Techniques for Roasting Potatoes

[Chris Amirault]

When it's roasting season, I often find myself at the store grabbing a whole chicken, some green vegetables (asparagus and broccoli rabe today), and a few nice looking potatoes to roast (baby yukon golds). As these are one of the most celebrated items in my toolkit, I thought I'd share my technique -- and see if others have any additional tips.

Those in the UK have their own take on the matter of roasted potatoes. Our own maggiethecat explores the complexities of this tradition in her McArthur's Law and Roast Potatoes, and you can read Heston Blumenthal's method by clicking here. However, I've got a method that avoids the parboiling entirely and turns out great spuds.

I roast at a high temperature (450-500F), and I place the pan (usually a large Le Creuset frying pan) into the oven during preheating so that it gets very hot. If I have whole potatoes, I cut them into equivalent ~2" chunks; if I have small ones, I don't cut them, as contact between the crispy skin and the hot pan is a critical part of the result. However, having learned the hard way, I poke each one a few times with a wooden skewer.

The next step is key: I put the potatoes into a bowl and cover them with way more olive oil than you think I should use. I also season them very liberally with salt and pepper. I toss everything to coat and wait for the oven to warm up. I've been extremely flexible regarding the fat: I regularly use olive oil but have used duck fat, schmaltz, lard, and ghee as well. Why the very hot oven -- way over the smoke point -- doesn't produce smoke is beyond me, but it doesn't; opinions on that science are welcome.

You can also see if you want to add other seasonings like garlic cloves, rosemary, curry powder, smoked paprika, whole shallots, and so on. You also need to determine when you'll add those items: rosemary, garlic, and shallots can withstand the intense heat for the full 40-60 minutes, whereas other ingredients may well burn and should be added halfway through the cooking.

When you're ready to go, quickly dump the potatoes into the pan and scrape everything from that bowl into it. It will crackle and sputter intensely -- be careful. Then shake the pan vigorously to distribute the ingredients, and get it back in the oven. Set your timer to go off every 5-10 minutes and shake shake shake when it does; start testing them with a pinch (if you have asbestos fingers) or a fork. I've learned that it's pretty hard to overcook these guys if you're checking regularly, and the range of cooking varies for different potatoes based on variety, age, size, and so on. When they're done, dump everything into a bowl (again, scrape that oil out) and you can hold it for a while as you finish other items, they stay searingly hot for a long time.

Does anyone else use this method? What other potato roasting methods are out there? What are the additional components you like to add?

[Shamanjoe]

If i'm roasting cut potatoes, then my method is very similar to what you described Chris. However, when I'm in the mood, I like to take some smaller potatoes, anything from a fingerling to a small red/white and put them whole on a sheet pan that has at least half an inch of coarse salt in the bottom. Put them on the salt while still a little damp from the washing and a lovely little crust of salt sticks to the bottom. Roast medium-high heat until they're tender, and the salt prevents the bottoms from burning. Serve them on a plate, with maybe a spritz of butter and some chopped herbs. Yumm.

[Chris Amirault]

Do you shake 'em around or leave 'em still through the cooking?

When I made the batch last night, I realized I forgot to add a step. Like most things roasted at high heat, the potatoes finish cooking outside of the oven. I pulled them when they were just this side of done, and by service they were perfect. And then they disappeared.

[andiesenji]

If i'm roasting cut potatoes, then my method is very similar to what you described Chris. However, when I'm in the mood, I like to take some smaller potatoes, anything from a fingerling to a small red/white and put them whole on a sheet pan that has at least half an inch of coarse salt in the bottom. Put them on the salt while still a little damp from the washing and a lovely little crust of salt sticks to the bottom. Roast medium-high heat until they're tender, and the salt prevents the bottoms from burning. Serve them on a plate, with maybe a spritz of butter and some chopped herbs. Yumm.

Several years ago Martha Stewart published a recipe for salt-crust potatoes in the magazine and I have prepared them many times over the years.

I buy the little yellow potatoes and the multi-colored fingerling potatoes at Trader Joe's as they make a lovely presentation and the taste is phenomenal. Puts the lowly spud in an entirely new category!

I'll have to dig out the "recipe" as I don't think I have it in the computer.

[paulraphael]

Chris, I do it basically your way, but find no need to preheat the pan. Hot oven, definitely: i always preheat to 500.

Any new potato, fingerling, or other tasty spud with a tender skin is ideal. I cut them into halves, quarters, or smaller, depending on original size. small and even is good, but doesn't make a huge difference.

Toss with plenty of olive oil, salt, pepper, then spread into a sheet pan and into the oven. If I'm doing two sheets, the bottom one goes in several minutes earlier to compensate for radiant heat lost to the top pan. ideally, toss spuds around with tongs after they start browning.

A great twist: while they're roasting, mince a bunch of whatever herbs you have around, and make a slurry with more olive oil. After the spuds have cooked 20 minutes or so and are mostly browned, pull them out and slather the herb oil all over. Turn oven low (300 or so). put the spuds back in; if the oven is still blazing hot, leave the door partly open for a few minutes. After 10 minutes or so, the spuds will be fork tender, well browned, and infused with herb flavor. And you won't have incinerated the herbs or added any bitterness.

