Ultra-crispy roast potatoes with soft, creamy insides, compliment a turkey dinner perfectly. Mashed potato may be the spud of choice in America for Thanksgiving, but turkey always makes my Irish taste buds long for roast potatoes.
Today’s post is dedicated to the spud and the cooking method of choice for Irish Sunday dinners. I’ll show you my little tricks of the kitchen trade, to ensure your roasties turn out perfectly crispy every time. And if you prefer a softer outer crust, we’ll discover how to achieve this too.
1. Oven Temperature:
Pre-heat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. A hot oven is needed to create that golden outer crust.
Many people roast potatoes by tossing them into the pan alongside their meat. This way the potatoes will soften and cook, but will never develop a tantalizing, golden appeal. The problem is with the oven temperature. Meat is usually cooked at temperatures between 300 degrees and 350 degrees. Fine for meat, but much too low for crisping.
In addition, the steam from the meat cooks the potatoes, so it is impossible to create the dry heat required for lovely roasties. The solution is two ovens, but if like me you only have one, just cook the meat first and then let it sit while the potatoes do their thing.
2. Potato Size:
The next big decision is choosing your potatoes. I like russet potatoes, since they cook up a little “flourier” on the inside, and crisp up nicely on the outside. If you prefer a softer roastie then pick a Yukon Gold variety.
You can roast potatoes of any size, but I like a medium potato. For faster cooking you can halve them, quarter them, or cut them into bite-size pieces. I prefer a substantial potato on my plate.
Picking similar size potatoes is very important if you plan on not cutting them.
3. Par-Boiling:
Next peel the potatoes and place them in a large saucepan. Cover them with cold water, season them with salt and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes.
This par-boiling step is key to creating the crispy outer crust. So, even you are tempted, never skip it.
4. Hot Oil:
While the potatoes are boiling pour about 1/3 of a cup of oil into a roasting pan, then place it in the pre-heated oven. You can use vegetable, canola, or olive oil, or if you have duck or goose fat, even better.
This hot oil step will seal the outer potato layer.
5. Roughing Up Those Spuds:
While the oil is heating strain your potatoes. Feel free to use a colander, but I do it the Irish way, which includes a free steam facial. My mother always said:
“Why bother dirtying another thing, when you can strain away with the pot and its lid.”
I just take a dish towel, spread it across the pot lid which is pulled away from the lip by a 1/4 inch. Then holding on tightly to the handles I pour the water down the sink. Be sure to keep that lid in place or you will end up with all your spuds in the bottom of the sink.
Now comes another little secret for crisping your praties. Put the lid back on the pot and give them a good, old shake. Roughing up the outer surface helps the hot oil stick and do its trick.
Take the lid off the pot and let the par-boiled potatoes sit for a few minutes to steam dry.
If you strained them in a colander, just toss them around a bit, right in the colander.
6. Oil Basting:
Next remove the pan of hot oil from the oven and add the potatoes. You should hear a little sizzle. Turn them around in the oil to fully coat all the surface area of the potatoes.
I use a fairly big roasting pan. You need to space them apart so they are not touching. If you overcrowd the pan the potatoes will steam cook as their inner juices vaporize in the hot oven.
Feel free to season them with salt and pepper at this stage. I don’t bother since I already added some to the water for par-boiling, and I like to keep sodium in our diet as low as possible.
Pop them in the oven. After 15 minutes, take them out and give them a turn. Use a metal spoon to pour the hot oil over them. See how they are turning brown in this picture.
I turn them again in another 15 minutes.
7. Cooking Time:
After 45 to 60 minutes you should have delicious, crispy spuds. Watch them closely towards the end so they do not burn.
I included a 15-minute window for final cooking time. How long is dependent upon the size of your potatoes. Bite size roasties may cook in less than 30 minutes.
And so, there ya go. If you follow these steps you will produce perfect, traditional Irish or English roasties every time.
My cooking method is for a standard plainroast potato, but the sky is the limit on different seasonings you can add. Garlic, onion powder, paprika, thyme, rosemary all add an extra depth of flavor. Just sprinkle the seasonings of your choice on your potatoes when they are in the roasting pan waiting to hit that hot oven.
Happy potato roasting to all!
