Crispy Potato Skins

Snack | French

Prep time: 5 min Cook time: 30 min Servings: 4

These potato skins come from the baked potatoes used in the hash browns recipe, which means you’re using the entire potato across two separate dishes. When a potato bakes at high heat, the skin dehydrates and the surface starches undergo the Maillard reaction, developing that deep, nutty flavour and papery crispness. After you scoop the flesh out, those skins have already been through one round of dry heat, so a second bake at 200°C makes them super crispy.

The butter and olive oil are combined deliberately. Butter gives richness and carries the fat-soluble flavour compounds from the garlic powder evenly across the surface, while the oil raises the smoke point of the mixture so it doesn’t burn during the second 15 minutes in the oven. The sour cream is served on the side rather than loaded on top so the skins stay crisp and each person can control their own ratio.

Ingredient Notes

Butter: I use unsalted butter so I can control the salt level separately with sea salt. Melt it gently rather than at high heat, you just want it liquid, not foaming or starting to brown. Browned butter would change the flavour profile here, and more importantly it’ll burn quickly at 200°C during the second round in the oven.

Garlic powder: Garlic powder distributes far more evenly through the butter mixture than fresh garlic, which tends to burn in the oven and turn bitter. It gives a consistent, toasty garlic note across every skin without the risk of any charred spots. Make sure yours isn’t old and clumped, fresh garlic powder makes a noticeable difference.

Sour cream: Use full-fat sour cream here. The higher fat content keeps it thick and stable and it holds up better when it sits next to warm skins on the serving platter. Stir it gently before serving to loosen it to a spreadable consistency, but don’t overwork it. Over-mixing breaks down the protein network and releases the trapped liquid (whey), which makes it thin and watery rather than creamy.

Equipment

Chopping board
Chef’s knife
Pastry brush
Baking tray and baking paper
Small bowl
Shallow serving dish
Serving platter

Ingredients

potato skins, quartered from 6 baked potatoes (see hash browns recipe)
40g butter, melted
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp garlic powder
sea salt and white pepper, to season
200g sour cream
1 bunch chives, finely snipped

Directions

Preheat the oven to 200°C fan forced (390°F). Place quartered potato skins on a large baking tray lined with baking paper, skin side up.
Combine butter, oil, garlic powder, salt and pepper in a small bowl and mix well.
Brush the skins with half of the butter mixture and bake for 15 minutes.
Remove from the oven and turn skins over. Brush the inside of the skins with the remaining butter mixture.
Return to the oven for a further 15 minutes, until very crisp and golden.
Gently mix the sour cream to a spreadable consistency.
Place in a shallow serving dish and make an indent in the centre. Sprinkle with the chives.
Place the skins on a serving platter with the sour cream for dipping.

Ingredients

Directions

Recipe notes