to ask for help from MN in overcoming my secret shame?

[HedgehogsDontBite]

I can't cook roast potatoes. There, I've finally admitted it.

I've reached the grand old age of 45 and am utterly incapable when it comes to these little buggers. They either come out rock hard and inedible or they resemble one of the dog's chew toys. I've tried loads of different 'recipes' but it's always the same. Failure. I'd buy frozen ones if they sold them where I live, but they don't.

Now I'm hosting Christmas dinner and I can hide no longer. WIBU to do chips instead and tell our non-British guests that this is traditional?

[Allalonenow]

The type of potato you use is important for a good roast potato, I like King Edwards best, with Maris Piper also good.

[PulpsNotFiction]

Did someone say boil for 45 min? don't do that you'll have a pan of mush!

Turn oven on 200 ish/put kettle on to boil
Put roasting tin in oven with oil in. (Goose fat for Xmas but usually just vegetable oil)
Peel and cut spuds
Par Boul for ten minutes max in salted water (less if they're small ish)
Drain and shake around a bit in the colander
Transfer to roasting tin, coat all sides in oil and cook for around 40 min turning once.

[OttiliaVonBCup]

I use a mermaid tin and heat the oil on the hob.
In the oven after that.

[chemenger]

Cut up small, par boil them for 10-12 minutes, drain really well, possibly pat with a tea towel then deep fry them. I always did this until I left home and didn't have a deep fat fryer any more. They are guaranteed crispy and evenly coloured.

Now I heat olive oil or goose fat in a shallow tin in a hot oven then add the par boiled potatoes, mix the about to coat with oil, use a spoon to coat them all then bung back in the oven, as hot as it goes until brown. Take them out a couple of times and turn them to get them evenly brown. They always take exactly 8 minutes longer than you plan. Even coating with oil/fat is the key.

[FunkyBoldRibena]

I put the fat/oil [usually sunflower] in the pan and into the oven - and turn the oven on before I peel the spuds. Then, once they are parboiled for around 7-10 mins, pour the water out [saving it for gravy] and then tumble the spuds around the pan until they are fluffy.

Then they go into the hot oil in the pan, and I tumble them about again until all coated. Then cook for around an hour. If the oil wasn't hot enough, the pan goes onto the hob on the hot place where the spuds had been previously parboiling until they it is hot enough for the spuds to spit when they go in.

[throckenholt]

having read the thread - they don't have to go into hot fat. I bung then in a plastic bag with a teaspoon of oil, mush them around until all coated and then stick in the oven. The oven has to be hot.

If you cut them smaller they cook quicker - so if I am in a hurry I will cut them smaller, stick them in a pan with say some chicken pieces, or some pork slices, wap them in the over - viola - 45 minutes quick roast dinner - works every time.

[Smoorikins]

I think that your problem is that you aren't coating them in oil.

[Quenelle]

We always use King Edwards, cut quite small, parboiled, drained and spooned into extremely hot olive or vegetable oil. Roll them around a bit so they're coated in the oil.

Don't put anything else in the oven with them, the meat for example. They go crisper if they're roasted on their own.

[MehsMum]

Haven't RTWT - have work to do! - but I get my spud just as I like by:
use Desiree or King Ed's for preference
peel and cut into peices
boil until cooked (not parboiled)
shake well in pan
put in hot fat round the joint (min 180C)
make sure they are well coated in whatever fat you are using
roast 1 hr but do check a few times
if they are ready before the joint, remove them, put in serving dish, cover with foil and keep them warm at the very bottom of the oven.
Because they are cooked, they do soak up quite a lot of fat, but we all like them that way.

[meglet]

Use the Heston recipe. It's fool proof (aka, even I can do it). Although I don't do the faffy bits like washing the starch off or draining them on paper.

Maris piper
Par boil
Fluff up in colander
Oven
garlic and rosemary chucked in at the end.

[FurryDogMother]

Do not use the turkey fat - there's too much moisture in it and you'll end up with soggy spuds. Use the goose fat you have and make sure it's good and hot (200 degrees) before adding the par-boiled potatoes. You only need a shallow amount - just shake the pan and use a spoon to get the fat over the spuds as you add them to the hot fat.

I turn my roasties halfway through cooking to make sure all sides are golden and crispy.