Here is the printable recipe:
Roast Potatoes Irish Or English Style
Print recipe
| Serves | 4 |
| Prep time | 10 minutes |
| Cook time | 50 minutes |
| Total time | 1 hour |
| Meal type | Side Dish |
| Misc | Serve Hot |
| Region | British |
Ingredients
- 8 Medium russet potatoes
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil or goose fat
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Optional
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
Directions
| Step 1 | Peel the potatoes. Leave whole, or cut in half or quarters depending upon the roast potato size desired. |
| Step 2 | Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. |
| Step 3 | Place the potatoes in a large saucepan and cover with water. Add a pinch or two of salt. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, then simmer for five minutes. |
| Step 4 | Drain the potatoes. Toss in the saucepan or colander to roughen their outer surfaces. Let sit for a few minutes to steam dry. |
| Step 5 | Pour the oil into a large roasting pan and heat in the oven for a few minutes. |
| Step 6 | Place the potatoes into the hot oil, and turn them gently to evenly coat the surface with oil. Do not place the potatoes too close together. |
| Step 7 | Season with salt and pepper as desired. Roast in the oven for 30 to 60 minutes depending upon the size of the potato pieces. Turn the potatoes after 15 and 30 minutes of cooking. |
| Step 8 | Potatoes are cooked when the outer surface has turned golden and crispy. Serve hot with roast poultry or meat. |
Slán agus beannacht,
(Goodbye and blessings)
Irish American Mom
I wouldn’t disagree with any of that. They should come out grand and crispy.
Do you really count temp in F. I’d say there isn’t anyone under 70 that can convert since the lads on the telly went C for the weather round about 1970.
Vince – Our weather forecast is still reported in Fahrenheit over here. All ovens are still old school and there is no such thing as a Gas Mark for a cooker. My gas oven has a Fahrenheit temperature gauge. I have grown so accustomed to it I get all confused when I am cooking at home in Ireland. I actually have to google conversion tables.
Have a lovely weekend.
Mairead
I finally had the chance (and time) to make these! They are divine! My husband and son both asked when I was going to make them again! Thanks so much for sharing the recipe. I’ll definitely be trying some of your other recipes!
Hi Marilyn – thank you so much for stopping by to let us know your family give these roasties their seal of approval. Roast potatoes are part of my Irish childhood – we had them nearly every Sunday for dinner. I hope you’ll enjoy some of my other recipes.
All the best,
Mairéad
You should have titled this post: A Service To Mankind- My Roast Potatoes Recipe!
My husband does similar roast potatoes but not exactly like yours…we will try it your way and let you know. (My life is so hard, trying out a new way to roast a potato!) xx
Roast potatoes are just so good for Sunday dinner. We love them in our house too. Have a great weekend.
These sound so good! I’ve got a jar of duck fat in my fridge that needs using…we’ll have to try these!
Aimee – Duck fat will make these potatoes so crispy and delicious. Enjoy! My mouth is watering thinking about them.
These were SO delicious Mairead!! I had mixed results with the mashed turnips and rutabagas, but everyone loved these! And the duck fat made them smell (and taste!) so delicious! We’re already planning to make them again next week!
Aimee – So glad you liked these roast potatoes. I prefer them to mashed any day, especially with any kind of roast meat.
I thought you might get mixed reviews on turnips and rutabagas. They are an acquired taste, and I had plenty practice eating them as a kid in Ireland. They were a staple on our dinner menu.
Take care,
Mairéad
I think I would prefer them to mashed as well! We have successfully tried our kids on many different foods and have gotten so used to them eating things such as liver, kraut, etc that I guess I didn’t think a turnip or rutabaga would cause that much pause. 🙂 I should have known though, since I’ve made caramelized turnips a few times and they’ve never been too pleased to see them on their plates. Hopefully soon we’ll be able to add turnips and rutabagas to the list of foods our kids eat without thinking twice!
Aimee – I hated parsnips as a kid. My mom used to mash them up with carrots to try to get me to eat them. It took over twenty years before she finally succeeded. I hope you get your boys to like rutabagas much sooner than that.
Mairéad
Oh YUM! I’ll be making these this week!
They really are delicious Grammy.
Thank you so much for posting this recipe. I made them this evening, carefully following all your instructions and they turned out perfect. Will be doing them a lot more often now!
