These English-Style Roast Potatoes Are Impossibly Crispy on the Outside and Creamy on the Inside.

It doesn’t matter how many I make, there are never any left-over!

Do you know how high-end restaurants get their French fries crisp on the outside, like a baked potato, and soft on the inside? They cook them twice; first in a deep fryer at 350°, then they let them cool, and then cook them again in the fryer at 450° for just a few minutes. This process works great on whole potatoes as well!

Now before you go any further, be aware that this recipe is a pain in the ass. Very time intensive; this isn’t something you’re going to be able to make while drinking with your friends in the living room. You need to be in the kitchen, because every ten minutes you need to turn the potatoes over.

Trust me though, it’s worth it. People flip out whenever I serve them; generally they are the first things to get eaten on anyone’s plate. And we don't eat a lot of potatoes around here, as someone in my household (guess who, and it's not me) is always on a low-carb diet.

The trick here is to par-boil the potatoes and then sauté them in the oven. The roughed-up potatoes go into the hot oil, get tossed to coat (CRISPY SECRETS, REVEALED!), and then roast for around 40 minutes. During that time, keep tossing continuously, every 10 minutes. If it feels like you’re sautéing and you’re wondering why we’re even doing this in the oven, well, let me tell you: browning the potatoes slowly in the oven lets their flavor develop, the oven also allows you to roast a TON of potatoes and get an even, steamy heat that results in that light, creamy interior. Doing this on the stove would also be a splattering mess. But if your wife cleans the kitchen after you do all the cooking, like mine does, make all the mess you want.

This picture is from last November's Bon Appetite magazine.

This method works really well when you’re also using the oven to cook something else, like a chicken or a fresh batch of crack. Actually, if you were cooking up crack you’d have no use for the potatoes.

This method works really well when you’re also using the oven to cook something else, like a chicken or a fresh batch of crack. Actually, if you were cooking crack you’d have no use for the potatoes.

So we can just settle on the chicken for now, since you’ll be cooking the potatoes at 425°, and not many proteins besides chicken are cooked at that high of a temperature. Now, this is not a new recipe, the Brits have been cooking potatoes this way for long time. It seems the home cooks here in the colonies are just getting wind of this method.

Generally I plan on about 6oz per person. If you’re making these, I suggest you make more than that.

Burnished Potato Nuggets

5 lb. russet potatoes, peeled, cut into 2" pieces

Kosher salt

½ cup extra-virgin olive oil

¼ cup vegetable oil

8 garlic cloves, lightly crushed

2 long sprigs rosemary

Preheat oven to 425°. Place potatoes in a large pot and pour in water to cover by 2". Season water generously with salt and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Reduce heat and simmer gently until potatoes are tender on the outside but still very firm in the center, 8–10 minutes.

Pour off all of the water in pot, holding potatoes back (make sure there's no liquid left!). Let potatoes sit, uncovered, for a few minutes to steam off any excess liquid they've absorbed. Toss potatoes just enough to rough up their outsides and give them a floury starchy coating (do not toss so vigorously that they fall apart); season with salt.

Meanwhile, combine both oils in a large roasting pan and heat in oven 10 minutes.

Carefully remove pan from oven; add potatoes, turning each one to coat and moisten exterior. Make sure they're in a single layer and leave a bit of space between them. Return pan to oven and roast potatoes, turning every 10 minutes, for 30 minutes (if they aren't browning after 15 minutes, increase oven temperature to 450°).

Toss in garlic and rosemary and cook until potatoes are deep golden brown on most of their sides, 8–10 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer potatoes to a platter and serve with roasted garlic and rosemary alongside.