Crash Hot Potatoes

November 12, 2023

I’ve seen this method used multiple times with as many different names. This one uses the highest oven temperature of any I’ve tried and seems to produce a good, crisp potato without having to flip it during the cooking.

Summary

  • Prep Time: 10 min
  • Cook Time: 12 min (boiling) + 15 min oven roast
  • Other:
  • Total Time: 40 min
  • Servings: varies
  • Yield: 12 potatoes

Ingredients

  • 12 small yellow potatoes
  • Kosher salt
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • Fresh ground black pepper

Directions

  1. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, boil the potatoes in lightly salted water until fork-tender, about 12 minutes.
  2. Preheat the oven to 475 degrees F.
  3. Place the potatoes on a baking sheet. Using a potato masher, gently press down to mash each one. The tops of the potatoes should be really textured. Drizzle the tops of the potatoes with the olive oil. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Bake until golden brown and crisp, about 15 minutes.

Adjustments

  • Cook’s Note Variations: Place 1/4 pat of butter on top of each smashed potato before baking. Top each smashed potato with grated Cheddar before baking.

History

  • 2023-11-12 – Made these with potatoes from Little Potato Company and I think they were a little too little. Maybe the size of a golf ball would be good. Original number servings is 6 with a batch of 12 potatoes. The ones I got were about 1″ diameter when finished and two of those wouldn’t feed a hungry rancher so I’d say Ree’s potatoes were wee bit bigger. Aside from that, these were very good! I might add a bit of garlic and herb next time.

References