Easy and Crispy Smashed Potatoes Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Why does vinegar make potatoes crispy? ›

When a small amount of vinegar is added to the soaking water before frying, it can help impart a tangy flavor to the fries without making them taste overly vinegary. The acid in the vinegar can also help to slightly break down the surface of the potatoes, aiding in the development of a crispier texture during frying.

How do you keep roast potatoes warm and crispy? If it's for a short time, just spread them on a half-sheet pan and stick in a 200F oven. Because it's below 212F the potatoes won't keep cooking and because the oven is dry, they will stay crispy.

Why Are My Smashed Potatoes Falling Apart? Smashed potatoes will fall apart if they are overcooked or if you try to mash them while they are still hot. Long story short - cook the potatoes until al dente (slightly firm). Don't overcook the potatoes!

Potatoes can react like sponges; too much oil can make your potatoes appear to be soggy. Try placing oil in a spray bottle or using an aerosol to apply the oil to the potatoes. Lastly, ensure that the potatoes are dry before you add the oil.

But there's a very good reason to add a little vinegar to the potato's cooking water: It prevents it from overcooking, something I learned a while back when I was on my quest for French Fry perfection. Pectin breaks down much more slowly in acidic environments.

Some recipes—like Kenji's stir-fried crispy tofu—use cornstarch exclusively to achieve ultra-crispy textures. More starch means greater water absorption and enhanced gelatinization of starches; frying drives off water, leaving a porous, brittle network that we perceive as crunchy or crispy when we bite into it.

You can leave the skin on for a rustic look, but in this recipe, we peel them to get a more golden-brown color! Soak the Potatoes! Secret number one in perfecting homemade french fries: soaking the potatoes removes the starch and allows the fries to become crispy and evenly brown. You don't want to skip this step!

Cooking potatoes twice—once in water, and a second time in hot oil—is hands-down the best way to achieve extra-crispy potatoes at home.

Soaking your sliced potatoes in the ice water before roasting them in the oven can draw out extra starch, allowing the spuds to cook up extra crunchy on the outside.

Option 1: Turn up the heat on your stovetop to draw out the moisture. Option 2: Add a teaspoon of a thickening agent like cornstarch, flour or powdered milk until you reach the desired thickness. Option 3: Mix in 1 tablespoon of dehydrated potatoes until mashed potatoes are thicker.

Are smashed potatoes bad for you? ›

Mashed potatoes can be healthy, but it depends on how they're prepared. Potatoes themselves are nutritious, but adding lots of butter, cream, or cheese can make them high in calories and unhealthy fats. Opting for lighter versions with olive oil or low-fat milk can keep them healthier.

While some people might use the terms smash and mash interchangeably, they are not the same. 'Smash' is when you merely break something into pieces. However, "mash" means you reduce a food to a soft, pulpy mass. Therefore, making smashed potatoes and mashed potatoes requires two different processes.

By rinsing off the excess starch, you can achieve a better balance and control over the browning process, resulting in evenly cooked and beautifully golden fries. Another advantage of rinsing the potatoes is that the cold water makes the potato cells firmer, leading to crispier fries when fried.

Once boiling, reduce heat, adjusting as needed to maintain a simmer. Cook potatoes until they offer no resistance when pierced: 10–12 minutes for baby potatoes, 15–20 minutes for small potatoes, or 30–40 minutes for large cubed potatoes. Drain potatoes in a colander and let cool 10 minutes.

The key to the crispy, crunchy exterior is in the method for their recipe: shaking the boiled and drained potatoes roughly until the outsides break off and begin to form basically a “potato paste” on the outsides. For my recipe, I add potato flour and cornstarch to encourage an even crispier-crunchier crust.

Vinegar causes the potatoes to form a thin crust that further helps in retaining their shape. Vinegar increases the acid pH levels of water which further helps the potato just like when you add a little salt to the water while boiling eggs.

Both the vinegar and the baking soda help remove more moisture, and the baking soda will help attain that bubbled effect on the skin once the heat is turned up.

Parboiling the fries in a vinegar solution before frying slows the breakdown of pectin in the potatoes to yield fries with tiny, bubbly, blistered surfaces that stay crisp even when cool. It also rinses off excess sugars to prevent over-browning.

But malt vinegar has a way of zinging up fries and other fried foods in a way that ketchup, despite its vinegar base, simply doesn't. It works better on British-style "chips," which are wider and better able to absorb the condiment.