Crunchy Roasted Potatoes

Adjust oven rack to center position and preheat oven to 450°F. Add your potatoes along with the kosher salt and baking soda to a large pot. Fill it with cold water – enough to cover the ptoatoes by a couple of inches. Place the pot over high heat and bring to a boil. Stir, cover partially with a lid and reduce the heat to medium-high. Continue cooking the potatoes until you can easily pierce the center of the pieces with a fork or knife.

While the potatoes are boiling place another pan, this time a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Add your duck fat (or olive oil), along with all of the remaining seasonings, the fresh herbs, and the butter. Simmer, stirring frequently, until the herbs have turned crisps and darkened in color. Remove from heat and cover.

When potatoes are tender in the middle drain them and let them rest in the colander for a minute or so, to steam. At this point you can either transfer them back into the pot or place the colander inside of a large mixing bowl and continue in your colander:  shake the hell out of the potatoes. If you know how to toss a frying pan, do that: use the same circular motion. The potatoes will start to crumble on the outside, releasing lil’ potato pieces.

Now, transfer the potatoes back to the pot, or to a large mixing bowl. Sprinkle the potato starch and cornstarch over them, then start shaking again. Use a spatula to stir them if you need to, you want the powders to work thru the potatoes. Once you have a nice coating of potato paste – the more paste the crunchier/crispier the potatoes in the end – on the outside of most potato pieces, add the flavored fat/oil from earlier. Use a wooden spoon or silicone spatula to stir, coating the potatoes in the liquid.

Transfer potatoes to a sheet pan (with a rim). Spread them out into an even layer – if you don’t have enough space use a larger sheet pan or two of them.  Transfer to oven and let roast undisturbed for 25 minutes. After 25 minutes use the biggest spatula you have to flip the potatoes over. Make sure to loosen any stuck to the pan and turn those too. Spread back out into a single layer and place back in the oven until golden brown and crispy as hell – about 30 minutes longer. Dassit!