Goose Fat Roast Potatoes

5 from 12 votes

These Goose Fat Roast Potatoes are seriously crunchy on the outside & light and fluffy on the inside. Follow these foolproof tips for perfect roast potatoes!

Prep Time10

Cook Time1 5

Steam Dry10

Total Time1 25

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: Christmas, Sunday Roast, Thanksgiving

Servings:

Author: Chris Collins

Cost: £1 / $1

Equipment

Large Baking Dish
Sharp Knife & Chopping Board
Potato Peeler
Large Pot
Colander
Small Pot (for seasoning flour)

Ingredients

1.2kg / 2.6lb Baking Potatoes, (see notes)
4 heaped tbsp Goose Fat (135g/4.5oz)
1 heaped teaspoon Plain/All Purpose Flour
1 small bulb Garlic, cloves separated with skins left on
3-4 sprigs Fresh Rosemary
fine/table Salt, as needed
Flaky Sea Salt, to serve (or sub table salt if that's what you have)

Instructions

Peel the potatoes, then dice them into large even-sized chunks. For reference, I consider a 9oz/250g potato to be a medium/large potato, of which I quarter. For smaller potatoes consider slicing them into 2 or 3 (they will shrink down somewhat as they cook). Preheat oven to 410F/210C.
Place the potatoes in a pot and fill with cold water until just about covered. Add in 2 tsp salt and bring to a full rolling boil. Once boiling, cook the potatoes for 6-8mins, or until they are just about knife tender, but not so much that they begin breaking apart. The edges should start to rough.
Drain in a colander (do not rinse) and give them a shake to rough the edges. Allow them to steam dry for 8-10mins. The more they steam = the more moisture is leaving the potatoes = the fluffier they'll be. During this time, spread the goose fat in a large baking dish and place it in the oven. The fat should comfortably cover the base of the dish.
Mix 1 heaped tsp (not tbsp!) flour with 1/2 tsp salt in a small pot to one side. Sprinkle over the potatoes, shaking a little more to ensure they’re evenly coated. Leave for a further 2mins to allow the flour to 'glue' to the potato and form a crust.
When the goose fat is smoking hot (literally) very carefully add the potatoes to the dish, ensuring they’re evenly spaced out. Add garlic and rosemary and stir to coat everything in the fat. Work quickly so the fat stays hot, just be careful of the fat spitting out the pan.
Place in the oven for a total of 50-60mins or until deep golden and visibly crispy. Take out and flip/re-coat in fat 2-3 times throughout to ensure an even coverage. Ovens will run slightly differently, so just be vigilant. It's unlikely they'll be done before 50mins, but don't be afraid to run over the hour until they're ultra-crisp.
Serve with a sprinkle of sea salt to draw out the final bit of moisture, just for extra crispiness.

Video

Notes

a) What type of potato to use - I use Maris Pipers but any large white floury potatoes will do the job (Russets in US). Don't use waxy potatoes, they won't be as fluffy in the centre. 2lb/1kg is around 4 medium-large potatoes. Try and find ones that are even in size.

b) How to know when the goose fat is hot enough - A tip to check the goose fat is hot enough when it comes out the oven is to pop in a tiny bit of potato. If it rapidly bubbles, you're good to go. The fat needs to be scorching hot.

c) Keeping the temp high - Whilst flipping the potatoes during the process is important, making sure the fat temperature stays high is just as important, so be quick! Also make sure adding the potatoes in the first instance is a quick process. Remember - hot hot hot!

d) How long to roast for - Timings for these spuds will vary due to size, variety, other things in the oven etc just be vigilant throughout the process.

e) Is there anything I can use instead of Goose fat and get the same results? - The only other thing I recommend using is Duck fat. In terms of things such as olive oil, you just won't get the same results. Goose/duck fat is gorgeously rich in flavour and their high smoking point turns the potatoes extra crispy. Olive oil unfortunately does not work the same at higher temperatures for long periods of time. You can sub something with a high smoking point like veg or sunflower oil, you just won't get the same rich flavour, unfortunately.

f) UPDATED RECIPE - Updated the recipe on 14/11/22 just for housekeeping. Refined instructions, with extra photos and video. Only tweak is adding exact amount of salt and removing black pepper (you can still use this if you wish).

Nutrition