BEST RECIPES EVER – the 15 hour potato

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To kick start my TOP 10 RECIPES EVER, we’re starting with this absolute classic. The legend. The icon. The dream. The VIRAL 15 HOUR POTATO BABY! I will never get enough of this potato. EVER. With over 2.9m likes on TikTok, you just know it’s a goodun.

And don’t let the ’15 hour’ part put you off, you’re actually only cooking for around 3 hours of the total time but it’s the 12 hours of waiting that’s the real struggle, but it’s worth the wait I can assure you. I also like to get really anal when it comes to the layering part, but if you want something a bit more slap dash to feed a bigger group, try my family style version here.

There’s a reason year on year this recipe hits viral figures, and I mean, just look at it! It’s a work of art and although it won’t be as quick to achieve as the humble roastie, it really is a proper treat and everyone needs to try these at least once in their life.

If you love a good list, you can find the other 9 remaining recipes from right here.

The making part 

When you come to make this, I highly recommend using a mandolin but pleeeeease always use a finger guard as I’ve seen a fair few accidents during my time working in restaurants. You can use a sharp knife instead, however it will just take longer to get those super thin slices.

Once your potato slices are ready to go, make sure you really layer up that potato as high as you can get it. I use a loaf tin as I have found this sort of container works best as anything wider and flatter will take forever to fill and you may risk the potato breaking apart during the deep fat frying. Once the layering is complete, cover with parchment paper and weigh down with some heavy tins as this will keep the potato compact and minimise any gaps within the layers. After a painful 12 hours in the fridge, you’ll be ready to fry these babies up.

Ingredients

metric imperial
  • 7oz melted beef dripping
  • 200g melted beef dripping
  • 1 tbsp sea salt
  • 1 tbsp sea salt
  • 3.3lb potatoes
  • 1.5kg maris piper potatoes
  • 2 pints vegetable oil
  • 1 ltr vegetable oil

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 130°C/300°F/Gas Mark 2.
  2. Peel and thinly slice your tatties (using a mandolin is ideal for speed, consistency and ease but make sure you use a finger guard to avoid any accidents).
  3. Melt you beef dripping and mix in the salt and sliced potatoes. Now you need to work fast or just keep melting the beef dripping in the microwave as it sets quickly.
  4. Line a loaf tin and start layering one by one the slices of spuds.
  5. Place parchment paper on top and put in the oven for 3 hours or until tender.
  6. Once cooked, you need to add some weight on top so it’s compressed. I like to use tins. Then leave in the fridge for 12 hours to set. The waiting is the hardest part of the recipe.
  7. Once set, cut into little chunks or chip shapes and deep fry at 190°C until golden.
  8. Sprinkle with more salt and serve with anything you fancy…but these little blocks of deliciousness are good enough to eat as is.