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?
Want to try the deluxe version? Head over to Duck Fat 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
FEED YOUR POTATO OBSESSION!
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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.
Rachel says
So so good! Made these with your Greek slow roasted lamb for dinner tonight. Finally I know the secret to crunchy golden roast potatoes! They even looked like your pictures! (That never happens to me!) You are so kind to share your tried and tested secrets, Nagi. Thank you! Hope you had a great weekend.
Nagi says
Aren’t they incredible??? I could seriously just eat these for an entire meal!
C says
Absolutely fantastic!!! Will be making these often. Whole family loved them including our 5 children.
Thanks!
Nagi says
WOO HOO! So glad you and the fam loved it C, thank you for letting me know! 🙂 N x
Holly Tanis says
I have to say I’m so glad I found your website. I haven’t been able to get my children to eat potatoes since they were babies. ( I think I may have over fed them mash he he) this is the first time my daughter and son actually ate the roast potatoes I put on their plates. They even asked for more. I served them with your slow roasted rosemary and garlic lamb, even the carrots were a hit! Thank you so much.
Nagi says
Woah! What a compliment! 😉 I am so glad your children are eating these potatoes!!!
Patti says
I love these potatoes. I have never seen goose fat in any stores in the US. I shudder to think how much it would cost IF I could find it. I chose peanut oil. The resulting potatoes were delicious.
Nagi says
I know Patti! Goose fat is really expensive here too – WHEN I can find it!!! So glad you enjoyed these potatoes. I honestly could eat these for an entire meal!!
Patti says
You realize that between these potatoes, the garlic cheese bread that is like crack, and a few of your other recipes, you are almost solely responsible for my pants getting tighter. I’m certain that my own recipes have nothing to do with it. LOL.
Nagi says
I find my wardrobe is heavily weighted towards STRETCHY clothes nowadays….. 😉
Ntombi Dube says
Nagi your potatoes looks good and crunchy. I am in SA . some of the ingridients are a problem with some of us like when you talk about semolina and polenta I became confused can they be substituted or do they have other names that can be used in SA? Please Nagi your recipes are so enticing they are so delicoius I have tried serverals. OOohh they are gorgious!!!
Nagi says
Hi Ntombi! I just had a google and found a semolina recipe on woolworths.co.za so I am assuming it is available in SA but possibly hard to find? Even if you leave it out, it will still be crunchy, I promise! The semolina just adds a teeny bit of extra crunch 🙂
Katrina says
I was wondering if ghee could be substituted for the oils you mentioned. Looking to still use some animal fat on those potatoes 🙂
Nagi says
Ooh YES! I didn’t think of Ghee, it will work GREAT in this!
A Downey says
The use of lard or dripping are great for roasting as they have a high smoke point. I dispute the fact that refined oils have a high smoke point. Contrary to belief oils are not healthy. The best oil is coconut oil great for asian cookery. I personally don’t like to use it for a steak or eggs as it does leave a slight after taste of coconut. Virgin olive oil is good for sauteing.
Nagi says
Absolutely agree that drippings are the BEST for roast potatoes!! You are right, refined oils don’t have as high a smoke point but the ones I list are the higher smoke point oils that work GREAT for this! 🙂
Thalia @ butter and brioche says
Nagi – crispy potatoes are my weakness! I have to try your method of cooking them as they look so divine.. I just love how they are not fried especially.
Nagi | RecipeTin says
Thanks Thalia!
Lisa Kaufer-Smithey says
OH MY GOODNESS, I must have missed Nigellas Christmas Special that year! BUT I can see her AND you tossing a pot of potatoes around to rough them up! I am making them this way next time, because this family LOVES roasted potatoes! THANK you for suggesting another oil, because WHERE in the US would I FIND goose fat?????? NO WHERE! I will be using polenta because it is what I have, and will let you know how the potato tossing goes.. I will get my husband to throw the pot around, it would KILL my back 😉 Thanks Nagi!
Nagi | RecipeTin says
That’s a travesty Lisa!!! It was a great series 🙂 She also did a brined turkey which is legendary!! Polenta works fabulously, I often switch it out because I pretty much always have polenta in stock, but not always semolina. I really hope you try this!! It is sensational 🙂 Re: roughing up the potatoes, if your hubby isn’t around, just use a big spoon to “toss” the potatoes around, that will achieve a similar result. 🙂
Sarah @ Savoring Spoon says
A potato dish! I love all your potato dishes, keep them coming 🙂 This one looks especially delicious because it’s a crunchy potato.
Nagi | RecipeTin says
Thank you Sarah! Yup, this one really is crunchy. SERIOUSLY crunchy! 🙂
Susan says
I understand that avocado oil also has a high smoke point. Would that work? I don’t use any of the kinds of oil you mention and don’t want to buy them. I love the idea of crunchy roasted potatoes.
Nagi | RecipeTin says
Hi Susan – actually, from my research, I understand that Avocado Oil has a low smoke point of 375 – 400F which is too low for this recipe. Vegetable and canola oil are the next best alternatives to those I listed, do you have either of those? However, the smoke point of these are borderline to the temperature they will reach in this recipe so you will need to stay “around” while the oil is preheating to make sure the oil doesn’t start smoking. Once the potatoes are in, you won’t have that concern. 🙂
Tara @ Deliciously Declassified says
These potatoes look awesome! My husband usually never eats roast potatoes specifically because they’re not crunchy enough – definitely giving these a go 🙂
Nagi | RecipeTin says
Thanks Tara! Hope you do give this a go! 🙂
Marissa | Pinch and Swirl says
That’s such a great tip, Nagi, to pre-heat the pan. This is how I make roast potatoes too, but I’d never thought to do that. I will from now on!!
Nagi | RecipeTin says
Definitely, give it a go! It really makes such a difference. It the roughed up potatoes go into a cold pan with cold oil, it tends to “soak” the surface more so it doesn’t crisp up as well and it kinda makes it too oily (yes, there is such thing, even with potatoes!!). Love to know what you think! 🙂
ann says
Damn!! I’ve ruined my laptop trying to get a fork and knife into that lamb and especially the potatoes. They look SO good and just when I am on a strict diet…..oh well.
Nagi | RecipeTin says
He he!! I actually giggled out loud right into my cup of morning coffee!! I am “supposed” to be on a strict diet too….but potatoes! Potatoes! They are my weakness!! 🙂
Kathleen | HapaNom says
Holy (insert expletive here)! These look fantastic! It’s like roasted potatoes had a baby with tater tots! (I have a weakness for tater tots). I’m totally with you on goose/duck fat – they’re amazing for frying, but quite costly. I’m so glad to know that you can still get things just as crispy/crunchy using alternate fats/oils.
Nagi | RecipeTin says
Oh I knoooooww……it is devastating how expensive duck fat is!! But yes, I promise this is just as crispy, it is just the flavour is slightly different because it’s not roasted with duck fat 🙂
Maureen | Orgasmic Chef says
Yummo. These potatoes are gorgeous! I love the lamb too. I have sprung for vats of duck fat for potatoes (before heart attack) and it was totally worth it.
Nagi | RecipeTin says
Thanks Maureen!! I know….duck fat potatoes…..BEST ever 🙂 I always roast duck with fairly plain rubs because I want to keep the rendered fat for potatoes!! 🙂