Viral TikTok Recipe: Roasted Potatoes Get a Cheesy Makeover (2024)

FAQs

Why do you soak potatoes before roasting? ›

Soaking potatoes in water helps remove excess starch. Excess starch can inhibit the potatoes from cooking evenly as well as creating a gummy or sticky texture on the outside of your potatoes. Cold water is used because hot water would react with the starch activating it, making it harder to separate from the potatoes.

A general rule of thumb is to parboil potatoes until they are fork-tender but not falling apart, this can range anywhere from 15 minutes for small potatoes to 25-30 minutes for large whole potatoes.

You always should preheat the oven and get that fat nice and hot. Crispy on outside and lovely and fluffy on the inside. You don't roast them long enough. You have to get them to evaporate most of the water before they will brown.

Rinsing or soaking the potatoes for an hour (or, even better, overnight) will remove some of the starch from the surface and prevent the sugars from browning before the potatoes are cooked.

The main reasons to cut the potatoes and pre-soak in water are: To allow the excess starches and sugars to be removed from the outer surface of the fry strips AND to keep the potatoes from browning prematurely from exposure to air. Covering in water helps the potato from turning a dark color.

Why use salt water for soaking potatoes? There's moisture naturally found in potatoes, and moisture is drawn to higher concentrations of salt. (This is a process called osmosis.) So, if you put the potatoes in a salt water bath, that will help draw out some of their moisture, resulting in crispier fries.

Do I have to boil potatoes before roasting? Not necessary but this can help get the perfect consistency and crispiness. Make sure you boil them but leave them a bit al dente and they will crisp up perfectly in the oven.

Neutral, low-cost oil such as vegetable oil, canola oil, safflower oil, peanut oil, corn oil, coconut oil, avocado oil, etc., work well for roasting. These oils have a high smoke point, allowing the potatoes to get very hot to achieve maximum crispiness.

Carefully add the potatoes to the hot tray along with the garlic and rosemary. Toss to coat in the fat and spread out in a single layer so they cook evenly. Roast for 40-45 minutes, turning every 15 minutes, until crisp and golden brown. Season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to serve.

Why put flour on roast potatoes? ›

Here's a few tricks to try to make them even more delicious. Sprinkle your parboiled potatoes with flour. This gives potatoes extra crunch. A tablespoon is all you need!

Parboiling the potatoes in heavily salted water is a vitally important part of the recipe, so don't be tempted to skip it. Arguably the most important factor in making your roast potatoes is, however, the fat you chose to cook them in.

Rinsing potatoes helps remove excess starch, so it is recommended to rinse the potatoes before cooking. To ensure even more starch is out of the way, it's recommended that they even be quickly rinsed after boiling. We recommend using hot water for rinsing after boiling and cold water prior to boiling.

Keep potatoes crisp in a warm oven if you're serving them in 1-2 hours. If there is a slight wait before everyone eats, don't cover the crispy potatoes—this traps steam which will make the potatoes soggy. Just keep them in the oven, but turn the temperature to the lowest setting.

Arrange cooked potatoes on a baking sheet in a single layer (if desired, line with parchment paper). Cover pan with aluminum foil and place in hot oven. Cook for 20 minutes, and then remove foil and let them go for another 5-10 minutes or until they are the crispy potatoes you are looking for.

Heat your oven to 400 degrees, spread potatoes on a sheet pan and cover them in tin foil. Re-roast them until they're warm all the way through, about 10-15 minutes. Remove the cover for another five to add crispiness.

These tips are completely doable, actually pretty much fail-proof. SOAK your potato chunks in cold water. This removes some of the starch and helps get them super duper crispy.