are roast potatoes as nice if boiled in advance and frozen?

[mckenzie]

it's not really a big deal to do them from scratch on Christmas day although any time saving options are worth looking into aren't they?
I've got plenty of time to cook them and get them into the freezer today but never having done it before I'm nervous that they wont be as nice. and if I freeze them, do I do it after the vigorous shaking and the sprinkling of floor or before?

TIA

[mckenzie]

bump

[NoNeedToArgue]

I do mine and freeze every year. I boil them, shake and sprinkle with semolina a la Nigella, then freeze in single layer on baking trays. Put in freezer bag when frozen and roast for an hour on Christmas Day. I have 13 people for lunch this year (anywhere between 11 and 15 on any given year) and it definitely makes life easier on the day! Also freeze red cabbage, Jamie's make ahead gravy, profiteroles...

[Chardonnay73]

I think they are ‘soggier’. I did an early Xmas dinner this month for 11 and did this. They took nearly 2 hours to properly brown and fell apart when I turned them. I’ll be preparing them to the ‘shaken’ stage on Xmas eve and then cover with cling film and put in the fridge overnight.
I am known for my fabulous roasties in my family and I was mortified that they were so crap!!

[rookiemere]

I think that you'd actually be better with pre made frozen roasties than pre-making and freezing your own - less work too !

[NoNeedToArgue]

I've never had a problem with them being soggy. You could just buy Aunt Bessie's though... I'm a Christmas martyr though so don't... yet

[Soontobe60]

I'll be getting mine prepped tomorrow; par boil, shake, dust with seasoned flour and put in disposable trays ready for 25th. They'll be ok in the fridge til then. Take out in he morning so they come up to room temp, prewar the Oli/butter then pour over. Whack straight into a v hot oven.
I'll also do my mash fully, and put in ovenproof dish. And carrots. And pigs in blankets, left slightly underdone ready to finish off. I only cook the actual meat from scratch on the day.

[Costacoffeeplease]

I par boil, then rough them up and cover them in goose fat, then cool and freeze. I have them in the freezer all year round ready to be put in the oven

[RagingWhoreBag]

I boil, shake and roast them to nearly done the day before. Then put them in the fridge and reheat for 15 -20 mins on the day. Saves taking up oven space for an hour and you can put more on a tray once they're nearly cooked, whereas you can space them out a bit more on the original roasting to make sure they go brown.

[MrsEricBana]

I do the parboil, shake, open freeze thing per Good Housekeeping - works perfectly!

[kateandme]

I know this might be daft but could you try a little batch tongight.tomorrow night see if they worked ok?

[mckenzie]

thank you all for the posts.
I wused to go the Aunt Bessie's route but since getting potatoes from our butcher and making my own, the whole family have agreed that they knock spots of Aunt Bessie's and now there is no going back.
And as it's only 5 for Christmas dinner, I think I can cope with the tiny extra bit of hassle.
I'm going to risk it and follow the Good housekeeping method, to the letter.
fingers crossed.

Can I prep my parsnips too?

[OrchidInTheSun]

I do what RagingWhoreBag does. Ensures crispy roasties while opening and closing the oven 20 times to check everything else.

[BubonicBudgie]

I've just preped my parsnips, carrots and sprouts.

[mckenzie]

oh dear. I thought I had semolina but now realise it's couscous. my parsnips are about to be ready to be coated in something. what shall I use?

[madmum5811]

My MIL would peel and chop everything the day before, store in pantry in pans with water. Her food was delicious.

[RagingWhoreBag]

Parmesan and flour works well on parsnips