Mairead – You can’t beat crispy roast potatoes with a Sunday roast, and once you know the little tricks to ensuring that crispy outside, they really are pretty simple to cook. Glad you enjoyed them.
Mairéad
Oh Mairead your roast potatoes are fab, mine are never that great, its hit and miss with me, my mother used to make beautiful ones in the bastibal, i think i know now whats wrong, i put them in with the meat and i dont pre boil them either, im going to do them your way next time, you are a wonderful cook, i love the way you show every step, do you sell any cook books id buy one i love your recipies, and i love to see your lovely little hands on the pictures.i do be looking at them in awe and thinking what a wonderful pair of hands you have. 🙂
Have a smily day Maureen
Maureen – Your roast potatoes are probably steaming too much when they are cooked alongside the meat. I can only imagine how wonderful roast potatoes must have been cooked in the bastible. So glad you like my recipes. I would love to have a cookbook someday. I need to start planning what recipes to include. It’s lovely to hear feedback from readers, since it let’s me know what type of recipes people enjoy most. Sometimes it is the simplest recipes that are most popular.
Have a lovely day too.
Mairéad
Yes Mairead the roast pototoes done in the bastible were lovely done in goose fat , it was always a goose that time for christmas in the 50s and 60s never a turkey, my Mother used to clean out and pluck the geese for a farming family and i remember as a small child looking on and there would be feathers flying everywhere and she would always keep the wings and use as a little brush for picking up dust and cleaning, if my children saw a wing of a goose in our house they would be gone, as a small child I also remember red berry holly hanging over every picture and a big red candle on the window and I remember making the decorations out of beautiful crepe paper all different colours, im rambling now, ha.
Take care Maureen
I would love if you made a cook book and use all of your recipies they are all lovely.
Maureen – I love your stories. Thanks so much for taking the time to comment and share your lovely view of the world and memories of your Irish childhood.
All the best,
Mairéad
I was wondering why you peel the potatoes. I have been taught that there are a lot of nutrients in the skins. I am just curious. These potatoes sound great. I live alone so I would only do a few potatoes at a time. Thanks for the recipe!
Barbara – I too have heard potato skins are very nutritious. I peeled these potatoes to cook them in the traditional way I was taught by my mother. If you want to try cooking them with the skins on, make sure you cut the potatoes, so allow steam escape as they cook. If you leave them whole with skins on, the outer layer will get very wrinkled and the inner flesh will pull away from the skin. You might end up with a baked potato rather than a roastie. I hope you enjoy these.
All the best,
Mairéad
These were marvelous tonight! Thank you! They accompanied the mashed rutabegas, which we also owe to you! Thank you so much for these helpfuland easy-to-follow recipes! We’ve done the sausage rolls and Scotch eggs and plan the Guinness beef stew for the weekend… You’ve become a part of our lives. Now, if only you could help with “veg roll,” which seems to be an exclusively northern item. I smuggled the spices and rusk back from Fermanagh, but can’t seem to get the proprtions rigth. Thank you again for a week’s worth of satisfying meals that have transoirted me back to my childhood.
Michael – Thanks so much for your kind words about my recipes. So glad your family gives Irish cooking their seal of approval. I’ve never heard of “veg rolls” before, but I’ll have to check with my husband’s family in Donegal. I do make a vegetable type croquette that I call rissoles. They may be similar. I’ll make some rissoles someday in the future to feature on my blog.
Best wishes,
Mairéad
Doing this a second time. First time was awesome and sent it to my mother. She loved it, we loved. Do you have any others?
Hi Joe – I’m delighted to hear you and your mother liked these roast potatoes. If you are looking for my other recipes they are all listed here on my recipe index page. Here’s the link:
https://www.irishamericanmom.com/cooking/recipe-page/
Happy cooking,
Mairéad
Mairead thank you for sharing this wonderful recipie, they look gorgeous, im definately doing them your way next time ,
Maureen 🙂
The extra steps in making these roasties are well worth the effort, Maureen. We love them in our house.
All the best,
Mairéad
Your potatoes look delicious and I plan on making them soon. Do you ever save the potato water for bread? I think it adds to the flavor and texture and helps with the rise. Thanks again for another mouthwatering recipe.
