Roasted Melting Potatoes Recipe | Side Dishes | Practically Homemade (2024)

FAQs

What is the best oil for roasting potatoes? ›

Neutral, low-cost oil such as vegetable oil, canola oil, safflower oil, peanut oil, corn oil, coconut oil, avocado oil, etc., work well for roasting. These oils have a high smoke point, allowing the potatoes to get very hot to achieve maximum crispiness.

Soaking potatoes in water helps remove excess starch. Excess starch can inhibit the potatoes from cooking evenly as well as creating a gummy or sticky texture on the outside of your potatoes. Cold water is used because hot water would react with the starch activating it, making it harder to separate from the potatoes.

Preheat the Baking Pan

Preheating your roasting pan helps the outsides of your potato chunks get nice and crispy right away, so you'll be less likely to overcook them. This extra step is pretty simple.

Do I have to boil potatoes before roasting? Not necessary but this can help get the perfect consistency and crispiness. Make sure you boil them but leave them a bit al dente and they will crisp up perfectly in the oven.

Adding oil to potatoes before baking is perfectly fine, just a personal preference. Without oil the Idaho russet skin bakes up crispy, with oil the skin will carry a lot of the flavor of the oil so some people have a preference for using olive oil or peanut oil.

A: This sure sounds a lot like potatoes that have been stored too long, in too cold of an environment before cooking. When potatoes are held below 41°F for too long a period, the starches convert to sugar and it changes the cooking chemistry.

The main reasons to cut the potatoes and pre-soak in water are: To allow the excess starches and sugars to be removed from the outer surface of the fry strips AND to keep the potatoes from browning prematurely from exposure to air. Covering in water helps the potato from turning a dark color.

When the corn starch comes into contact with the hot oil, it forms a barrier that traps moisture within the potato while also developing a crunchy crust. This results in fries that are both tender on the inside and crispy on the outside, mimicking the texture of fries you might find in restaurants.

It's up to you whether or not you peel your potatoes. Potatoes that are completely peeled and then cut into large chunks will crisp up nicely on all sides, whereas unpeeled potatoes that you've cut into wedges, or into halves or quarters, will become really crunchy only on their peeled sides.

Sprinkle your parboiled potatoes with flour. This gives potatoes extra crunch. A tablespoon is all you need! Throw in some whole, unpeeled garlic cloves or a handful of herbs (thyme, sage or rosemary all work well) with the potatoes when adding them to the hot roasting tin.

Can you use too much oil for roast potatoes? ›

Also, be mindful of the oil. Potatoes can react like sponges; too much oil can make your potatoes appear to be soggy. Try placing oil in a spray bottle or using an aerosol to apply the oil to the potatoes. Lastly, ensure that the potatoes are dry before you add the oil.

To have a truly marvellous roast potato, one must simply let the potato dry completely after parboiling, before roasting in extremely hot fat.

For an easy roast that's a great summer staple you can use quick-cooking New, Baby or Salad potatoes. These tend to be more moist or 'waxy' in texture, so you'll get a denser more creamy inside than with a 'traditional' roastie, and more potatoey flavour.

Yes! Soak the potatoes in cold water to remove the excess starch from the outside of the potato. There are a few reasons why you want to remove that starch (it makes the potatoes burn, it keeps them from crisping up, it turns to sugar) but all you really need to remember is to soak them at least one hour.

Best cooking oil for roasting

Extra virgin olive oil and coconut are both good for slow roasts due to their low smoke point and added flavour, whilst vegetable oil and rapeseed oil are neutral, medium smoke point oils that are versatile and can be used in most roasts.

You want to use an oil with a mild flavour for your roasties. We prefer olive oil, but you can opt for vegetable, canola or grapeseed oils instead.

However avocado oil has a higher smoke-point which helps the potatoes get crispy without burning. You can sub for extra virgin olive oil but just keep an eye on the potatoes making sure they don't burn.

Our answer. You can substitute duck fat for goose fat and vice-versa. They both have a high smoke point so can be heated to quite high temperatures, so are ideal for roasting potatoes to golden crispness, and both have a better flavour for roast potatoes than oil.