Best Ever Worth All The Bother Roast Potatoes - tips

[kiwidreamer]

Normally I hold my head with pride as I snip open my packet of Aunt Bessies frozen roasties but I'm considering doing my own roast potatoes for Xmas this year... I am a reasonable cook just been a bit lazy I guess as no one really seems to mind the frozen ones so they do on the odd occasion we have them.

Anyone care to share their top roastie tips and convert me to the homemade side :)

I second the goose fat.
Also if you want to kind of cheat m&s do a packet of seasoning/coating which ensures the outside is extra crispy and there's a recipe on the packet.

this is how DH we do it: maris piper or king edwards, peel cut so that you have a large surface area. parboil, shake to rough up the edges and take outside to get rid of steam. pour into smoking hot goose fat and straight into a hot oven. baste and turn half way through. yummy. i think i have read something about semolina too?

Use a floury potato like Maris Piper. Peel and cut into similar sized pieces - cut at an angle so you get biggest surface area. Bring to boil and boil for 7 minutes. Drain and put lid on pan and shake to bash up teh edges a bit. Meanwhile heat baking tin in oven with goose fat at high heat. Add par boiled potatoes and toss in teh fat. Cook until golden - around 40 minutes at 220 deg c. (I never turn mine..)

Delia's method is: instead of putting the potatoes into the tray of fat and having to turn/baste each one, you pour the hot fat from the tray over the drained potatoes in the saucepan. Then put on the lid and (holding firmly) give the saucepan a shake to rough up the edges of the potatoes.
Then tip them back into the tray and spread out.

My personal tip on top of that is to cut them relatively small (higher ratio of crunch:soft potato) and to cook them for ages (an hour at least).

Good luck!

I'm veggy so we use butter instead of goose fat.

On one of Jamie Oliver's Xmas programmes he experimented with different fats / oils and butter was one of the better ones.

I second cutting at an angle to increase the surface area, saw that on a Nigella Xmas show.

We do the parboiling too. Going to freeze them at the boiled stage this year.

I recommend rooster potatoes. They give me the best darn roasties every time.

A friend of mine gently lays out parboiled potatoes on a chopping board and scratches the surface of each one with a fork, rather than shake themin the pan. This is an unbelievable load of faff but bloody hell, I've never tasted better roasties.

Buy decent potatoes.

Parboil. Rough up edges.

Goose fat. Put in roasting tin on the hob until it starts to shimmer and smoke - then quickly tip in pots, keep on heat until oil hot again, baste.

Put in hot oven 220C. I think they can take up to an hour to get them properly crunchy.

Get all that right and they will be seriously worth it.

As everyone else has said, the potato variety is most important. Maris Piper or King Edward.

I have had much success with rapeseed oil (good quality cold pressed) and will be using it this year instead of goose fat.

I think the semolina does the same job as the M&S stuff although its not seasoned. You shouldn't need it if you parboil, shake and them put them into hot fat as above.

Butter, not goose fat.
Parboil
Fluff up edges.
45 mins in a hot oven.
There you go :)

My father went one better on shaking to rough up the edges. He painstakingly went over each parboiled potato with a fork to ensure ruffly surfaces throughout.

Make your own in advance and freeze them!
Follow all the steps to parboil and shake in the pan.
Let them cool and lay them out on baking sheets.
Freeze solid then bag them up.
Cook from frozen, in hot oil or goose fat.

I am going to have to try that fork idea now....curse you all! :)

I've frozen mine - got them to almost golden & crispy, then spread them out on a baking tray and open froze them (to stop them sticking together) then put them in freezer bags. I've already done a trial run to make sure they taste ok like this - cooked them from frozen, and they were delicious - really crispy on the outside, and meltingly soft in the middle!

I always use a bit of semolina flour sprinkled over them before they go in the fat, as makes a crispier coating.

at goose fat. Can't get it here in Oz.

But, yes, par boil your tats first, and add them into the heated up fat in the oven. Turning occasionally. I sometimes don't peel my tats, and leave the skin on. Also sometimes add mixed herbs.

Once you fluff up the edges you can sprinkle a little bit of seasoned flour to give them a bit of a coating - helps crisp up the edges. I dont bother with too much oil - just a spritz in the tray and then a bit more on the top of the potatoes to baste.

Not too much help, but my FIL's roasting tray makes the best roast pots. I make good roast pots, but, using same potatoes, method, fat etc, they are great in that tray, it is square, but raised in the middle and seasoned buy late MIL through decades of use. If I were rude enough to ask him to leave something to me in his will, that would be it.

Failing that duck fat makes yummy roast potatoes too.

Rooster potatoes are great, failing that King Edwards then Maris Piper. Allow the parboiled spuds to stand for 5 mins in the colander to let the steam out before fluffing. Heat goose fat in a tray on the hob, put them in and baste still on the hob then get them into a hot oven for at least 45 mins, turning/basting half way.

Par boil pots ( any variety is fine)
Drain and cover in plain flour
Smash up the sides in metal colonder (sp) or pan
Hot oil lots of oil hot oven for at least 45 mins (use tge same roasting dish that you have cooked meat in for extra flavour) shake and turn at least once during cooking
Before serving drain on kitchen paper to remove oil and air crisp a bit
Works every time