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?

Joffrey try James Martin's recipe for Yorkshires.

40 minutes??!

At least double depending how big and how many potatoes.

The mushy bits will become delicious crispy bits.

OK I've read to p2 and it's enough: you can't get crispy roats with olive oil because the smoking point is too low. Switch to sunflower or general veg oil if you can't be pulled over to the goosefat/duckfat side.
parcook chunks of king edwards until alomst cooked, shake a little in the colander to rough up the edges, put into the fat and turn them all over until all sides are covered. It doesn't matter if the fat is hot or not: you are thinking of yorkshires!
Stick in the top of a hot oven until crispy and golden.

I can't do yorkshires either, but then I'm from Lancashire so that's probably why. It's genetic.

So not 40 minutes then?

It's all going wrong. They've had the first half of that 40 minutes which I now suspect isn't right and they look the same as when they went in. Is that 40 minutes how long you leave them in before turning?

I was doing so well :(

Just leave them till they look right. I turn them when they begin to brown.

My tips:

• Parboil in salted water. I leave it as long as I can but make sure you don't end up with mash. I also heat the water up from cold so the potatoes are cooked all through.
• Drain in a colander, give it a little shake if you want. Then leave them to dry out a bit. At least 10 minutes I would say.
• Having experimented with different fats, I prefer vegetable oil with a dollop of butter. The oil can get to a high temperature, and butter on its own would burn too much, but I like the flavour from butter.

Turn them at 30 minutes and hold your nerve.

Hedgehogs ... I've just eaten the last of some roast potatoes that went wrong in the way you describe. They were nice cold. These are the potatoes I used ... Lovely, waxy flesh and a delicate flavour, but shite for roasting.

That's the type I've got.

They were starting to go brown at the 30 minute mark. They're now turned and back in.

Sounds like you're going to do better than I did

I don't do roasted potatoes any more. Not since we discovered hasselback potatoes. They are so much nicer and a lot easier to make too

Momba -you are very wrong, I get crispy crispy potatoes every time with olive oil , so does Michael Caine

dame my mum who makes awesome roasties uses olive oil for hers - I went veggie for a while as a teen so she used olive oil so not to taint mine and decided they were so good she always uses it now - I love olive oil roasties

Speaking on Radio 4's Desert Island Discs, the star of Get Carter and The Italian Job proudly boasted that he makes "the best roast potatoes in the world", a title bestowed on him by Michael Winner, the restaurant critic and film director.
Kirsty Young, the presenter, asked Caine if he did any of the cooking at Christmas. "I'm a very good cook," he said. "I do the best roast potatoes in the world, according to Michael Winner."
Young, then asked him: "What's your tip?" He replied: "My tip is precook them, boil them first, and put them in cold fat, not hot fat, so it soaks in. Get them absolutely dry.
"Let them steam and then go dry, put the lid back on, shake them so that they go all fluffy, then put them in cold olive oil with rosemary and sage in it. But you've got to boil them first otherwise they'll be no good."
He added: "They [the listeners] can all write to me if they don't turn out right."

Michael Caine on his roasties ^

Haha. I live in rural Sweden the home of hasselback potatoes. My guests would think I'd completely lost the plot. That'd be like serving curly fries with the turkey. :o

40 minutes isn't that far off. They've had 50 and they actually look like roast potatoes. Although the proof will be in the eating.

Have you taken them out?
Don't overcook them.

There is no such thing as bad roast potatoes.

They look like this, which is the most roastie like they've ever been. I'll let you know if they pass the taste test.

I use a good floury potato, par boil til the outer starts to go floury, drain, shake and tip into some roasting hot beef dripping (cheaper than goose fat). Roast on very hot, turn occasionally, season with lots of salt. I make sure there's a good enough amount of fat, a liberal amount of seasoning, can't go wrong.

They look quite nice OP.

I do great roasties, I'm told, and I believe it because I've eaten them.

I go against the grain and don't parboil. I find it unnecessary and adds faff.

I put the raw peeled segmented potatoes in hot fat in the oven and then its all about the baste, bout the baste...

At first whilst they are developing their crust you need to move them round fairly frequently to make sure they are getting a good browning and coating in oil but once they have "cured" on the outside you just leave them to do their thing.

I sometimes even put them round the chicken or whatever meat I'm cooking (if there is room) and they get a good dose of the meaty fat and pick up some lovely marbling of sediment along the way.

Keep practising, it can't be beyond you. Don't worry about how much oil you use...you don't have them every day, just get them right.

Hedgehogs - they look smashing! Well done!

I often put them around a roast too, lamb is especially nice, mmmmmm