How to Make Crispy Roast Potatoes: Parboil, Rough Up and Roast
To make crispy roast potatoes, parboil peeled potatoes for 14 minutes, shake them to rough up the edges, then roast in hot fat. That is Jamie Oliver's method: the potatoes are cooked most of the way before they reach the oven, and the roughed-up surface is what turns into the crunchy crust while the middle stays fluffy. Here is which potatoes to use, why each step matters, and how long it all takes.
Which potatoes make the crispiest roast potatoes?
Jamie’s recipe calls for medium floury potatoes and gives Maris Piper, King Edward and Yukon Gold as examples. Floury varieties cook up fluffy inside and break down a little at the edges, which is what this method counts on. Buy potatoes of about the same size so they cook at the same speed. Here is everything you need for a tray that serves 8:
Potatoes: 2.5 kg (about 5½ pounds) medium floury potatoes
Fat in the tray: 1 tablespoon of oil and 50 g (about 1¾ ounces) of unsalted butter
Fat to finish: 1 more tablespoon of oil over the potatoes
Flavor: 1 bulb of garlic, cloves left unpeeled, and the zest of 1 lemon
Seasoning: sea salt and black pepper, plus a few rosemary leaves if you like
The recipe notes that the butter can be swapped for a blend of butter and duck or goose fat.
Why do you parboil roast potatoes, and why shake them?
Peel the potatoes and keep them whole, ideally about the same size, roughly 8 centimeters (about 3 inches) across. Cut any bigger ones in half. Then parboil them in a pan of boiling salted water for 14 minutes. Parboiling cooks the inside most of the way, so the oven only has to brown them, and it softens the outside so it can be roughed up. Tip them into a colander and let them steam-dry for 2 minutes, because wet potatoes steam in the fat instead of crisping. Then give the colander a few light shakes. The knocks fray the soft outside into ragged edges, and those edges catch the hot fat and turn into the crunchy, golden crust. Shake lightly: you want rough edges on whole potatoes, not mash.
How do you roast them in the tin?
Start the fat while the potatoes are almost done. Put 1 tablespoon of oil and the butter in your largest roasting tray and set it on a burner over medium heat, so the fat is already hot when the potatoes arrive. Break the unpeeled garlic cloves into the tray and stir now and then. Then use a speed peeler to strip the lemon zest straight into the sizzling fat. Tip in the shaken potatoes and toss them until every piece is coated. Season generously with sea salt and black pepper, drizzle over the second tablespoon of oil, and add a few rosemary leaves if you want them.
How long do crispy roast potatoes take?
Roughly an hour and a half of cooking, plus peeling. Here is the order and the timing:
Oven: 350°F (180°C, gas mark 4), heated before you start
Parboil: 14 minutes
Steam-dry: 2 minutes
First roast: 1 hour, or until crisp and golden all over
Second roast: 15 minutes, after the potatoes are half-squashed
When the hour is up, take the tray out and gently half-squash each potato with a wide spatula (the recipe calls it a fish slice) or a potato masher, so the potatoes push into each other and fill the tray. Put it back in the oven for 15 minutes, until the outsides are golden and crisp and the insides fluffy.
Is there another way to make crispy roast potatoes?
Yes. The other way to do it is Nancy Silverton’s confit method, which cooks the potatoes slowly in enough fat to cover them and then roasts them in a much hotter oven. Jamie’s version uses far less fat and no separate confit step: one boil, one tray and a 350°F oven. It also comes from a Sunday roast lesson, so these potatoes are made to sit next to roast beef and gravy.
How do you reheat roast potatoes, and what goes with them?
Roast potatoes are at their crispest straight from the oven, so serve them as soon as they are done, next to something like a prime rib roast. If there are leftovers, USDA’s food safety guidance is to refrigerate them within 2 hours, eat them within 3 to 4 days, and reheat them until they reach 165°F. Spread them on a tray and reheat them in the oven rather than the microwave, which turns the crust soft. To see the potatoes cooked step by step, the Jamie’s Sunday Roast lesson has the Crispy Roast Potatoes recipe, and Jamie Oliver‘s class has more of his home cooking.
During a 20-year television and publishing career, British chef Jamie Oliver has inspired millions to cook healthy and delicious food. A global phenomenon, Jamie has published over 20 bestselling internationally acclaimed cookbooks. He leads a global food revolution helping to reduce childhood obesity and promote nutrition education.