This Chef's Trick Made My Roast Potatoes Crispier And Fluffier Than Ever

I’m just as obsessive about my roast potatoes as I am about my brownies, carrot cake, rocky road, and fudge. 

So I’ll be honest ― it took me some time to deviate from my tried-and-tested method, which involved par-boiling potatoes, “chuffing” them by shaking them in a colander, pre-heating some oil in an oven, and then popping them in to cook. 

I’ve experimented with some of the tips we’ve shared before at HuffPost UK, like Mary Berry’s semolina addition (good, but a little too “hard” for my taste ― I find it works better on parsnips). 

But nobody’s advice bar Marc Williams, cookery school director at The Grand in York, and Joe White, head chef at 10 Tib Lane in Manchester, has stuck. 

What’s the best way to cook roast potatoes?

Williams shared you should “strain them and wait until the steam stops,” because the water that’s trapped in the outer edges of the potatoes prevents the food from crisping up and may also provide dangerous splatters when introduced to the oil. 

But I followed White’s more extreme advice. 

“For the perfect roasties make sure to steam or boil them the day before and let them air dry overnight in the fridge,” he advised. 

“It will make the outside extra crispy when you roast them.”

I found this to be completely true ― provided, of course, you chuff the spuds first, as that’ll be harder to do when they’re cold. 

I parboiled my potatoes, shook them in the colander, and left the colander in the sink to drain fully ’til the steam had completely stopped. 

Then I put the colander inside a mixing bowl (I know, but I didn’t want to lose any of those tiny runaway potato fluffs that come off when you shake them), covered the lot in clingfilm, and cooked it the next day in a tray of pre-heated oil. 

I’ve never had crispier outsides or a fluffier centre ― it almost felt like fondant potato in the middle. 

Any other roast potato tricks?

Your potato choice matters. If I was back in Ireland, I’d go for Kerr’s Pinks ― the perfect fluffy-but-not-crumbly all-rounder.

 You can sometimes get these at farmer’s markets or smaller stores in the UK, but failing that I go for roosters, which are also a great option.

I use sunflower oil instead of olive oil ― you won’t notice the difference and some people think the pricier kind isn’t the best for the job.

Lastly, if you’re low on oven space I really like Mary Berry’s approach to cooking roasties in the same tray as poultry ― she gives the spuds an extra blast of heat at the end as the chicken rests. 

Other than that, all I can advise you to do is be more lazy and boil those spuds the night before.