The Simple Tool Jamie Oliver Swears By For Crispy Roast Potatoes

We here at Tasting Table are potato lovers through and through. Though any potato is a good potato, let's zero in on the classic roast potatoes for our focal point today. We've already got plenty of tips for getting truly velvety, buttery roast potatoes on the table, but let's take a look at what Jamie Oliver has to say about this delightful treat. On his YouTube channel, he goes into plenty of tips and tricks for this dish, and when it comes to the tool he swears by, he signals the potato masher.

Why does a masher work such magic on your roast potatoes? According to Oliver, it increases the surface area that's touching whatever fat you're roasting the potatoes in. This gives you a delightfully crunchy finish across an even wider potato wedge. It also infuses the flavors of your fats, oils, or butters into even more of the potato, so you don't have to worry about a single bland bite. As Oliver says, "Along with the maximum crunch factor, you want maximum flavor." And here, that's exactly what you get.

You want to get your masher out after you're done parboiling your potatoes and have roasted them for around half an hour at 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Your potatoes should be in a single layer on the pan with plenty of your fat of choice. Goose or duck fat is our personal pick, both for its richness and the extremely crispy crust it leaves on the potatoes, but you can also go with extra-virgin olive oil or butter. Once done with the first roast, take them out of the oven and give each potato a squash with that masher. You don't want to mash them completely, nor do you want to press them all the way flat or end up with overlapping potato pieces. All you want is to press them flat enough that more potato touches the bottom of the pan.

Oliver also suggests adding your seasonings and herbs at this point. "If you put them in halfway through, you get much more of a perfume of the herbs," he states. You can toss in more oil or fat, garlic, and any herb that catches your eye or pleases your palate. Don't be afraid to add generously, especially with the new surface area the mashing trick has given you to work with. Stick the tray back into the oven for another 25 to 30 minutes, and you're done! You'll have a tray of the crispiest, most flavorful roast potatoes you'll ever eat, and you can thank Jamie Oliver for it.