Celebrity chef James Martin has shared his top tips for perfectly crispy roast potatoes this Christmas, including a genius freezer trick you can do now to save time on the big day
Celebrity chef James Martin has revealed his foolproof method for achieving perfectly crispy roast potatoes this Christmas – and you can start preparing them right now.
For countless families, Christmas dinner ranks among the year’s most anticipated meals, with expectations running high that everything will turn out just right. Yet the prospect of spending hours slaving away in the kitchen can be daunting. To ease the pressure, James Martin has disclosed his straightforward technique for ensuring flawless roast potatoes, with preparation that can begin well in advance of the big day. During an interview, James explained how advance prep means you’ll simply need to slide them into the oven on Christmas day. He then outlined his step-by-step instructions for achieving that perfect golden crispiness on the potatoes.
“What you don’t want with potatoes is you need to make sure the starch is taken off it,” he began. “So, don’t cram the pan full [with potatoes].”
The chef then advised adding generous amounts of water with a pinch of salt to a saucepan containing the potatoes, before bringing everything to the boil.
Allow them to cook for approximately three to four minutes, then drain them into a colander and give them a good shake to create rough edges.
He then revealed that many chefs would typically place them into an oven tray with lard, dripping, or duck fat drizzled over the top. However, rather than roasting them in the oven immediately, he suggests popping them in the freezer until Christmas Day, freeing up valuable kitchen time.
“And then, when you want them for Christmas, take them out, one hour in the oven,” he explained, recommending an oven temperature of 200C.
James advised putting the potatoes in when your meat comes out, as the oven would be too hot for the meat to rest properly. Since most households have a standard conventional oven, there’s often insufficient space to cook both the turkey and all the trimmings simultaneously.
The problem with cooking everything together, James explains, is that large joints of meat create steam in the oven, which prevents roast potatoes from crisping up properly.
By cooking the meat beforehand, you eliminate the steam, allowing the potatoes to roast and develop that desirable golden crust.
“Let [the meat] rest for an hour, which it should do anyway,” James said. “Do not put your potatoes in at the same time as the meat.”
He added that attempting to cook everything simultaneously means longer cooking times overall, and the potatoes simply won’t achieve that perfect crispy texture due to excess steam.
