Roast potatoes without parboiling

[Baconking]

I was watching John & Lisa's kitchen yesterday and they were doing a tray bake Christmas Dinner.

I always par boil my potatoes/veg but they didn't and just put all the veg in to roast for an hour.
I'm tempted to give it a go to save on pot washing...has anyone tried this?
Does the veg all cook through and not burn on the outside?

@bettybeans
What does the baking soda do? I am intrigued.

I agree, it depends on the variety. Nice floury spud, not a waxy one type for roasting. That matters more than parboiled or not.

You can parboil the day before.

And if they’re falling apart they’ve been boiled for too long - reduce the time to just a few minutes, maybe 6.

@sashh

I' slightly amused that n one has mentioned how different varieties of potatoes work or don't work.

For roasts Maris Piper of Wilja are my favourites. Vivaldi are useless, but great for mash.

I think most people would assume that one would obviously start with potatoes that are well suited to roasting! I certainly made that assumption...

What fat is best? Is goose fat a must for Christmas Day?

Goose fat is lovely, beef dripping is gorgeous but we tend to keep them for special occasions.

Light olive oil works well for general Sunday roasts

We’re using goose fat (I have to say I resented buying it this year as we usually have goose - my favourite - for Christmas and use the fat from cooking it, but this year DH chose turkey). We do also have beef dripping so we might use that, although I might use that for Yorkshire puddings for the starter if that’s what I decide to do. Haven’t quite nailed down the menu yet...

@FindHungrySamurai

Traybakes are different - they’re not real roast potatoes and won’t soak up gravy properly but they’re perfectly edible.

Agree!

I love a potato/veg/chicken/etc traybake! But roast potatoes need to be cooked properly in order to be proper roast potatoes.

I'm all for par boiling them then shaking in the pan to rough them up a bit first. I'd rather buy Aunt Bessie ones than have tray bake style personally.

Potatoes roasted without par boiling have a weird, tight skin. The Joan Rivers of roast potatoes.

The Joan Rivers of roast potatoes

@CentrifugalBumblePuppy

Potatoes roasted without par boiling have a weird, tight skin. The Joan Rivers of roast potatoes.

I just laughed out loud at that

I parboil in the microwave and use the same bowl for veg and then gravy. I live alone though so I can get away with a small bowl.

I parboil the day before then store in the fridge. Going cold into sizzling hot fat helps them crisp up!

@CorvusPurpureus

How do you store them? Do they go a funny colour in the fridge?

Definitely par boil.

If they are sticking them not enough far or not hot enough. I use a really robust roasting tray get the oil (duck or goose for Christmas) really hit then when the potatoes have parboiled

Oops, parboil, put in colander and allow to cool. Then out the roasting tray on Your hottest ring, top in the potatoes and coat them in the hot fat. Keep heating the oil and cooking on the job n til they are just starting to crisp up underneath. This speeds up cooking time in the oven considerably and reduces the change of them sticking

[quote StopSquirtingBleachOnCaneToads]@CorvusPurpureus

How do you store them? Do they go a funny colour in the fridge?[/quote]
Nope! Not overnight, anyway. I've also done the freezing thing (toss them in fat & then freeze in bags) but tbh we have a roast so seldom that it's not really worth the freezer space.

But definitely for Xmas today it's one less thing to faff with if you've got the potatoes parboiled & in a box in the fridge.

Good to know, thank you!

I had thought about peeling and chopping the potatoes on Christmas eve and then leaving them in water in the fridge, but I'd read mixed things about whether or not they'd be ok. Actually being able to parboil them beforehand would be so much easier!

I always read that Maria Piper's are best for roasting but I find they fall to pieces after par boiling

It's great to have just a few that fall apart because then you get some even more delicious crispy bits for those that like them.

And just no to swimming in gravy. The gravy should stay mostly with the meat (and Yorkies if there are any). You can dip your tattie in it if required but you certainly don't want them swimming in it

They don't taste as fluffy 1 wouldn't myself

My Mum never par boiled, they were cooked in the tray that the meat had been in, in its juices. I remember they used to stick but they were never bad. Mum's roasties.

Presently I par boil to as far as I've got confidence for (over cooked really) but don't shake them. I lay them on a large plate and cover with a tea towel until I'm ready to cook them. I like them to go cold as they seem to cook better in hot fat when added cool. You can even freeze them at this stage and add to hot fat straight from freezer.

The par boiling to 'the edge' allows them to steam further inside, they're almost like mashed potato inside.