Failed roast potatoes. Have I lost it?

[PollyOrange]

Done roasties on Christmas Day and also the week before and both batches weee awful. I've previously been good at roast potatoes but no more.
Maris piper potatoes. Par boiled for 15 mins from cold water. Mix of olive and rapeseed oil. (No animal fats ). The oil was hot or so I thought. Oven 180 fan. They just didn't seem to sizzle or crisp up no heated oil up and put more on but only a few were crispy.
Could they have been crowded ?
Ideas welcome please. I feel scared I've lost it.

I have no idea what type of potatoes I buy - Asda's cheapest. Parboil (as in, actual boiling) for 5 minutes, drain. No need to leave to get cold. Whilst parboiling, vegetable oil to cover the base of a shallow roasting tin, put at top of oven to heat up. Tip drained potatoes - whilst still hot - into hot vegetable oil, they will sizzle a little. Turn them in the oil to cover all sides, spoon some of the excess oil over the top. Cook on top shelf of oven for about an hour whilst cooking the roast, remove roast to 'rest', and turn the oven up. Roll the spuds in the oil and re-baste after 30 mins and 60 mins (when turning up heat). Serve at the 75 minute mark.

Rapeseed oil should be fine, can make for excellent roasties. I'd have the oven a little hotter.

Keep an eye on other things that you cook in your oven. We spent months not understanding why things like pies were never piping hot in the middle, or why cakes didn't rise properly (ruined DS's 2nd birthday cake, I had to run out to Tesco to buy one). We thought it was just us getting it wrong but eventually it became more obvious that the thermostat had gone on the oven.

Got a new oven and hey presto, we were masterchefs again!

Do we think it matters if I bring to boil from cold or plunge into hot water for the par boil?

Ghee might be a plant based alternative? Have to say though my Xmas beef dripping roasties were epic 😝

Could it be the oven? Mine wasn't heating up properly for a while before I realised. It was a simple fix.

I always toss mine in flour after parboiling, dries them and roughens them up, that is the key to crispness!

I've always been a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to roast potatoes. I used to have enjoyable discussions with my late father in law - who had a similar interest in creating the perfect roastie - about the relative merits of various potato types etc.

My favs are either Maris Piper or King Edward. Some reds are good too. I've always used the same process - par-boil/steam to near crumbling point, rough up gently, sprinkle on salt and olive oil and then roast in very hot olive oil in a tray which is not overcrowded. Always the same.

Yet results can vary and I've never worked out why. Sometimes they are effortlessly golden crispy on the outside and floury within - just heaven on a plate, whilst at other times they are just a bit solid and okay but nothing special.

I can only think that potato quality differs even within variety and some are much more waxy than others - not great for roasties. Some batches certainly seem to be more resistant to getting roughed up and crumbly than others. I've sometimes wondered if the time of year they were harvested or where or in which kind of soil the potatoes were grown makes a difference. I've never found a definitive answer!

I don't know if this helps op but I'm sure you haven't lost your touch!

It could be the oven as the turkey took way longer than expected and should have been out before the roasts went in. I used to be a roast spud legend but past two years have flopped. Still not impressed that Syed dad agreed when I said they weren't the best. "Not up to usual standard no Polly" Thanks

I always shake a bit of flour salt and pepper on to mine when I drain the water. Really adds to the crispiness.

Part boil, drain well and shake in a mix of flour, semolina and a pinch of bicarbonate of soda.
Have fat really hot (I use Trex), and roll them all in it before putting back in oven. Turn them halfway through.

No idea if boiling from cold makes any difference, but it’s what I do.

OP, forgot to mention that after the par boil, I dry and throughly shake with the flour and a nice amount of rock salt. Seems to help the crisp.

I like how op has been given every possible permutation of how to cook potatoes on this thread 😂

My guess is that your oven thermostat went on the blink 2 years ago. Get a thermometer.

Nope.

Cold potatoes from room temperature plunged into boiling water for 5 minutes then into sizzling oil.

180 in the tan assisted oven sizzles beautifully when the potatoes get dropped in. That's hot enough!

No I don’t think so - I would just parboil them until the outside is a bit soft and will therefore fluff up around the edges when you drain and shake them around and leave to dry for a few mins. I keep an eye on them as different spuds take different lengths of time to soften up.

Did you put more in the pan than usual. When I crowd my toasties they always need longer and the edges don't always crisp properly

I discovered roast potato seasoning and it's changed the game.

I do all a past pp said - parboil for 5 mins, drain, shake pan with lid to make potatoes fluffy - then I shake the seasoning all over the potatoes and make sure they are covered. Then add to a tray with hot oil. Best ever! All supermarkets should have it in the seasoning isle!

Try avocado oil or hemp oil as good sub for animal fats. 👌

It's the olive oil that's messing with them.
I just use a vegetable oil, crisp and dry works. I par boil for 12 mins, leave to dry and shake them a bit so they are bashed up. I have the oven very high and put them in a relatively shallow tray that's been preheated with. A generous amount of oil covering the whole tray bottom. Say an inch or so high. I baste and turn the potatoes so they are recoated in oil every 15 mins until they are done. Never seems to fail. The only time it did was when I ran out of vegetable oil and used olive oil instead. It's burning point is too low.

Bring to the boil from cold with the potatoes in.

Meh even subpar spuds will have been tasty, you've still got it! I'd have done em a bit hotter, 200 personally or higher if nothing else in (ideally double up with Yorkshires at 220).

That plus potentially crowding might have led to the lack of crispness but next time will be great

😁😁😁👌

I parboil until almost soft. Drain. Return to dry pan, cover with oil and salt and shake them to cover. This roughs up the outside. I cook on 220 until done. Always crunchy outside and fluffy inside. Never had that method fail me.

If the turkey was the issue I would be still waited for the turkey to come out before putting the pots in. 180 is ok when you need to have meat in the oven st the same time but I usually wang it up to 220 for the end - works well for Yorkshires too.