How do you pre-prepare potatoes?!

[HighwayDragon1]

I want to make a start on Christmas dinner, can I par-boil potatoes tonight? How are they stored?! Google is highly unhelpful!

I think if you par boil them they will go brown.

I would just peel and chop and then put them in a bowl of water over night.

My dad has just told me he peels, chops and leaves them in water

Sorry to jump in - would they be ok on the side in the water or do they need to go in the fridge?

In cold water on the side is fine. I think my DM used to put a pinch of salt in the water but not sure.

Chopped spuds are gonna take what quarter of an hour to 20 mins to cook. If you parboil, say ten mins, and leave them in the hot water they will carry on cooking and potentially be mushy. If you take them out immediately, stick em in bowl and then fridge, you've saved yourself 7 mins, but still have to wait for the kettle to boil to finish them tmrw. Personally, I chop em, put em in pan of cold water, and do them in one go!

Parboil and then freeze them. You can then roast them in the oven from frozen. Takes a bit longer but will be fine. If you fridge them they’ll turn brown.

Parboil, allow to steam dry and then cover in foil and bung in the fridge.

Parboil, drain, rough them up and then freeze. Add to hot fat straight from frozen.

Peel, chop, keep in cold water in the saucepan on the side ready to parboil. You can freeze them parboiled but honestly not worth the effort - it’s the peeling and the associated mess that’s worth getting out of the way in advance.

To hijack thread - can I pre-prep parsnips and carrots also?

Yes absolutely carrots and parsnips too: keep in a saucepan in cold water - in the fridge in the unlikely event that you have room, in the coldest room of the house otherwise.

I cook all my spuds and veg beforehand, put in foil trays, cover then reheat in the oven once the meat is done. Perfect every time.

@stuck — yes but freeze them

Why would you freeze them now if you're going to eat them tomorrow?

Freezing preserves the texture and colour.

We watched Jamie Oliver the other night - he parboiled his spuds and while parboiling he heated the oven tray with fat butter in it. Drained and shook the spuds and then coated them in the heated fat.

Then he said it was ok to put them in a cold place (he suggested in the garage) overnight until you needed them.

Might be worth a try?