But are you wanting to know how you can make the “best” roasties? North Yorkshire’s very own James Martin has revealed three key steps you shouldn’t ignore when rustling up a tray or two of the golden delights.
The TV chef from Malton recently shared his trusty roast potato wisdom on ITV’s This Morning, alongside Cat Deeley and Ben Shephard, as a viewer phoned in to ask for his advice on how to cook the ultimate fluffy and crispy dish.
TV chef James Martin shares 3 key steps to make ‘best’ roast potatoes
The host of his very own Saturday Morning show on ITV1 explained: “Potatoes have changed season to season. The potatoes that you usually get, the Maris Pipers, or King Edwards, have changed because of the weather, so much.
“So when you’re going out, first of all look for Maris Pipers and King Edwards. My mother uses King Edwards, Maris Pipers you can use as well.
“The most important thing is buy from this country because a lot of potatoes come from Egypt as well, they are better from this country.
“So get those and then peel them, and then basically put them in a pan, start it off in cold water, bring them to boil – cook them for about a minute, minute and a half.
“Drain them off, shake them, and then put them in a pan with dripping or lard, or duck fat nowadays… and then a very hot oven.
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He added: “The key to this though, is take the meat out for Christmas, don’t have everything all in the oven. The meat needs to come out the oven for at least an hour and a half before you serve it, and that way it gets the temperature of the oven to heat up and that way you will get the potatoes [brown]”.
James warned that your roast potatoes probably won’t go brown and crispy if your oven is full because when you “put loads of stuff in a small box” the air isn’t able to circulate which stops the temperature from getting hot.
He reiterated: “Take the meat out, don’t be frightened 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 three in the afternoon.
James Martin says having a hot oven is just one important step when it comes to making sure your roast potatoes are brown and crispy (Image: Getty)
“We are not taking the meat straight out the oven and carving it. It’s very, very important that meat is left to rest.”
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Under the Instagram video of James having a chat about all things roast potatoes with Cat and Ben, posted on the This Morning account, one follower commented: “Your roast potatoes are the best James”.
Another wrote: “Love his cooking always makes sense.”
How do you usually cook your roast potatoes? Share your secrets in the comments below.
