Crisp Roasted Potatoes - Cooks Illustrated

By Addie

Why this recipe works:

Parcooking was the key to our ideal crisp roasted potato recipe. Gently simmering sliced rounds drew starch and sugar to the surface. In the oven, the starch and sugar hardened into a crisp shell. Tossing the parcooked rounds with olive oil and salt created a rough surface, speeding evaporation and making the crusts even crispier. Yukon Golds had enough moisture to give us the creamy interior we wanted in our roasted potatoes recipe.

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 pounds yukon gold potatoes, rinsed and cut into 1/2 inch thick slices
• 5 Tablespoons olive oil
• Ground black pepper

Details

Adapted from keyingredient.com

Preparation

Step 1

1. Adjust oven rack to lowest position, place rimmed baking sheet on rack and heat oven to 450 degrees. Place potatoes and 1 T salt in dutch oven; add cold water to cover by 1". Bring to a boil over high heat; reduce heat and gently simmer until exteriors of potatoes have softened but centers still offer resistance when pierced with paring knife, about 5 minutes.


2. Drain potatoes well and transfer to large bowl. Drizzle with 2 T oil and sprinkle with 1/2 tsp salt; using rubber spatula toss to combine. Drizzle another 2 T oil and 1/2 tsp salt; continue to toss until exteriors of potato slices are coated with starchy paste, 1-2 minutes.


3. Working quickly, remove baking sheet from oven and drizzle remaining T oil over surface. Carefully transfer potatoes to sheet and spread into even layer, skin side up if end piece. Bake until bottoms of potatoes are golden brown and crisp, 15 to 25 minutes, rotating sheet after 10 minutes.


4. Remove baking sheet from oven and, using metal spatula and tongs, loosen potatoes from pan, carefully flipping each slice. Continue to roast until second side is golden and crisp, 10 to 20 minutes longer. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

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REVIEWS:

So delicious and easy. I use beef stock instead of water to parboil the potatoes and the flavor is incredible! Oh, and thank you Epicurious, for posting this recipe!

Easy and tasty. I lowered the temperature to 400 degrees because they were getting too brown, too quickly.