How to Make Perfect Roasted Potatoes (English Style Roasted Potatoes). Forget mashed!…roast those potatoes! Learn how to create a crispy outside with a steaming fluffy inside every time. Great with roast chicken, beef or pork and wonderful served with roasted garlic and sour cream. Soooo delicious.
How to make Perfect English Style Roasted Potatoes
Perfect Roasted Potatoes
The time has come for a potato revolution.
To be clear at the outset, I am not here to disparage the simple but somewhat utilitarian boiled potato. The boiled potato stands on its own merits and has served many a Jigg’s Dinner admirably over the centuries.
Even if familiarity has not bred contempt for this most common of boiled vegetables, one could never be blamed for proclaiming it…well, not to be unkind but…boring.
How to make Perfect English Style Roasted Potatoes
Having taken so much of our culinary heritage in this province from the United Kingdom, I have always thought it curiously surprising that we never adopted the iconic British roast potato into our own traditional fare.
If a juicy beef joint or succulent chicken is king of the time-honoured British “Sunday Roast”, then the roast potato is certainly a crown prince.
Roasted in oil, butter, or even in goose or other animal fat, no proper British Sunday dinner would be complete without them and once you’ve sampled a well prepared roast potato, I’ve no doubt you’ll discover why.
The straight-forward method of making these is also the secret to their success. The potatoes are parboiled before roasting, which loosens up the starches at the surface.
Perfect English Style Roasted Potatoes
A “dry” potato like a plain, dependable, old russet variety is best for roast potatoes because their surface starches break down more easily. The fat then combines with those surface starches to create a crispy exterior which surrounds a piping hot, almost creamy, center.
With their crispy jackets and steaming fluffy inside, my family finds these spuds irresistible. My ten year old son, in particular, loves them; often having second and third helpings.
We like to roast garlic along with the potatoes. We love to squeeze the sweet, sticky, roasted cloves onto our plates to be eaten along with the potatoes and a generous dollop of sour cream; truly one of the simplest and best things I have ever eaten.
Give this almost effortless recipe a try and you’ll see why I say so. Viva la revolution!
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- 6 medium to large sized russet potatoes peeled
- ¼ cup olive oil butter or other oil will work as well; a butter/olive oil combination is very good too
- ½ tsp kosher salt
- ½ tsp cracked black pepper
- 1 whole garlic bulb broken into about 4 pieces optional
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Parboil the potatoes in salted water for about 5 minutes. Some people prefer to boil them longer; up to 8 minutes or so. This will produce a thicker and crispier jacket to the potato if you prefer.
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Meanwhile in a 375 degree F oven, heat a baking pan of sufficient size to hold your potatoes without crowding them. A glass or metal pan is fine, as long as it is well heated beforehand. This will help to prevent the potatoes from sticking to the pan.
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After parboiling, drain the potatoes and let them stand for 5 minutes. Then toss the potatoes with the olive oil, salt, pepper and garlic cloves.
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Transfer the seasoned potatoes, garlic and oil to the hot baking pan. These should sizzle as they hit the pan; a good indication that they will not stick.
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Roast the potatoes for about 1¼ to 1½ hours or until they are nicely golden brown all over, turning them every 20 minutes or so.
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After the first 10 minutes, give the pan a shake to make sure the potatoes are not stuck to it.
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The roasted garlic will have to be removed before the potatoes are finished as it generally cooks faster. 45 minutes or less should be enough to fully cook the roasted garlic.
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Thanks, your post is very useful, I will to cook the potatoes in this way…a kiss by Luciana
One thing I would say is to shake the pan after they’ve boiled.
bashing them up gives you lovely crispy edges 😀
nice potato
I am not wrong when I say I love your blog :p I love russet potatoes cooked with herbs. And garlic is my favorite herb 🙂 This is just perfect sides for my roast . Thanks Barry for sharing this . You have just given me an idea how to prepare and get the best out of russet potatoes 🙂
These look so good! I am going to make these for supper tonight, now what to serve with them!!
These were the best roast potatoes ever! Thanks for the recipe!
Thanks for the tip on the hot an always wondered why would stick.
We love roasted potatoes no roast beef dinner would be complete without them and now minevwon’t stick anymore.
knew i had read thia recipe somewhere before ,but couldnt remember what to cook on them ,so used a lot of different herbs& cheese,hehe….now i know the real recipe.must try it soon .thanks
Do you put the potatoes in cold water, than bring it to a boil, or do you add the potatoes to boiling water?
I add them to boiling water and only count the boiling time from when they begin to boil.
Thank you, thank you. I will use this recipe for the rest of my days. I made these for my fiance and I, and we cannot get enough. I served them with a beef roast and it was a tremendous success. I have attached a photo.
