Goose Fat Roast Potatoes

Our easy recipe will show you how to make Goose Fat Roast Potatoes in the oven.

They are golden and crispy on the outside and soft and tender in the middle, making them the best roast potatoes ever. 

Serve these golden spuds as a side to your Sunday dinner with the family or with your Christmas Roast Turkey sides.

If you are looking for a healthier roast potato recipe, check out these air fryer roasties instead.

Goose Fat Roast Potatoes video

Check out the video below to see how easy it is to make this Goose Fat Potatoes recipe.

History

People have been using Goose Fat for a long time, in fact, there are records of people in Ancient Egypt fattening geese for their “grease and feathers” and using hot goose fat for cooking! 

In the 18th century, as well as meat and fat, geese were kept for their feathers, which were valued for making quills and goose fat was used in the 1900s as a medicine, smeared on the chest to help colds and swallowed to stop sore throats.

Ingredients

You will need these things to make perfectly crisp roast potatoes. I will include suitable substitutions and seasonings.

Potatoes

Once peeled, cut any large potatoes into smaller chunks.

With so many types of roasting potatoes available, it can be hard to know which to use?

These are the UK potato varieties we recommend, for the best roast potatoes with goose fat.

King Edwards & Maris Piper

These are my favourite varieties of potatoes (I'm more partial to King Edward) to make a roast potato that is crispy outside and fluffy inside.

White Potatoes

Don't underestimate the budget white potatoes, cheap, cheerful, and perfect for those on a budget, a versatile potato that roasts up nice and crunchy.

Baby Potatoes

Baby potatoes or new potatoes are best if you are short on prep time, as they don’t require peeling or chopping! They are waxy potatoes so will not get as fluffy in the middle.

Desiree

These will hold their shape well but aren’t so crispy.

Goose Fat

Goose fat has a high smoke point, making it great for the perfect roast potatoes, it’s also much healthier than lard or butter.

Duck fat is the closest hot fat alternative, and duck fat roast potatoes are just as delicious

If you want to avoid animal products, light olive oil or sunflower oil is the best bet, it still has a high smoke point.

Salt and Pepper

We always add a generous amount of pepper and a sprinkle of salt to our roasting potatoes.

Cous Cous

This optional extra will give you wonderfully crispy potatoes on the outside, with soft fluffy insides.

You could add a coating of cous cous after you shake the potatoes to rough up the edges for a crunchy finish when cooked. It's our little secret ingredient!

I know semolina also works in a similar way.

Herbs

Again, this is optional, but adding herbs will give your potatoes a wonderful flavour. We recommend Rosemary, Thyme, Oregano or Sage. 

Dried herbs are great, but fresh rosemary is the best. 

If using fresh herbs, add them in the last 15 minutes of cooking, so they don't burn.

Garlic, Chilli Flakes or Parmesan

Garlic is another favourite of ours to add, and chilli or parmesan makes a great roast potato seasoning, giving them even more flavour. 

Equipment

A large pan for parboiling potatoes and to steam dry the potatoes after draining. 

Using a large roasting tin with deep walls for roasting potatoes is best.

Don't overcrowd them, they should layer the bottom of the tray without being on top of one another. If you have too many, use a second roasting tray, otherwise, they will fail to brown properly and take longer to cook.

You will also need a large colander to drain the water after parboiling the potatoes.

A long-handled spoon or tongs to toss the potatoes and ensure they are evenly coated with goose fat while cooking.

Make sure you have oven gloves! Don't forget the fat will be scolding hot and may spit. It's important you are safe!

Instructions 

Start off with a baking tray filled with 6 tablespoons of goose fat.

Heat this in the oven at 210°C fan / 230°C/ 450°F/ Gas Mark 8 whilst you peel, chop and parboil the potatoes.

Don't miss this step, it is an important part of getting flawless crispy roast potatoes!

How long to parboil potatoes?

Start with enough cold water to cover the potatoes and allow them to reach boiling point.

Once they have reached a boil, set a timer for 5 minutes.

Drain the potatoes using a large colander, a metal one is best.

Give them a good shake in a colander to rough up the edges. We do this in 3 batches to ensure there is room to batter them without them flying out of colander!

If you are using Cous Cous add 1 tablespoon per batch, alongside salt and pepper and give it another shake to cover the outside of the potatoes.

How long to oven cook Roast Potatoes?

Carefully remove the tray from the oven. Layer the bottom of the tray with your potatoes using a long-handled spoon or tongs.

Make sure they are all covered evenly in goose fat, now you can add dried herbs and flavourings (add fresh herbs and flavourings in the last 15 minutes of roasting).

Optionally, halfway through cooking, you may want to turn the potatoes or use the spoon to cover them with goose fat again. 

At 40 minutes, check them. If they're browning too much, you can use foil to protect them, and if they're looking too pale, you can raise the temperature to 220°C fan /240°C / 475°F / Gas Mark 9. This is also when you will add any fresh ingredients. 

Allow them to cook for a further 15 minutes.

Goose fat and couscous together is our secret combination to give you the best English Roasties which are crispy on the outside, whilst still creamy & soft inside.

Serving Suggestions

We think Goose Fat Roast Potatoes go amazing with a Sunday Dinner, like our slow roast shoulder of lamb, Saddle of Lamb or roast pork belly.

They are also delicious with our garlic and chilli sea bream recipe.

More Roast Dinner Side Dishes

Also great with our roast beef or slow cooker gammon.

So if you want perfect crispy & crunchy oven-roasted potatoes for your Sunday Roast Dinner? Our easy-to-follow recipe shows you how to make goose fat roast potatoes in the oven.

📖 Step by Step Recipe

This English roast potatoes post was updated with new images, directions, and serving suggestions on 08/11/2022. It was originally posted on 03/03/2020.

Storage advice

Store leftover roast potatoes in the refrigerator in an airtight container. They will be good for up to three days.

Reheat in the microwave for quick heating or back in the oven until heated through.

Freezing Roast Potatoes

There are 2 different methods for freezing roast potatoes.

The first is freezing them parboiled.

After adding the couscous, place the parboiled potatoes in the freezer on a plate/tray. Once frozen, bung them all in a freezer bag (this prevents them from sticking together).

You can add them to hot goose fat when you want them and cook them straight from the freezer. 

They may need an extra 10 minutes of cooking time.

The second is pre-cooking them.

Cook completely and leave to cool before placing them in a freezer bag.

Then all you need to do is reheat them for 25-30 minutes straight from the freezer when you're ready to eat them. There is no need to defrost beforehand, so they are great for midweek meals!

Roast potatoes will store for 3 months in the freezer.

Make Ahead Roasted Potatoes

Why not make a batch and then freeze them ready for Christmas day; that way you will have less preparation time for your Christmas Dinner and more time with the family

FAQ’s

Hope you enjoy our crispy goose fat roast potatoes, let us know how you find them.

Of course, we give you permission to share our roast potato secrets with others. Just make sure you link back to us, though!

More Potato Recipes

Here is a selection of other potato recipes we think you will love!

Delicious Slow Cooker Jacket Potatoes perfect for midweek week meals. 

Parmentier potatoes are little cubes of potato goodness that make a great alternative to chips.

Light and creamy, mashed potatoes is a classic!