[HolgerDanske]

The right potato type is absolutely crucial. I only parboil for ten min. I leave them in the colander to get coldish, then shake a bit to make them fluffy. Heat the oil in the pan (or goose fat which is far superior) beforehand, when it's good and hot, add the potatoes and turn in the oil/fat till all surfaces are coated.

Roast and enjoy the crispy, fluffy goodness

[BaffledSomeMore]

Agree with all the parboil, fluff and roll advice above.
I use vegetable oil as I'm veggie. Olive oil apparently has a lower burning temp or something that means it's not ideal for roasting. I heard this on R4 a few years ago so detail hazy!
I found by trial and error that too much fat in the tray makes them go odd. So just enough to swirl around and roll the potatoes in leaving hardly any in the tray once the potatoes have been rolled iyswim.
I cook them at about 180/190 for 45 mins.

[isseywithcats]

do sweet potato roasties peel chop and stick in hot oil in a roasting tin, baste every ten minutes till cooked about 30 minutes foolproof, easy and very tasty

[MonstrousRatbag]

Rapeseed oil or groundnut oil would be much better than olive oil, though animal fat is better than oil full stop.

[Poofus]

What about those of us who are vegetarians? What oil should we use? I am hesitating between olive, sunflower and "vegetable".

[NewNamePlease]

Olive oil doesn't work at high enough temp for good roasts, try veg or groundnut oil if not using some kind of goose/duck fat.

My potatoes-
heat oven to 240c
boil kettle
peel potatoes and half- i like big roasts
Put kettle water in pan
add lots of salt to water- this is important as it draws moisture out of potato.
Put oil/fat in roasting pan into oven- i use about half cup fat for A4 roasting pan or 3 halved potatoes(6 roasties).
Put potatoes in boiling water
boil for 20 minutes
drain very thoroughly
pull out oven shelf and put potatoes into oil
turn them over lots to coat
shut door
leave door shut for 20mins then turn oven down to 210c
cook for a further hour, turning potatoes every 20 mins.


Important things- must boil in salty water, must put in boiling water unlike when normally boing potatoes, must have potatoes ready to put in fat immediately after opening oven door.
Can add garlic/ herbs/ stuff to potatoes after boiling.

[NewNamePlease]

poofus try groundnut it's very good at high temps also works well for stir frys in sizzling woks.

[EdithWeston]

A slight aside from pototoes, with a round of applause to OP, as today is World AIDS Day, and part of their publicity this year is to reveal a (shameful?) secret - to highlight that it's not so bad to come clean, whatever it is. And removing stigma, if the secret is to do with HIV, improves healthcare and outcomes.

Prince Harry due to reveal something soon But probably not potatoes.

[Madamecastafiore]

Par boil peeled potatoes that you have cut into quite big pieces. On the slant IYKWIM.

When you drain them give them a really good bash so they are all crumbly at the edges and then into a metal roasting dish which has v v hot fat in. Spoon over fat so all surfaces covered and sprinkle with M&S roast potato seasoning or a mixture of cornmeal, garlic salt and ground black pepper.

Just roast in a v hot oven 200 degrees until they are golden and crispy.

[Elledouble]

I use rapeseed oil - extra virgin, not the generic 'vegetable oil' kind. It gets really really hot so the spuds get properly crispy. I put it in the oven to heat up while the parboiled spuds are steaming dry - this is important because damp spuds won't crisp up and they'll spit hot fat when you put the potatoes in.

I don't bother peeling them either, but I am very lazy.

[NewNamePlease]

Oh, i forgot an important thing. They need space. Don't have them all on top of each other.

[neverputasockinatoaster]

I peel and cut the potatoes then into a pan with boiled water from the kettle. Boil for 15 mins then drain being a bit rough so the edges get knocked about.
Then, on ordinary roast days, they go into the roasting dish around the meat, usually chicken. They go in the oven at 180 degrees in my fan oven. After 20 mins I turn them over. No spooning of oil over them. They cook for 40 mins in total.
On Christmas Day I have to use a seperate roasting dish but I use a mix of olive oil and juices from the turkey.
My DH, who is a fussy bugger, thinks I make the best roasties in the world.

[OwlCapone]

My mother swears by coating them in semolina flour.

[figgypuddings]

I parboil mine then throw them in the chip pan. Vegetable oil.