Roast potatoes are arguably one of the best parts of Christmas dinner but so many of us end up with mush in the oven tray and no crisp.
A perfectly done roastie - fluffy on the inside with a delicious crispy and flavoursome coating - can be the star of the dinner on Christmas day but it takes a little bit of fine tuning.
If you're preparing the spuds from scratch this year, you may be wondering how to get the texture just right. But according to a top chef, there's one big mistake that many of us make year after year that apparently stops them from developing that all-important crispy coating.
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Marc Williams, the cookery school director at five-star hotel The Grand in York, UK, has revealed some of his top tips on cooking the perfect Christmas dinner for your family and friends.
One of these tips involves the preparation of the spuds. Marc says that there's one thing you should do in order to achieve optimum crispiness and taste.
Waiting for them to cool completely after parboiling is essential, which many people fail to do and this is why the coating often isn't as crisp as it should be.
Marc said: "To get the perfect potatoes, peel them, add to cold water and bring to boil. Boil for around six minutes until the edges soften. Then, strain them and wait until the steam stops. You'll never get a crisp result if they are full of water."
Once you've done this step, there are a few other things you should do in order to make your roast potatoes taste the absolute best for your guests.
The chef continued: "Preheat your chosen fat in a hot oven - duck fat is my choice! Don't forget to season the potatoes and then carefully add and baste them in the duck fat.
"Roast for around twenty minutes in a hot oven before turning them over; this allows a crust to form underneath, so you won't leave half the potato stuck to the tray."
The expert also explained how you can ditch the oven while cooking Christmas dinner in favour of another cheaper electrical appliance - the air fryer.
He said: "They are fantastic for roast potatoes and cut down cooking times drastically. The air fryers with two sections are great for cooking at different temperatures.
"Try honey glazed parsnips on one side at 180C and roast potatoes in the other at 200C. This will make the day easy and free up some oven space if needed, just don't try to cram a turkey in there!"
In order to help minimise the stress of preparing the Christmas meal, Marc has also offered some advice on when you should be preparing each component.
"Roast potatoes are done in the morning and heated back through," he said.
"Make a prep list of roughly how you'd like to plan the day and do everything you can in advance. Most of the things I make the day before and just heat back through.
"The turkey should be resting for 30 minutes at least so you have plenty of time to get things back through the oven."
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