I can't imagine having to jump through hoops like parboiling ... these are so good.

[JAZ]

After trying a number of methods for roasting any waxy potatoes, I've found the simplest way to be the best. I cut them in half if small, quarters if large, toss them in oil and salt, and then place them on a sheet pan so that the cut side (or one cut side) is down. Roast at 375 for 20 to 30 minutes and then check them. I've found that if you try to toss or turn the potatoes too soon, they'll stick to the pan and you lose the crisp crust that's forming. If the potatoes have released from the pan, sometimes I'll go ahead and turn them if there's more than one cut side, but it's not really necessary to turn them at all. When the potatoes seem done (a knife or skewer goes in easily) I continue roasting them for another 15 minutes or so. It's a trick I learned years ago about waxy potatoes -- if you roast them longer than you think is necessary, they develop a great creamy interior. That combined with the crust that forms makes for the best roasted potatoes I've ever made.

[andiesenji]

I found a link to the Martha Stewart salt-crusted potatoes.

It is here: http://www.gourmetsleuth.com/recipe_saltcrustpotatoes.htm

The crust will separate from the potatoes on the serving plate.

[Marlene]

If I'm roasting potatoes separately, I mix a tsp of dry mustard or dijon together with 150 mls of heavy cream, toss the potatoes with the cream mustard mix and roast at 375 for about an hour, turning every 20 minutes or so. Otherwise, I toss them around the roast.

[paulraphael]

Marlene, good point about not turning too soon. This principle that applies just about everything, including proteins. Let the browning reactions progress enough, and food will release from the pan on its own. You'll never need a teflon pan for protein ... even with the most delicate fish.

[Marlene]

I think it was JAZ who actually said it, but I would agree with it. If you want till it's right, the food will never stick. Sticking means turning sooner than you should have.

[maggiethecat]

eGullet member and "Guardian" blogger Tim Hayward gets it right in his Christmas dinner story.

"I turn the oven back up to full, whip out the potato tray and put it across the two biggest rings on the top of the oven. I have a deal with my local restaurant that means I never run out of beef dripping so I melt a huge, artery compromising slab of it in the searing hot pan, toss the parboiled potatoes into it and turn them over and over with a spatula until they are coated, and lets face it, half soaked in it. A heavy drift of salt, just to really annoy my doctor and then back into the hot oven."

Read the whole terrific story here.

For me "roast potatoes" are parboiled floury potatoes cooked in animal fat. Light interior, not creamy, and thick with crust.

But of course we cook small waxy potatoes in the oven, and love them, but I dunno, they're maybe "Fingerlings Tossed in Olive Oil and Herbs Cooked it the Oven." And yes! Don't turn them too soon!

Edited to add: I realize that perhaps I'm hung up on semantics and cultural differences. This granddaughter may never have set foot in Lancashire, but you can't take the Lancs out of the granddaughter!

Edited December 13, 2009 by maggiethecat (log)

[Chris Hennes]

You are all much more ambitious than I am. I cut up a couple of big Idaho baking potatoes, toss them in salt, melt butter in the bottom of the Dutch Oven, and put the potatoes in. I put the chicken on top of them, and pop it in a 425°F oven until the chicken is done. I take the chicken out to rest and stir up the potatoes, then put them back in and crank the oven to 550°F (as high as it will go). When the chicken is done resting I pull out the potatoes, which have begun to caramelize on the surface from the chicken drippings. The potatoes are far overcooked, at least if you like your potatoes al dente, but they have absorbed a ton of the chicken flavoring and taste fantastic (IMO, YMMV, etc.).

[maggiethecat]

Chris H.: I'm with you. Floury potato, animal fat.

[John DePaula]

I found a link to the Martha Stewart salt-crusted potatoes.

It is here: http://www.gourmetsleuth.com/recipe_saltcrustpotatoes.htm

The crust will separate from the potatoes on the serving plate.

I've got a skillet full of fingerlings in the oven now - can't wait!

P.S. I'm having this with Marcella Hazan's Fricasseed Chicken Abruzzi-Style and some baby lima beans.

[maggiethecat]

I found a link to the Martha Stewart salt-crusted potatoes.

It is here: http://www.gourmetsleuth.com/recipe_saltcrustpotatoes.htm

The crust will separate from the potatoes on the serving plate.

I've got a skillet full of fingerlings in the oven now - can't wait!

P.S. I'm having this with Marcella Hazan's Fricasseed Chicken Abruzzi-Style and some baby lima beans.

I die, I faint, I fail.

[Shamanjoe]

Thanks andiesenji! I'll definitely be trying them out soon.

[Kim Shook]

I've done Marlene's cream roasted potatoes and they are some of the best potatoes I've EVER tasted!

[nakji]

For me "roast potatoes" are parboiled floury potatoes cooked in animal fat. Light interior, not creamy, and thick with crust.

