This smashed roast potatoes with bacon are out of this world just if you love loaded baked potatoes and you put some little ranch on it, then this is a recipe for you.! It’s so easy and such a hit and with the Easter Holidays coming, I figured out it’d be a great dish to your ham onto anything that you really love. Take your potatoes, peel them then cut them into cubes and get your preheated oven. Get your nice big baking pan big enough to hold everything nicely, the next thing to do with the cubed potatoes is to drizzle them with melted butter. Get some onion flakes and dried parsley once all of it is green and then add a generous amount of black pepper. Add a healthy pinch of salt because potatoes need salt and then give everything a toss just to make sure everything has been coated nicely.

Parboil your peeled and chopped potatoes for 10-12 minutes. The usual advice is to boil for 6-8 minutes, but I find if you cook them for longer, the outside of the potato breaks down more. Meaning that you can drain the water, shake the pan, and get potatoes that are really fluffy on the outside. It’s this fluff that will give you amazing crunch. If you want to prep ahead, you can cook the roasties until lightly browned, then remove from the oil, cool, cover and refrigerate. When it’s time to reheat them, heat the oil up in the oven first, and place the potatoes in the hot oil for 10-15 minutes, turning once or twice. Don’t overcrowd the tray.

If you put too many potatoes in, the oil will cool too much, and you’ll get greasy potatoes that won’t brown very well. Once the smashed roast potatoes with bacon are cooked, serve them straight away.

Ingredients;

  • 125 g goose fat or lard
  • 500 g floury potatoes, peeled and chopped into large chunks
  • 5 rashers streaky bacon
  • 1 garlic clove peeled and minced
  • 50 g grated mature cheddar cheese
  • 3 tbsp chopped fresh chives
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Instructions;

  1. Preheat the oven to 220C/425F. Place the goose fat or lard in a large metal roasting tin and place in the oven to heat.
  2. Meanwhile, place the chunks of potato in a large pan. Cover with cold water.
  3. Bring to the boil, then simmer for 10-12 minutes until tender.
  4. Drain the potatoes well, place back in the pan, place a lid on and give the pan a good shake.
  5. This should fluff the potatoes up. A few may break apart too, but that’s fine.
  6. By now the oil should be very hot. Open the oven door and working quickly but carefully, spoon the potatoes into the pan.
  7. Turn them over, so they’re coated in hot oil then close the oven door.
  8. Cook for 25-30 minutes, turning once or twice, until golden brown.
  9. Place the bacon on a large baking tray and place in the oven to cook with the potatoes for the last 5-6 minutes.
  10. Take out the bacon, place on a chopping board and slice into small pieces.
  11. Take the potatoes out of the oven and transfer, using a slotted spoon, to the tray you cooked the bacon on.
  12. Using a fork, squash the potatoes down to crush them slightly.
  13. Place a tablespoon of the oil from the potato pan into a small bowl.
  14. Add the minced garlic and stir, then brush this garlic oil over the potatoes.
  15. Sprinkle the cheese and bacon on top and place back in the oven for 2 minutes to melt.
  16. Remove from the oven and sprinkle on the chives, salt, and pepper before serving.