Roast dinners remain a staple of British cooking, and with autumn approaching, Sunday roasts will once again become a regular fixture on dining tables across the country. Everyone has their preferred methods and recipes when preparing these meals, particularly regarding the meat and roast potatoes, though results can sometimes fall short of expectations.
Chicken is a favoured option for the centrepiece of a roast dinner, yet home cooks face the challenge of keeping the meat moist if it isn't prepared correctly. Roast potatoes can prove equally tricky to perfect.
To assist home cooks in achieving the most succulent chicken and the crispiest potatoes, chef Charles Kim, who goes by Chef Fatty on TikTok, has shared his secret ingredient weapons that anyone can use.
Chef's Secret Ingredients
In a video posted earlier this month, the chef said: "I make the juiciest chicken and the crunchiest potatoes using these two secret ingredients."
Chef Fatty's first secret weapon ingredient is the humble kiwi fruit, which can be incorporated into a marinade for the chicken.
The kiwi not only imparts sweetness to the meat, but also possesses properties that many home cooks fail to recognise. When added to a marinade, it helps to tenderise the meat, while the acidity from the fruit simultaneously adds moisture. Introducing additional moisture to the meat results in an extra juicy finish.
How to Make Juicy Chicken
Chef Fatty explained that spatchcocking and jaccarding the chicken is the most effective method for ensuring the marinade penetrates throughout the meat.
You can create any marinade you prefer, simply incorporating one whole kiwi into the mixture. It works best to blend the marinade together using a blender or food processor. Use one kiwi per chicken. Cover the chicken thoroughly in the marinade, working the sauce well into the meat.
Next, allow the chicken to rest in the fridge for four hours. Prior to cooking, pat the meat dry to remove any surplus liquid. Cook by placing the chicken on a roasting tin or baking tray fitted with a wire rack, pouring four to six tablespoons of a neutral oil onto the bottom. This oil will then be used for cooking the potatoes. Roast the chicken at 230C until the thickest section of the breast reaches 165C and thigh 79C.
How to Make Crispy Potatoes
To achieve crispy potatoes, boil them in water with bicarbonate of soda added. The alkaline properties of the baking soda help break down the pectin within the cells on the potato's exterior. After boiling, the potatoes will develop a rough, textured surface.
Chop the potatoes into two-inch chunks and boil in a saucepan, together with half a teaspoon of baking soda, for eight to 10 minutes. Drain the water away and shake the potatoes vigorously in the saucepan to create that rough texture.
Transfer the potatoes to the tray with the chicken-infused oil and roast in the oven or air fryer at 230C until they turn a rich golden brown.
