Gordon Ramsay’s roast potatoes are parboiled, shaken until the edges fluff up and coated in flour before roasting in hot duck fat. The recipe comes from Great British Pub Food, takes about 50 minutes and serves four to six.
He has four roast potato methods across four cookbooks, and they disagree on almost everything: two skip parboiling entirely while two insist on it. Even the coating changes from flour to semolina to nothing depending on the book.
The one thing every version agrees on is screaming hot fat. Ramsay heats the tray in the oven first so the potatoes sizzle the moment they go in. That sizzle creates the crust, because potatoes in warm fat just absorb oil and go soggy.
Gordon Ramsay’s Crispy Roast Potatoes
Course: Side DishCuisine: BritishDifficulty: Easy4-6
10
minutes45
minutes270
kcal55
minutesRamsay’s GBPF version tested against three other methods from his cookbooks, where the flour and duck fat combination produces the crunchiest shell. About 55p per serving at Tesco prices.
Ingredients
1.2kg floury potatoes such as King Edward, peeled and cut into large chunks
100g duck fat or olive oil
1 tbsp plain flour
Few rosemary or thyme sprigs (optional)
Sea salt and black pepper
Directions
- Parboil the potatoes: Preheat oven to 200°C (400°F / Gas 6). Add the potatoes to a pan of cold salted water, bring to the boil and parboil for 5 minutes.
- Fluff and coat: Drain into a colander and give a gentle shake to fluff up the edges. Sprinkle with the flour and shake again to coat evenly.
- Heat the fat: Put the duck fat into a sturdy roasting tin and place in the oven until smoking hot.
- Roast: Carefully add the potatoes to the hot fat with the herb sprigs. Toss gently to coat and spread in a single layer. Roast for 40-45 minutes, turning every 15 minutes, until golden brown and crisp.
- Serve: Pat with kitchen paper to remove excess fat and serve piping hot.
FAQs
Should you parboil roast potatoes first?
Ramsay himself can’t decide. The GBPF recipe parboils for 5 minutes, and the Christmas video with his mum parboils for 8 minutes so the turmeric coating sticks. But both Sunday Lunch recipes skip parboiling entirely and put raw potatoes straight into hot fat.
The difference is texture, because parboiling creates a starchy layer on the outside that crisps up harder when you shake the colander to roughen the edges. Skipping it gives a thinner crust, and his fondant potatoes skip it too since they braise in stock rather than roast.
Does Ramsay use flour or semolina on roast potatoes?
He actually uses three different coatings, starting with plain flour in the GBPF cookbook sprinkled over the drained potatoes. His gordonramsayrestaurants.com recipe swaps flour for semolina, which creates an even crunchier shell because the coarser grains hold more surface area.
Two of his Sunday Lunch recipes skip the coating entirely and just rely on hot fat. Flour absorbs moisture and fries into a crust, while semolina gives a grittier, more golden finish, so use whichever you have in the cupboard.
What are Gordon Ramsay’s Christmas roast potatoes?
In the video with his mum, he tosses parboiled potatoes with chilli flakes, turmeric and olive oil. Ramsay says turmeric “stains the potatoes a wonderful golden colour” since it’s a member of the ginger family.
His mum’s reaction is “I can’t believe you’re doing roast potatoes with chilli.” For the full Christmas dinner, the Sunday Lunch version bumps the temperature to 220°C, and his pork belly cooks in roughly the same time.
What is the best fat for roast potatoes?
Ramsay uses four different fats across his recipes, with GBPF and Sunday Lunch both using duck fat while UHC uses goose fat. He writes that goose fat is “the real star, producing burnished golden spuds” and recommends it for roast potatoes too.
The Sunday Lunch garlic version offers beef dripping for a deeper, meatier flavour, while the Christmas video uses olive oil only for a lighter result. Animal fat wins for crispiness because it reaches higher temperatures before smoking, which is the same principle behind his triple-cooked chips.
What potato does Ramsay use for roast potatoes?
GBPF specifies King Edward, a floury potato that breaks apart on the edges during parboiling, which is exactly what creates those crispy bits. But both Sunday Lunch recipes use Charlotte or Desirée, which are waxy and hold their shape better.
Floury potatoes give a shatteringly crispy outside with a fluffy interior, while waxy ones hold their shape for a thinner, more even crust. His dauphinoise uses waxy Desirée for exactly the opposite job: holding together in cream rather than breaking apart.
