recipe has the same steps except she uses goose fat instead of normal oil. Her recipe calls for 1lb 5oz / 640g of goose fat which is 2 cans. Also she uses 5lb/2.5kg of potatoes which doesn't fit into any of my pans so I reduced the amount of potatoes.
Nutrition assumes 8 servings.
Talk about mouth watering! These would have to be, the best, roast potatoes I’ve ever had. I’ll definitely be roasting them this way from now on. 🤤
They are SO good aren’t they Jo?! N x
Holy sh#t these were awesome!! Even though every recipe iv tried on here (& iv made ALOT) has always turned out amazing, I was still dubious of these because iv tried so many times to make the perfect roast potato but they’re always turn out just meh.
Should have trusted Nagi from the start.
They were perfect! So crunchy! even with my dodgy oven.
I will now be the roast potato queen in the family.😈
Thanks Nagi!
Thanks Nagi – Best roast potato recipe I have found – truly were crunchy with a capital C.
Love all your recipes I have tried so far (Irish Guinness stew, Beef with rice & vegies, Irish Soda bread, Butter chicken etc.) Which roast is the best to try and time the meat with Truly Crunchy Roast Potatoes? I’m going to try your roast pork tonight and based on my experience with such, your recipe looks a winner! (great background info!)
Hey Nagi, I absolutely love all your recipes. Unfortunately this one didn’t really turn out too well. They weren’t crunchy and they seemed to soak up all the oil. Can you think of what I might have done wrong?
Hi Andrea, that’s not right at all! It could be the type of potatoes you used, or the oil not being hot enough – or not being cooked long enough. N x
I wonder if you are able to do a post on rendering fat? You’ve said in this post that you have renedered your own goose fat. I remember my mum talking about how she was taught at school (back in the 1930’s) how to render fats so they would keep. I do cook ducks occassionally and would love to know how to render the fat to use in other dishes like this one. Thanks so much for all your wonderful posts and recipes!
Great idea Lorelle, I’ll definitely add it to my list! N x
I use this recipe EVERY single time i want crispy potatoes! So delicious and easy!!
Absolutely yummy, I’ve been a roast spud lover for years and these top the list. Hot or cold they’re going down fast
Absolutely foolproof and delicious.
Nagi,
I have so many of your recipes saved on my phone, they never fail xx
Simply the best roast spuds!
I often share your recipes on food a food group I’m on x thanks for your talent.
Hi Nagi. Just drooling over your crunchy roast potatoes. Thanks for the tips on which varieties to use. I know that you always seem to recommend the dirty brown ones. One problem, at least in WA is that the varieties grown here are never advertised in stores. Crazy. Like giving up telling people what sort of apples they’re buying. Any advice, please, on how to find out which is which? Or perhaps you already have, and I missed it…
Awesome…
These were the best roast potatoes I’ve made! I used sunflower oil and it came out great. Served with honey lime chicken and some steamed broccoli and carrots. Thanks for the lovely recipe!
Hi Nagi,
Could I use grape seed oil (it has a high smoke point).
And would flour mixed with plank crumbs work (I don’t have any polenta or Semolina.
I used grapeseed oil with no trouble. The potatoes turned out perfectly.
I made these last night to go with you Slow Cooker Pork Loin Roast…both were divine!! Crunchy?…yes they were! Loved them and so did my hubby! I used peanut oil and cornmeal (I’m in the states). The potatoes were a perfect compliment to the pork loin.
So worth the effort. I made these last night to go with some cabbage stew. Such a win. Thanks for sharing the recipe.
These were perfect crispy potatoes, I used Sunflower oil.
These were such a hit Nagi, and “truly crunchy”.
Cannot wait to remake them with one of your roast recipes. xxx
I made these on Saturday night to serve with your slow-roasted leg of lamb. Wow, they were a huge hit! This is the first time I have been successful in making crunchy potatoes in the oven. Thank you soooooo much! They actually cooked a little faster than I thought and the timing was perfect while I let the roast rest.
Hi Nagi, I was planning to make these to go along with your amazing roast chicken tonight! Any suggestions on how best to cook these at the same time as the chicken? From other comments, it sounds like they are best straight out of the oven rather than reheating, but the oven temps aren’t the same for both! Thanks again for all of your amazing recipes!!!
Hi Kelly. I reheated my leftover potatoes the next day and they were great. Also, if you have any airfryer you could throw them in there to do a quick reheat. If you don’t have an airfryer I would highly recommend getting one. They are awesome!