Roast potatoes are one of my favourite parts of Christmas dinner. Preparing them ahead gets the peeling and parboiling out of the way, leaving you to just have to bung them in a tray and roast straight from the freezer.
They still need their cooking time on the day, but having the preparation done means fewer pans to wash and a little more space in the kitchen. And on Christmas day, who doesn’t love less pans to wash!
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Tips for crispy roast potatoes
Maris Piper and King Edward potatoes work well. Cut them into similar-sized pieces, then parboil until the outsides soften while the centres remain firm.
Let the steam escape after draining, then give them a gentle shuffle in the colander to roughen the edges. Those fluffy edges help create a lovely crisp finish.
I vary the fat I use, but I tend to be generous and make sure the potatoes are well coated. Olive oil, melted duck fat, goose fat or a mixture all work. For 1.5 kg of potatoes, around four tablespoons of oil or 70 g of duck or goose fat is a useful starting point.
Season with salt and pepper, adding garlic powder, onion powder or herbs if you enjoy them. Butter can burn at these roasting temperatures, so stick with one of the oils or fats above, and be generous, add more fat if you think it needs it.
How to freeze them
Once coated and fully cooled, spread the potatoes separately on a lined tray and freeze until solid. This is method is called flash freezing and usually takes a few hours, depending on your freezer and the size of the potatoes. I usually flash freeze roast potatoes for 1 to 3 hours.
Once they feel nice and firm, transfer them to a freezer safe bag or container. Freezing them separately like this lets you take out just what you need which is great for busy seasons.
Tiny tips
- Store in an airtight packaging helps protect against freezer burn.
- Label with the date and use within three months for best quality.
Cooking on Christmas Day
Roast straight from frozen, leaving space between the potatoes so they can crisp up nicely.
You can heat a little extra fat in a roasting tray before adding them if you like a richer roast spud. They are already coated, though, so the extra fat is entirely optional. Use your own common sense with this one however, if it all appears too dry add some more fat (not butter as it will burn!)
Allow around an hour to roast them, following the temperatures in the recipe below. These potatoes have only been parboiled, so they need to finish cooking rather than simply warm through.
Give them a turn during roasting so all sides have a chance to become golden and crispy.
Saving time and money
Making these in advance saves time and could save you money too. You’ll have less peeling, chopping and washing up to do on Christmas Day. Buying potatoes in bulk often works out cheaper per kilogram, so you can freeze several portions before the busy holiday season and save some hard-earned cash with your batch prep skills.
For more ideas like this, check out my post on Christmas Food You Can Make Ahead and Freeze.
Freeze-Ahead Roast Potatoes
Ingredients
Method
- Peel the potatoes and cut into evenly sized, medium roast-potato pieces. About the length of your thumb.
- Put into a large saucepan, cover with cold salted water. Bring to a boil. Simmer for 8–10 minutes, until the outsides begin to soften. The centre of the potatoes should remain uncooked so be careful with this step.
- Drain thoroughly. Leave for 5 to 10 minutes to steam-dry, then gently shake to roughen the edges.
- Spread on a lined tray for another 10–15 minutes, until they have stopped steaming. Toss with your chosen oil or melted fat, making sure all sides are coated. Season with salt, pepper and any optional seasonings.
- Arrange the seasoned potatoes on a lined tray and allow to finish FULLY cooling. Put into the freezer within two hours.
- Freeze until solid to the touch, then transfer to a freezer bag or airtight container. Remove excess air, seal and label. Use within three months for best quality.
- When ready to roast, heat the oven to 200°C / 180°C fan / gas 6. If using additional fat, add a little to a roasting tray and heat in the oven until hot before adding the frozen potatoes.
- Leave space between them on the tray. Roast for 30 minutes then turn them.
- Increase the oven to 220°C / 200°C fan / gas 7. Roast for another 30–40 minutes, until golden and crisp outside and tender in the centre. Allow longer if needed.
