Roast potatoes are a beloved side dish, known for their delicious taste and crispy texture. However, achieving the "perfect" roast potato can be tricky. Cook Sam Stern has shared a simple recipe to make the "best roast potatoes", and it's easier than you might think. The secret ingredient? Bicarbonate of soda. In a TikTok video, Stern explains: "Add your potatoes to cold water with salt, bicarbonate of soda and parboil.
"Meanwhile, take a chicken stock cube, add oil and combine. Pour clarified butter onto a baking tray and place into the oven until hot. Then add the potatoes, garlic, rosemary, thyme the stock oil and season. He said you should mix all the ingredients together before roasting them for 25 minutes. Turn them, and continue to roast for another 25 minutes. In the video, you see that the potatoes end up looking gorgeously crispy. It's hard not to want to give the recipe a go.
The video has gone viral, having been viewed more than 140,000 times – and people were quick to comment too. One person said: "Try vegetable stock in the pot while they're boiling - game changer!". Another wrote: "You forgot to mention the most important thing - buy good potatoes first!". A third also replied: "I'd take the thin shell around the garlic off as it's like paper. Although I'll try this, as it looks great.".
It breaks down the surface of the potatoes, creating a starchier, softer exterior which increases the surface area for crunch. There are other methods to try for extra crispy potatoes though. Some people boil potato chunks until they're just tender, then toss them in fat such as beef drippings to roughen up their surface. After this, they're roasted until crunchy. It's another technique worth trying to get your spuds right.