Hi Jane – I use potato water when I’m making a potato bread. Here’s the link for that recipe …
https://www.irishamericanmom.com/2013/07/16/potato-bread-yeast-recipe/
I have never reserved it to use for regular breads, but it sounds like a great idea. Thanks for the baking tip.
Hope you will enjoy these roast potatoes. I love them for special dinners especially to compliment a good roast beef.
All the best,
Mairéad
Hi, I’ve never found a potato quite like the English potatoes to Roast the same way. The finnish just isn’t the same. For Christmas dinner, I roast them with parsnips in a 50/50 mix of Butter(Irish of course!) and olive oil. Good but not quite the way I grew up on!
And while discussing potatoes, OOOHHH for a plate of delectable, delicious, decadent Jersey Royals, swimming in butter( Breast stroke, crawl backstroke-whatever!) with mint pas… Heaven!
Oh. My. Gosh. DELICIOUS!
Hi Christy – There’s nothing as nice on a Sunday afternoon as a crispy roast spud for dinner.
All the best,
Mairéad
I am so excited to make these, but I have one question. When visiting Dublin, I had these same potatoes, and I can’t find the name of the pub, to find out what the sauce was that was served with them- can you help? It was a white, garlicky, cream sauce, and it was amazing. There may have been some other herb flavors along with the sauce as well, but I think that was just some garnishing and seasoning on the potatoes themselves. I have been trying to recreate that dish with no luck. Thanks!!!
Hi Serena – My guess, and this is a complete guess, is that you had a garlic aioli sauce, or a garlic mayonnaise. Here’s my recipe …
Garlic Aioli Sauce …
2 egg yolks
4 cloves of garlic finely grated
2 teaspoons of dijon mustard
pinch of salt
1 tablespoon of white wine vinegar
1 cup of olive oil
Put the egg yolks in a bowl and beat with a hand held electric mixer. Add the garlic, mustard, vinegar and salt and mix well with the beater. The next step is key. Add the oil drop by drop, whisking well in between. Keep adding the oil slowly and the sauce should start to thicken. After adding at least one third of the oil, you can start adding it in a very slow stream, whisking constantly.
You can add chopped parsley or herbs at the end. This stores well in the fridge for a few days if kept tightly covered. It may separate slightly and needs to be stirred or whisked before using.
I hope this helps and fingers crossed this sauce is something like the perfect sauce you found in Dublin.
All the best,
Mairéad
Perfect. I was looking for this exact recipe….. if you’ve never tried this way you must! Thx for posting!
Hi Lynn – I hope your roast potatoes are a great success. Enjoy!
Mairéad
🙂 🙂 🙂
Greetings from Dublin from a fellow fan of the roast potato!
Can I just add in if the potatoes are stuck to bottom of the dish when you are turning them over to leave them a while longer and try again. They will release from the dish easily when the outside of the potato has crisped up enough.
Roast carrots and parsnips together are fab too and taste divine when maple syrup is added to the roasting dish. Nigella Lawson has a recipe.
Lorna C
Hi Lorna – Lovely to hear from another roast potato fan. And thanks so much for your great tip for releasing potatoes fro the bottom of the roasting pan. It’s such a disappointment when a whole side of a roast potato sticks and comes apart from the spud.
I love roast carrots and parsnips too. I’ve made them with a honey glaze but never tried maple syrup. I’ll have to check out Nigella Lawson’s recipe.
All the best,
Mairéad
Thank you so much for sharing this; we just tried these tonight with a spinach salad and some pan-fried steaks, and are now converted to roasted potatoes. I don’t know how the potato inside that oil-formed crust becomes so tender, fluffy, and delicious, so rather than study chemistry, I am putting it down to magic.
Thanks again! Looking forward to trying other recipes here.
Hi Mairead – You can’t beat a little bit of potato magic and roast potatoes definitely taste like magic to me.
Thanks so much for trying out my recipe and for giving it your seal of approval.
Best wishes,
Mairéad
I often toss the par boiled potatoes in spoon or so of plain flour,(it adds to the crunchiness, a sprinkling of rosemary, and add the heated oil to the potatoes in the saucepan to toss them and make sure they get a good covering. Easier than trying to turn them all in the hot oil in the hot pan.
Hi Alan – Great tips for making roast potatoes even crunchier and more flavorful. Thanks so much for stopping by.
Best wishes,
Mairéad