The Scoop
If you’ve ever wanted to achieve that illegal level of crunch that makes your brain short-circuit while keeping the inside as fluffy as a cloud, roughing up parboiled spuds in garlic-infused oil is the recipe.
And a little warning: these will not survive on the serving platter long enough to make it to the dinner table!
Ingredients
- 2 quarts water
- 2 tablespoons kosher salt, plus more, to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 4 pounds russet or Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled, cut into 2-inch pieces
- 5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, can substitute duck fat, goose fat, or beef fat
- fresh rosemary leaves, to taste, finely chopped
- 3 medium cloves garlic, minced
- freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- fresh parsley leaves, to taste, minced
Directions
- Adjust an oven rack to the center position.
- Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
- In a large pot over high heat, add the water and bring to a boil.
- Add 2 tablespoons of the salt, the baking soda, and the potatoes to the boiling water and stir to combine.
- Bring the water to a boil again.
- Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook until a knife meets little resistance when inserted into a potato chunk, about 10 minutes.
- In a small saucepan over medium heat, add the olive oil, the rosemary, the garlic, and the black pepper and stir to combine.
- Cook, while stirring and shaking the pan constantly, until the garlic just begins to turn golden, about 3 minutes.
- Immediately strain the herb oil through a fine-mesh strainer set in a large bowl.
- Set the garlic mixture aside, reserving it separately from the oil.
- Drain the potatoes carefully and then return them to the pot.
- Let the potatoes rest in the hot pot until the excess moisture evaporates, about 30 seconds.
- Transfer the potatoes to the herb oil and season them with the extra salt and the pepper.
- Toss the potatoes to coat and shake the bowl roughly until a thick layer of mashed-potato-like paste has built up on the potato chunks.
- Transfer the potatoes to a large rimmed baking sheet and separate them until they are evenly spaced.
- Roast the potatoes for 20 minutes.
- Shake the pan, then turn the potatoes.
- Roast the potatoes, turning and shaking them occasionally, until they are deep brown and crisp all over, about 30-40 minutes.
- Transfer the potatoes to a large bowl.
- Add the garlic mixture and the parsley and toss to coat.
- Season the potatoes with the extra salt and the pepper.
- Serve hot.
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