I followed the recipe exactly. I sprinkled a bit of rosemary and oregano in the pan before I added the potato. Yummy!
Happy roasting! :o)
http://i45.tinypic.com/2uzw8xv.jpg
Thanks so much for sharing your photo! That potato made me drool! These potatoes are the bomb! We absolutely love them in our family.
I made these potatoes. They are to die for. This only was to eat a potatoes. You 1st enjoy the outside crunch and you have the mash potato inside. Omg goodness
Not sure if I’m missing something . .do I peel the potatoes?
What makes them look like the picture
Yes the potatoes are peeled.
Just made these potatoes for me and my husband, and they were the best baked potato I have ever eaten. I can’t wait to make them again for company. The skin was so favorfull and they were cooked to perfection. Not a hard spot in them.
Tried these today, and thumbs-up from everyone aged 5 to 40!
Awesome pic! I grew up in NB. Live in Walla Walla, Wa now. But am British, my Mum and Nana made some wicked roast potatoes.
This is the first time I’ve looked at your blog. My GF was RCMP in Harbor Grace and gave me local church lady cookbook. Love it!
Made these tonight. They were wonderful. Even my picky two year old loved them! Thank you for sharing.
Did you slice the potatoes in half lengthwise? Or are they roasted whole? I can’t wait to try this for our Christmas dinner this year. Thank you for sharing this recipe. Merry Christmas!
Any way you like them. I cut them to even out the different sizes if necessary.
These look so yummy. I’m looking for a way to bake white-sweet potatoes tonight to pour chili on. Can you think I do this with sweet potatoes (not yams)? 🙂 Also, I plan to bake them whole, if that will work.
Thanks in advance for your help! 🙂
A lot of water in sweet potatoes. Not really possible.
I’m cooking the English style roasted potatoes as I’m texting this,omg the smell alone is phenominal!I’m making baked pork steaks,with the potatoes,corn and sweet yeast rolls with whipped honey butter,omg I cannot wait for dinner,thankyou so much for your fantastic recipes,this one is definately a keeper!!!
Hi Barry, I made these tonight with braised roast beef (French onion) also a recipe from your site – which I highly recommend as it is the best roast I have ever cooked, according to my husband! These potatoes are delicious! I tried them without gravy and they were yummy and then with the gravy was the kicker! Lol Thanks for posting all this deliciousness 😊
Now that’s a comfort food meal to love!
I made these as part of our Thanksgiving dinner. I wanted something different than mashed potatoes and these were perfect. We thought they were delicious! I’ll be making them again for sure. Thank you for the wonderful recipe. 😀
Made these for the first time tonight I done them in butter, goose fat and a little mazola oil. Being from Ireland we do our roasties in a frying pan with the turkey drippings.
But these ones will become a favorite of the horde after today.
They disappeared to quick so i didn’ t get a picture
Thanks for a great site.
Gabe Hughes
I am always looking for new ways to make potatoes
Can these be made with dripping from pan fried bacon?
Thanks
Oh yes!
Of course they can. They will be scrumptious. Xx
AMAZINGLY DELICIOUS. Followed the directions to a “T” and they came out looking just like the pic. Plus they tasted even better if you can imagine that. A keeper for sure. Thank you! 5 stars !!!!
I’m eating these right now. They’re really, really good. Exactly as described. Kind of a cool combination of baked potato and potato chip. But better. I did the half butter half oil option.
Hi. Can I just add that the potatoes should be cut into even sized pieces before boiling. After draining away the water shake the pan to rough up the edges, tis makes them crisp up in the hot fat.45 minutes should be long enough in the oven. Joan UK.
Turned just the way you said they would! Awesome!
Can they be made ahead and reheated? And if I make extra and have leftovers, will they reheat well (I’m assuming I’d reheat them in the oven)?
I’ve found it depends on the kind of potato when reheating in the oven. Less waxy potatoes are best. My son chops them and fries them in butter in the morning to have for breakfast!
What do I do with the garlic?
Dee
Seve it with the potatoes and a little sour cream. Outstanding!
Is there any reason you couldn’t leave the skins on? Maybe pricking them all over before parboiling?
I’ll be trying them both ways, probably 🙂
Can you use regular salt? I dont have kosher…lol
Sure.
I made these for supper tonight. I halved the recipe because they were only for me and they were absolutely awesome. I will now share with all my sisters and friends. Definitely a keeper.
I am probably on the wrong site to find heart-healthy recipes for my husband!!! But these looked awesome. Could I use just straight olive oil rather than olive oil butter for these and get the same results?
Yes, I often do.
Can you leave the skins on and just scrub them first? I didn’t see the answer to this.
No. The crispy exterior requires them to be peeled and par boiled.