Prepping potatoes etc

[QueenMabby]

I've had this great idea that I'll pre-par-boil my potatoes and parsnips tomorrow, toss them in goose fat and then put them in large freezer bags and stick them in the fridge until it's time to put them in the oven on Christmas Day.

Will this work or will they go black and gross?

That should be fine! Freezer them on a flat tray first then once frozen can shove them in a ziplock bag together (freeze flat first so they don't freeze and stick together)

Just re read and seen you wrote freezer bags but meant to fridge them. I would freeze them I think to keep them fresh. Other option is don't part boil them just prep everything and leave them sat in bowls of water in the fridge

Par boil the evening before then drain and fluff them up a bit.
Leave to steam dry then put into a bowl and refrigerate.

On the day just heat up the goose ( or any other) fat , add the cold potatoes and roast as normal.
The chilling really helps.

I’ll do what I did last year - par boil tomorrow, steam dry until totally cool. Then put on a baking sheet in the fridge - uncovered (that was a leap of faith). On Monday, in hot fat in the oven straight out of the fridge. I wouldn’t freezer bag.

Ok. So no fat on them before they go in the fridge? I thought that would seal them in a it so they didn't go black...

Sorry OP, I think they'll go black if parboiled and then fridged. Freezing would work, but if you're going to do that you might as well just buy Aunt Bessie's, because they'll taste the same.

I'd do it in the morning if possible.

I parboil and coat in goose fat then freeze and cook from frozen. They take about 20-25 mins longer but are delicious. Nothing like aunt Bessie’s!

Parboiled potatoes won't go black overnight, you'll be fine 😊 no fat on beforehand, cold potatoes into hot fat is what you want to make them nice and crispy

I think I'm just do my usual of peeling and leaving in cold water overnight. Was just trying to cut out a step on Christmas morning but I think it's likely to be more trouble than it's worth!

Thanks for all the suggestions.

This is what I'll be doing. There's not enough room in my fridge or freezer for parboiled potatoes (the raw ones are in the garage).

Apparently don't clingfilm the bowl with them in or they'll get too moist and lose the fluffed up edges.
I'd just put them in a bowl in the fridge

This is a good plan

I did the pre-boil, oil and freeze potatoes when it was Lockdown at Easter (as I knew they wouldn't last and I couldn't get more so worth a try )
They were ok but nothing I'd repeat ,

I do the carrots, swede and sprouts and put in the fridge on Christmas Eve night then the parsnips and potatoes on Christmas Day

Yeah I'm just gonna peel and put in cold water as well . I keep looking for more cheats but after decades of doing Christmas dinner and many going before me , I think humanity has all Christmas dinner cheats we're gonna find .

www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/potato-recipes/best-roast-potatoes/#:~:text=Place%20the%20goose%20fat%20or,pop%20in%20the%20fridge%20overnight.

I did these last year - worked fine and were good . Mostly done on Xmas eve

I always peel, boil, fat and par roast the day before for maybe 20 minutes then leave to cook overnight and finish off the roasting the next day - works brilliantly!

@QueenMabby Batch Lady on youtube makes them ahead, freezes them and cooks them from frozen, details below. We were going to do this rather than have to deal with the pan you boil the potatoes in but this year we bought M&S goose fat ones so I hope they are as good as Dh's usual ones.

@PyramidDreams - I saw the batch last version but didn't fancy cooking from frozen. She has great recipes though!

@QueenMabby lots of people cook them from frozen even BBC Good Food has a recipe for it I trust BBC Good Food.

I think cooking from frozen actually turns out better than fresh. They go crispier imo.