Sam Karle, Head Chef at luxury boutique hotel Dakota Hotel in Manchester has revealed his super simple hack on how to make the perfect, crispy on the outside and fluffy in the middle, roast potatoes – using an everyday kitchen item.
Sam has mastered the art of the roastie after years of industry, and is now divulging his step-by-step guide on how to do it right.
Sam’s recipe includes all the usual advice, like how long to roast your potatoes for and whether or not you should season them, as well as one particularly interesting and unusual hack.
According to Sam, 31, after you’ve parboiled the potatoes, and just before you put them in the oven, you should toss them around in a colander until they’re almost falling apart.
He said, “You want to toss the potatoes around in the colander until the outsides are nice and fluffy. Make sure to give them a good shake but be careful not to overdo it, or they might split.
This really easy tip, which a lot of home cooks aren’t aware of, will transform your roast potatoes from regular roasties to restaurant quality within the space of just a few minutes.
That’s because the fluffy edges will cook away in the oven to give you the most beautiful, crispy roasties you can imagine. Without tossing them about, you’ll struggle to get this.”
While tossing your tatties around is Sam’s top tip, in order to end up with the perfect roast potato, you’ll need to follow each of the phases in his step-by-step guide.
He said, “Start by peeling and chopping the potatoes into the correct size, I usually find that 5cm x 5cm chunks, or evenly sized pieces, are perfect.
Put the spuds into a pot of cold, salted water and then put it on the hob and bring the water to the boil. Leave the potatoes to boil for a few minutes, or until the outsides are soft to the touch. Then tip the spuds into a colander and leave them for 10-15 minutes to dry out. After this comes the important part – toss them around until you get those nice, fluffy edges.
Next you need to place trays of oil, or duck fat, in the oven to heat up for around five minutes, with garlic, rosemary and thyme for added flavour, before adding your potatoes, which you should season with salt. Finally, cook your potatoes at 175C for 45-60 minutes or until they’re crispy and golden.”
And there you have it, whether it’s Father’s Day, Christmas or just a weekly Sunday roast, that’s how you make the perfect roast potatoes every time.
But if you’re struggling at home fear not, because you can enjoy delicious roasties at each of Dakota Hotels’ five locations across the UK every week, for Sunday lunch.
There you can feast on roast beef or lamb along with all the trimmings, including Yorkshire puddings, roasted vegetables, gravy and cauliflower cheese – as well as some of the tastiest roasties you’ve ever had.
To view the Dakota Hotels menus click here.
