TV chef James Martin has shared his expert tips for achieving perfectly crispy roast potatoes this Christmas. Appearing on This Morning, the 53-year-old outlined the key steps required to avoid the dreaded soggy result.
Choosing the Right Potato
The celebrated cook told hosts Cat Deeley and Ben Shephard that choosing the correct variety of potato is paramount, urging home cooks to go for British-grown produce. He emphasised that avoiding cooking everything at once is absolutely critical to getting it right.
He said: "Potatoes have changed season to season. The potatoes that you usually get, the Maris Pipers or King Edwards, are changed across the weather so much. So when you're going out, first of all, look for Maris Pipers or King Edwards, my mother uses King Edwards, but Maris Pipers you can use as well. The most important thing is buying from this country, because a lot of the potatoes could come from Egypt as well. They're better from this country."
The Cooking Process
"Peel them, and then basically put them in a pan, start it in cold water, bring them to a boil, cook it for about 1 minute to 1 minute and a half, drain them off, shake them, and then put them in a pan with dripping or lard or duck fat now nowadays, and then a very hot oven."
The Secret to Avoiding Sogginess
A listener had asked why her potatoes ended up soggy, to which Mr Martin replied that the secret involves removing the meat beforehand, assuring it would also improve the flavour. He advised: "The key to this though is take the meat out. Don't have everything all in the oven. The meat needs to come out of the oven for at least 1 hour and a half, 1 hour and a half before you serve it. And that way it gives the temperature of the oven to heat up, and that way you'll get the potatoes."
He went on to clarify the cause of the caller's potato problem: "It's because the oven temperature's not hot enough. You've put in loads of stuff in a small box, right, and then you need the air to circulate, so take the meat out, cover it with tin foil, don't be trying to serve it at room temperature. It's the best way when you go to a restaurant, the meat is cooked at 11 o'clock in the morning and you're still carving it at 3 in the afternoon. We are not taking it straight out of the oven and carving it. It's very, very important to let meat rest. And then the heat of the oven heats up and away you go."
Viewer Reactions
This Morning viewers were appreciative of James' guidance. Jane commented: "Love his cooking always makes sense." Rachel added: "Your roast potatoes are the best James." Sinead offered this tip: "Put a teaspoon of bicarbonate soda into your water to par boil the spuds, it leaves a great crisp on the roastie!" Despoka added: "The best potatoes are the Cyprus potatoes. A bit expensive but it's worth the money!" Jersey said: "I sprinkle with flour before I give them a shake." John said: "You parboil roast potatoes for at least 15 mins. Fluff them up and let them steam dry for a few minutes. Use olive oil or rapeseed oil. Can't believe how people can't cook roast potatoes properly and get them crispy and brown. Clueless. Maris Piper potatoes are best. Heat oil if possible in oven beforehand."
