Having perfectly crispy roast potatoes is a must for any Christmas dinner, but many of us make one mistake that stops us from achieving the ultimate crisp on our spuds
Getting your roast potatoes crispy will be the key to perfecting your Christmas dinner, but there’s one mistake you’ll want to avoid making as it could ruin your spuds.
Christmas is right around the corner, and many of us are starting to think about what we need to prepare ahead of the Christmas dinner that will form the centrepiece of the whole day. It’s important things are done right and it can be a hugely stressful meal to cook, especially when there are so many things that can go wrong. And according to one chef, there’s a mistake we all make that stops us from getting the perfect crunchy coating on our roast potatoes.
Marc Williams, the cookery school director at five-star hotel The Grand in York, told the Daily Record you should always wait for your potatoes to cool completely after parboiling them. Most of us will just drain them off and stick them in the roasting pan to go straight into the oven, but apparently, this is a big mistake.
The chef said: “To get the perfect potatoes, peel them, add them to cold water and bring them to a boil. Boil for around six minutes until the edges soften. Then, strain them and wait until the steam stops. You’ll never get a crisp result if they are full of water.” Once you’ve let your potatoes fully drain and cool, there are a few other steps you should do to ensure you get the ultimate crisp on your spuds – including using seasoning and the right sort of fat.
Marc added: “Preheat your chosen fat in a hot oven – duck fat is my choice! Don’t forget to season the potatoes and then carefully add and baste them in the duck fat. Roast for around twenty minutes in a hot oven before turning them over; this allows a crust to form underneath, so you won’t leave half the potato stuck to the tray.” And if you’re feeling a little adventurous this year, you could even ditch the oven altogether and opt to use an air fryer instead. The air fryer can be used for potatoes as well parsnips and can help free up space in your oven.
The chef said: “They are fantastic for roast potatoes and cut down cooking times drastically. The air fryers with two sections are great for cooking at different temperatures. Try honey-glazed parsnips on one side at 180C and roast potatoes on the other at 200C.” To help minimise the stress of preparing the Christmas meal, Marc has also offered some advice on when you should be preparing each component and said potatoes should be cooked in the morning and then reheated when it’s time to serve. He explained: “Roast potatoes are done in the morning and heated back through.
“Make a prep list of roughly how you’d like to plan the day and do everything you can in advance. Most of the things I make the day before and just heat back through. The turkey should be resting for 30 minutes at least so you have plenty of time to get things back through the oven.”
Do you have a story to sell? Get in touch with us at [email protected].
