The Best Crispy Roast Potatoes Ever

Hands down my favourite way to roast me some taters!!  So, some chemistry involved with this recipe. Secret ingredient is adding baking soda to the salted boiling water! It’s also recommended add your potatoe chunks to already boiling water, which most recipes tell you the opposite.  Part of making them so crispy is to roughly toss in a bowl until a potato mash-like paste is formed.  All these little bits and pieces turn into crispy magic once roasted.

INGREDIENTS:

• Kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon (4g) baking soda
• 4 pounds (about 2 kg) russet or Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut into quarters, sixths, or eighths, depending on size (see note)
• 5 tablespoons (75ml) extra-virgin olive oil, duck fat, goose fat, or beef fat
• Small handful picked fresh rosemary leaves, finely chopped
• 3 medium cloves garlic, minced
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Small handful fresh parsley leaves, minced

INSTRUCTIONS:

Adjust oven rack to center position and preheat oven to 450°F (230°C) (or 400°F (200°C) if using convection). Heat 2 quarts (2L) water in a large pot over high heat until boiling. Add 2 tablespoons kosher salt (about 1 ounce; 25g), baking soda, and potatoes and stir. Return to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and cook until a knife meets little resistance when inserted into a potato chunk, about 10 minutes after returning to a boil.

Meanwhile, combine olive oil, duck fat, or beef fat with rosemary, garlic, and a few grinds of black pepper in a small saucepan and heat over medium heat. Cook, stirring and shaking pan constantly, until garlic just begins to turn golden, about 3 minutes. Immediately strain oil through a fine-mesh strainer set in a large bowl. Set garlic/rosemary mixture aside and reserve separately.

Saute pan filled with finely minced garlic cooked in oil with chopped rosemary
When potatoes are cooked, drain carefully and let them rest in the pot for about 30 seconds to allow excess moisture to evaporate. Transfer to bowl with infused oil, season to taste with a little more salt and pepper, and toss to coat, shaking bowl roughly, until a thick layer of mashed potato–like paste has built up on the potato chunks.

The potatoes in a metal bowl.
Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik
Transfer potatoes to a large rimmed baking sheet and separate them, spreading them out evenly. Transfer to oven and roast, without moving, for 20 minutes. Using a thin, flexible metal spatula to release any stuck potatoes, shake pan and turn potatoes. Continue roasting until potatoes are deep brown and crisp all over, turning and shaking them a few times during cooking, 30 to 40 minutes longer.

The best ever crispy roast potatoes on a metal baking sheet.
Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik
Transfer potatoes to a large bowl and add garlic/rosemary mixture and minced parsley. Toss to coat and season with more salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately.

The roasted potatoes in a metal bowl with chopped herbs on top, before the herbs have been mixed in.

Notes
Russet potatoes will produce crisper crusts and fluffier centers. Yukon Golds will be slightly less crisp and have creamier centers, with a darker color and deeper flavor. You can also use a mix of the two.

The potatoes should be cut into very large chunks, at least 2 to 3 inches or so. For medium-sized Yukon Golds, this means cutting them in half crosswise, then splitting each half again to make quarters. For larger Yukon Golds or russets, you can cut the potatoes into chunky sixths or eighths.