Expert level roast potatoes
🥔 Expert level roasties: 10/10 🥔
Let’s be honest, no roast dinner is complete without proper homemade roast potatoes. They’re the centrepiece, the MVP, the bit everyone fights over when the tray hits the table (especially for those crispy bits). I’ve spent years and yeeeeears testing and tweaking roastie recipes, and for the longest time I was convinced the perfect one only needed salt, oil and a trusty Maris Piper. Simple, right?
Well…that was until now. Because I’ve just created the most gloriously extra roasties of my life, and honestly, I don’t think I’ll ever recover. These aren’t your casual Sunday spuds or your midweek “that’ll do” potatoes because these are special-occasion roasties, the kind you make when you want to seriously impress. Yes, they take more time and more effort, but every golden, crispy, beef-fat-coated bite is 100% worth it.
The method to next-level crispiness
Consistency and careful handling – cut your potatoes into equal sizes because uniform spuds mean even roasting. And instead of chucking them all into a colander to steam dry after parboiling, I laid each one individually on a rack. They’re super soft after parboiling, so this extra care stops them breaking apart while helping them dry out perfectly. Steam drying is non-negotiable btw, it’s how you get that incredible crunchy shell.
The oven turn – this is where things get a little intense. Normally, I’d turn my roasties once, because that’s all that’s really needed. But for these beauties? I was super extra and turned them every seven minutes. Why? Because I wanted every single edge and crevice to crisp evenly. Think of it as a labour of love (or obsession, depending on how you see it).
Flavour, fat, and the all-important coating
Plain water just won’t do – when you parboil your potatoes, infuse them. I used a beef stock cube, bay leaf, peppercorns, rosemary, thyme, half a bulb of garlic, half an onion and plenty of salt. It penetrates the potatoes with flavour before they even hit the oven. You can also add the garlic and onion to the roasting tray after to carry through that flavour even more.
Animal fats – I swapped out my standard neutral oil for beef dripping (beef fat). It’s rich, glossy, and brings a deep, meaty savouriness that feels seriously special, perfect for Christmas or a proper dinner party.
The secret weapon – a seasoned rice flour dusting. Mix rice flour with celery salt, garlic granules and mustard powder, and sieve it evenly over the post steam-dried potatoes before roasting. This light coating takes crispiness to a whole new level and is a technique I will be applying much more going forward.
The glorious result
The result? Roast potatoes so golden, so crunchy, so outrageously good that they might just upstage everything else on the plate. The beef fat gives them a rich depth, the rice flour locks in the crisp, and every bite is pure heaven. I actually gave these a 10/10 in my roasties 3 ways video on YouTube, and if you know me, you know I don’t give top marks out that lightly.
So, if you’re ready to up your roastie game, this is THE ONE. But if you fancy something quicker (and still absolutely delicious), try my ultimate roast potato recipe for an easier everyday version.
Watch me make them step-by-step
Don’t forget to watch the full video of my testing out roast potato recipes over on my YouTube channel, and subscribe to see more chaos in the kitchen.
Expert level roast potatoes
By Poppy Cooks
https://www.poppycooks.com/recipes/expert-level-roast-potatoes/
Ingredients
- 4-6 large maris piper potatoes, peeled and sliced into equal chunks
- 1 chicken or vegetable stock cube
- A few sprigs of thyme and rosemary
- 1/2 brown onion
- 1/2 bulb garlic
- 100g beef fat/dripping
- 2 tbsp rice flour
- 1 tsp garlic granules
- 1 tsp onion granules
- Salt
Metric
Imperial
Instructions
- Tip all of the potatoes into a large pot of cold water. Heavily season with salt and chuck in the stock pot, fresh garlic and onion, thyme and rosemary. Place on the hob on a high heat and bring to a boil, then cook for 10-15 minutes until tender.
- Preheat the oven to 200Âşc fan/220Âşc/400Âşf. When the potatoes are soft, remove the garlic, onion and herbs. Drain into a colander and place it back over the hot pan you cooked them in, then top with a clean tea towel and leave to steam dry for 10-15 minutes.
- Place the beef fat onto a baking tray and pop into the oven for 10-15 minutes while the potatoes are steaming. Grab a wire rack and carefully lay out the potatoes in a single layer.
- Mix together the rice flour, garlic granules, onion granules and a big pinch of salt. Use a sieve to shake a thin layer of the rice flour mix over the potatoes, turning them over to get all sides. Carefully place all of the potatoes into the hot beef fat and turn them over to coat.
- Roast for 30 minutes, then give the tray a shake and turn the potatoes. Continue to roast for another 30 minutes until golden brown all over and super crunchy.