To parboil or not to par boil

[Char65]

I've parboiled potatoes before roasting for years but it can be difficult to get the timings right and the type of potato can lead to them breaking up a bit when roasted. On Christmas Day the potatoes, par boiled for about 6 minutes with salt, were fine but to me they're not as crispy as when I just used to coat them in lard (now veg oil) and roast them with the chicken or turkey so they were infused with meat juices. For other meats I'd put them in beforehand. I wonder what others think? I may go back to putting them straight in the oven as not been happy with the results of late.

Parboil, light coating of hot oil (don’t drown them) and salt on top before they go in the oven. The Mozart red potatoes that Sainsburys are doing at the mo are fab roasters.

You need the right potatoes, e.g. King Edward's or Maris Piper and fluff them up after parboiling to get extra crispiness. They can be practically falling apart before roasting tbh. Heat the fat before adding the potatoes and use a metal baking sheet or roasting tin.

Boiled until they're fragile enough to fall apart if you move them too briskly makes the best roast potatoes IMHO.

Roast potatoes don't work without par boiling. As others have said, they need to be slightly fragile / ruffed up at the edges and preferably Maris Piper or another floury variety. I used ghee this year, but I regularly use olive oil, dripping or goose fat. Preferably hot when the potatoes go in. Yes, to also basting / turning them.

Weirdly I was just thinking about this and thinking I may not boil them in future as it didn’t work that well!

Yes this. You’re looking for the “oh hell, have I completely overdone them?” moment.

Parboil, rough up the edges. While they are draining, heat oil in a tray (I use olive oil). Place tray on the hob to keep the oil hot, they should sizzle when they go in. Baste and then place on top shelf of a hot oven.
Then leave them alone! They only need to be turned once half way through cooking, again place tray on hob to keep the oil sizzling hot. Ready in 45mins - one hour.
This method works every time for me and I get lots of compliments on my roasties!

I try to use King Edwards of Maris Piper, Charlottes are definitely too soft, but may have a look at these Mozart reds. I always let them cool down first before adding them to the roasting dish and add oil and salt. I think the consensus is to parboil but I remember them being ok when I used to add them straight to the roasting tin but that's a long time ago and maybe misremembering./

Parboil, drain, put them back in the pan and give them a good shake while they are still hot and soft. This roughs them up nicely to give crispy crunchy edges.

Letting the par boiled pots cool down before throwing into hot oil is the key ime.

I par boil, then once they have been drained and steamed dry I sprinkle over some polenta or semolina before I give them a shake to rough them up a bit. They always end up nice and crispy.

After draining leave them for a bit before putting them to roast. If they are damp when you put the oil on them they don't crisp up properly.

I parboil mine - 15 minutes from putting them in cold water while the oil/tin is heating in the oven, then leave to dry a bit before roughing them up in the pan and tossing into the hot oil.

Since we've had a vegetarian to cater for, I roast my potatoes in a mix of ghee and posh rapeseed oil, they are nicer than lard, I think, now!

I par boil them with a tablespoon of bicarb. I then sprinkle with flour and rough them up a bit. I put sheet of grease proof paper on the bottom of my roasting tin and hear the oil in that while to potatoes are par boiling. They always come out nice and crunchy

I do both, depending on what else I'm cooking. If, say at Christmas, there's a turkey in the oven, then I parboil, completely dry and cool, then once the turkey comes out of the oven crank it up to Gas Mark 8, heat the oil in the tin, add potatoes, salt, pepper and rosemary, and cook them like that (reason, par boiling till soft slashes the cook time so is good for when you have a meat that cooks at a low heat, it can rest as you quickly cook them) Completely dry and cool is essential to nice crisp potatoes, as is pre heating the oil. I don't find adding flour / semolina makes a difference.

If there's nothing else in the oven, so no time pressures, then I will cook from raw. I preheat the oil, and add the potatoes to the pan. It takes double the time of the par boil method but they turn out equally well. Really hot oil when they go in, and turning the potatoes in the oil immediately helps.

@LoveToEatFood , Yes so right in your method, I forgot to dry before coating this year, they failed. Also wrong variety.
Maris Piper defo, others absorb too much water.

They won't be fluffy in the middle if you don't par boil.

I always parboil, then do a 20 min roast, and then a 2nd roast in time for eating.
Thanks mum.

I boil until almost cooked, steam dry in the colander over the pan on the hob and then (to my mother's chagrin) put them in a cold pan and add whatever fat I'm using. Sometimes coat in bicarb or flour.

Add more fat during cooking.

Am I the only person who zaps them in the microwave instead of parboiling before roasting? Not that I boil potatoes anyway, I steam them.

Thanks for all the messages, it has certainly given me food for thought (excuse the pun) and I have copied some of the responses into my cooking folder to look at when I do roasties again!😀

Par boil, let them go completely cold, then straight into hot fat. Perfect.

@DeanElderberry Have never heard of this. How long do you microwave for?

I forgot to par boil mine this year. They were accidentally superb!

Always par boil mine. Never cook in same tray as chicken or turkey thou as u get a lot of water from those birds.