You're Using The Wrong Oil For Roasting Potatoes — Here's The Best One

If you have a sack of potatoes lying around, you could go to the trouble of peeling, dicing, and boiling them before turning them into mashed potatoes. Far be it from us to downplay the wonders of mashed potatoes, but there's something truly satisfying about a good, craggy, knee-bucklingly crunchy piece of roast potato. Just because you're not frying them doesn't mean you shouldn't keep oil in mind, however. We talked to Tara Bench, a cookbook author and blogger at Tara Teaspoon, and she told us to make like Switzerland and keep things neutral.

"I consider flavor, crisp-potential, and smoke point when choosing a fat for roasting those spuds," Bench said. "A neutral oil with a high smoke point like canola or avocado oil coats the potatoes well, and gives them a head start on crisping in a hot oven." A neutral oil ensures that the natural potato flavor won't be affected, while the high smoke point ensures that you won't have to fumigate your kitchen when you're done cooking. But Bench has a personal favorite, too: "My favorite oil for roasted potatoes is a high-quality olive oil. It imparts a little flavor and can be cooked at 400 degrees Fahrenheit!"

What qualities might make an oil less than suitable for roasting potatoes — or anything else, for that matter? Tara Bench told us that we should keep an eye out for the smoke point of a given oil or fat; that is, the temperature at which it starts to smoke and burn. "Don't use butter, or lard, or even some delicate extra virgin olive oils [by themselves]," Bench said. "These all have low smoke points and will break down and deteriorate before crisping benefits take over." No one wants their potatoes to taste like ashes, do they?

With that said, however, there are still ways you can make use of low smoke point fats (like these best brands of butter) when roasting potatoes: "Go ahead and mix them with a neutral oil with a high smoke point like canola or avocado if you want to add the flavor of a low smoke point fat. I love mixing avocado oil with butter!" Just make sure you boil your potatoes before roasting them and perhaps make use of an onion soup mix for seasoning, and you (and hopefully your potatoes) will be golden.