Help me get my roast potatoes right please!

[Pumpkinpatch22]

This is how I’d like them to look (pic attached) but can never achieve it.

I have tried oil hot, oil cold, costing them in oil, metal pan, glass pan, goose fat.

My friend always gets them like that with a metal pan and cold oil, but I don’t get how?

I have olive Oil and a metal pan tonight, can I get them to look like that? All tips welcome!

@ouch321

To get them crispy they need to be as dry as possible when they go into the fat.

Let them air dry a bit but I also pat each dry with a sheet of kitchen roll and dust with flour.

I've never faffed around with drying them! It really is not necessary to do that. I don't bother using a colander either. Just drain the water from the pan using the lid to stop the potatoes falling into the sink, shake therm up and they're good to go straight into the hot oil!

My tip is to par boil and steam dry then dust with semolina and onion powder. Game changer. Soooo crispy.

Lots of great tips on this thread. Make site you use a metal roasting tin or baking sheet. You could also use cast iron/enamelled cast iron, but not glass, stoneware, etc. It needs to be a good conductor of heat.

Flour!!
Like most have said above, par boil, (I then leave to cool but only for a minute or two), lots of shaking to rough up, coat and shake in flour to dry them, put in hot oil, turn to coat well, stick in oven and only turn them once during cooking.

My MIL does the worst roasties, not crispy, not fluffy - I don't know what she does to them (much as I love her )

@Blueducks

My mum makes the best roasties using crisp ‘n dry oil! I keep meaning to try it. Mine are alright - par boil, leave to cool and into spitting hot oil.

Blueducks Spry Crisp and Dry is rapeseed oil, so any generic brand of rapeseed oil should give you the same results as your mum.

I haven't made roast potatoes for years (I do Parmentier potatoes every now and then with smoked paprika) but I certainly used beef dripping for mine. Which oil or fat is the best vegetarian alternative to dripping ? I wouldn't go for olive oil.

Does anyone manage to do them in the air fryer? I've tried, pictures online promise oven-like perfect roasties, but mine come out of the air fryer like big chips - not unpleasant but not roasties.

Thank you for all the tips! Closest I’ve got

I use Albert Roosters red potatoes. I parboil for about eight minutes, air dry them, shake them and roll them in flour with a pinch of salt. I cook them on a high heat, about 230c in vegetable oil.

Any oil is fine.
The secret is the bishbosh against the side of the pan after the parboil. After that bit I pour the oil in, and (dp chef secret) add a tablespoon of fine breadcrumbs bishboshing again.
As long as they need in the oven. I've got some in now, they went in about half an hour ago, I think the oven is on about 160 but it doesn't really matter.

Never had a failure.

My oil is olive because I'm in Italy. Otherwise I'd probably use peanut. I sometimes use goose fat at Christmas.

@Pumpkinpatch22

Thank you for all the tips! Closest I’ve got

They look fine.

Pretty sure they are not King Eds?

The right potato is essential with King Edwards being, well, the king.
Next must is to sort them dry fully in the colander after parboiling.

Other factors (oil, temp, time etc)are less key than these 2.

Sort should be let?!

I par boil, drain and rough up. I put rapeseed oil in the airfryer (I take the spinning arm out), and turn it on to heat up.

After 10 minutes I put the potatoes in. I give them a stir/turn every ten minutes. Usually done then in about 35/40.

Are you using the ‘right’ potatoes?

Not me but DH makes amazing ones. I think he peels them, parboils them, then cooks on higher heat in oil. Always uses Rooster ones. They are to die for

Maris Piper potatoes are the best for getting really crispy edges as they fluff up well. I parboil my potatoes, drain and give them a shake and then put straight into metal tray with a light drizzle of oil. They always turn out super crispy and fluffy on the inside

Heat a cm of oil and a couple tbs of goose fat (if you have it for extra flavour) in a roasting pan at 180C. I cut potatoes quite large, leaving smaller ones whole. Par-boil potatoes but not too long, just until you could scrape the outside with a fork and leave a mark. Drain in colander and let the steam all disappear. Give it a couple tosses to lightly scuff the outsides. You can sprinkle on some polenta if you want them extra crunchy. Take roasting pan with hot oil out, use a large flat ladle to put the potatoes into the pan, tilt the pan and baste so they are all covered in the oil. After 10-15 mins when they look more matt on the surface where the oil has sealed, baste them again. Leave another 10-15 mins and baste once more. They should take around 50 mins but up to an hour to be fully crispy/crunchy. You can toss some rosemary in towards the last 10 mins if you like too.

I par boil in salted water for about 5 mins. Drain and cool for a bit. Shake them around in the pan they were boiled in to rough the edges up a bit. Add to hot oil in roasting tin. Cook at 200 for about 45 to 50 mins.