How to Make Perfect Roast Potatoes Every Time

Even the best restaurants don’t seem to have a handle on making proper roast potatoes – order roast potatoes at any steakhouse or fine dining establishment, and you’ll get everything from rock-hard balls of charcoal to flaccid, wet blobs that are closer to mashed potato than roast potato. 

This recipe produces potatoes that are crunchy and sweetish on the outside, with crisp golden edges that melt into a delightfully soft, yet moist, interior.

To make perfect roast potatoes, you will need:

5-10 medium potatoes – Desiree, King Edward and Romano produce the best roast potatoes

Big tub of lard (alternatively you can use fat taken from the drippings of your roast meat)

Salt

Steps:

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees (gas mark 7).  Put your lard into a shallow roasting tin or pan and put it in the oven to melt.

Meanwhile, peel and wash all of your potatoes, and cut them into evenly-sized slices, approximately an inch tall and wide each.  An average potato should be cut into thirds, and then each piece cut in half again to produce even segments.

Next, put all of your cut potatoes into a large saucepan, fill it with salted water, and bring to a boil.  Boil potatoes for 8-10 minutes until soft, but not mushy.

TIP: To test a cooking potato to see if it is done, prod a potato underwater with a fork as it cooks.  If you can push the fork 1 cm or more into the potato then it is done, if not, give it a few more minutes.  If you slide the fork into a potato and it immediately falls apart into 2 halves, your potatoes are overcooked and you should save them for mash and start again.

When done, pour the water and potatoes into a plastic sieve or colander.  When the water has drained, shake the colander up and down, bouncing the potatoes around.  After a few tosses the potatoes will start to look floury around the edges.  This will roughen up the edges so they cook well and produce that delightful ‘crunch’ when you cut or bite into the roast potato.

Next, grab some oven gloves and take your pan of fat out of the oven.  The fat should be melted and sizzling.  Place the pan onto a non-burnable surface such as your stove top. 

Using tongs or a long-handled spoon (and gloves), transfer the potatoes into the fat.  Baste each potato so all of their sides are covered.

Now, pop them back into the oven in the tin.  Let them roast for 45 minutes until they look nicely browned.  Do not open the oven door or baste since the lard will melt around them and seal all the moisture and flavor in.

Remove from heat and sprinkle with salt before you serve them.