I did this method for the first time the other day to save some time in my small oven. I had three or four things I wanted to roast, and I didn't have time to roast the potatoes as long as I'd like from scratch, so I cut and parboiled. Then I cooled them, tossed them in enough olive oil to burn a lamp off of, plus salt and pepper. They sat in that for a while while I was waiting for the chicken to finish, then when I pulled it out to sit, the potatoes went in. The nice thing is that I had slightly over-boiled the potatoes, so the edges were quite mealy - that soaked up the olive oil and made for a brittle, toast-like coating on the potatoes, different from the typical golden crust. Yeah, there were no leftovers.

[John DePaula]

I found a link to the Martha Stewart salt-crusted potatoes.

It is here: http://www.gourmetsleuth.com/recipe_saltcrustpotatoes.htm

The crust will separate from the potatoes on the serving plate.

I've got a skillet full of fingerlings in the oven now - can't wait!

P.S. I'm having this with Marcella Hazan's Fricasseed Chicken Abruzzi-Style and some baby lima beans.

I die, I faint, I fail.

"Let thy love in kisses rain," eh? Not sure it warrents Shelly but on second thought, maybe it did!

The potatoes were spectacular and what a great compliment to this dish! Pic doesn't really do it justice but here goes:

[maggiethecat]

Yup, bring on Percy.

[dougal]

... The nice thing is that I had slightly over-boiled the potatoes, so the edges were quite mealy - that soaked up the olive oil and made for a brittle, toast-like coating on the potatoes, different from the typical golden crust. Yeah, there were no leftovers.

That's the idea!

Drain the par-boiled (or boiled) peeled potatoes, leave them a couple of minutes, shake them about in the pan, and leave them a little longer.

This should produce a roughened, dryish, floury surface.

Blumenthal goes for a more controlled effect by dusting them with actual flour. (Does he use potato flour?)

Being essentially cooked already, the actual roasting can be quite quick -- making the start-to-finish time much shorter than for an entirely oven-based process.

Not that I would necessarily advocate it, but the prep boiling stage could be done well in advance of the a la minute roasting -- reducing the pressure on the kitchen. People also assure me that almost-done roast potatoes freeze very well, and thawed to room temperature, finish well with about 15 minutes in the oven.

Different people have different ideas of a 'good' roast potato.

Mine include the idea that it has a distinct (flat, thickened) base and a thinner crusted curved top - not that it be cooked evenly on all sides. The contrast is part of the interest.

This idea is developed with those cock's comb roast potatoes looking a little like the Sydney Opera House. Three or four (almost parallel) knife cuts into the curved top of the boiled (halved or quartered) potato, produces the raised fan.

Its a little like slashing a loaf of bread before baking it ...

Don't know what these should be called - roasted, its not quite a true Hasselback potato.

Anyway, with roasting peeled, pre-boiled, cut, floury potatoes and basting with hot fat, you can raise a nice soufflé cock's comb. And you don't want to alter the potatoes' orientation during cooking - same side up! Baste only, don't tumble!

[Chris Amirault]

Not that I would necessarily advocate it, but the prep boiling stage could be done well in advance of the a la minute roasting -- reducing the pressure on the kitchen.

Have you or has anyone (Blumenthal?) prepped the potatoes for this method using sous vide? Then you could par-cook them, cool them in ice water, and refrigerate for finishing later when you're making your big holiday roast beast.

[slkinsey]

I have done something like this, and it worked fine. However, I should point out that if you cook them sous vide at around 83C (above the temperature for starch but below the temperature for pectin) you will wind up with potatoes that are fully cooked but still have more "bite" than is usual for a cooked potato.

If you are not going to cook to this temperature, then cooking via sous vide doesn't make much sense and is no more convenient or effective than simple blanching and chilling in a pot of salted water. I had thought (hoped?) that putting some butter in the bag with the potatoes would cause the potatoes to absorb some of the butter or otherwise become extra buttery-tasting, but no dice. Other flavors might absorb better.

[dougal]

I'm not sure that s-v would be helpful.

The idea is to get a dry, floury and in my case (following Nigel Slater, and I suspect Delia), a roughened surface.

After a decent boiling, then draining and 'distressing' them, the potatoes (and pan) should still have enough stored heat to dry the potatoes' outside surfaces.

You aren't going to end up in the same neighbourhood going s-v and quenching them.

The choice of potato, however, could make a big difference.

You want floury, but you don't want to boil it so long that it becomes structurally crumbly. So, its better if the variety is not too floury ...

[andiesenji]

I found a link to the Martha Stewart salt-crusted potatoes.

It is here: http://www.gourmetsleuth.com/recipe_saltcrustpotatoes.htm

The crust will separate from the potatoes on the serving plate.

I've got a skillet full of fingerlings in the oven now - can't wait!

P.S. I'm having this with Marcella Hazan's Fricasseed Chicken Abruzzi-Style and some baby lima beans.

I die, I faint, I fail.

"Let thy love in kisses rain," eh? Not sure it warrents Shelly but on second thought, maybe it did!

The potatoes were spectacular and what a great compliment to this dish! Pic doesn't really do it justice but here goes:

That's a lovely presentation, John. The colors of the plate complement the colors of the potatoes.