The perfect roast potato

[*Miss*Sparkle*]

My mum makes yummy roasties.

She peels the potatoes (medium size ones) and then cuts them in half lengthways. She cuts lots of slices close together in the domed top of the potato. The slices go about halfway through the potato. She then roasts them in vegetable oil, and bastes them with the oil a lot during the cooking process. The result is that the slices in the top of the potato puff up like a big fan of crispy roast potato goodness, and the centre of the potato remains nice and fluffy. Yum

 

[Gavin Bl]

cut up the damn potatoes and throw them in a baking tray with hot oil.

 

[Orang Utan]

cut up the damn potatoes and throw them in a baking tray with hot oil.

Not if you want perfect spuds - they'll be very ordinary if you do that and will possibly burn on the outside and be hard in the middle - you should at least parboile them first

 

[Xanadu]

cut up the damn potatoes and throw them in a baking tray with hot oil.

fuck yeah!

fucking pansies with your goose fat!

 

[Gavin Bl]

Not if you want perfect spuds - they'll be very ordinary if you do that and will possibly burn on the outside and be hard in the middle - you should at least parboile them first

Actually no, they have always been very nice, thanks.

 

[Orang Utan]

Actually no, they have always been very nice, thanks.

Then you have no palate!

 

[innit]

We had some good roasties last week, they were purple potatoes from Waitrose, looked a bit alarming on the plate but tasted good after peeling, parboiling, and roasting with some fat from the roast beef.

But my favourite is roasted new potatoes, skin on, no boiling (controversial I know), roasted in olive oil with a lemon cut up quite small so they taste all lemony.

 

[High Voltage]

I heard the Nigella thing about semolina - tried it with cornflour cos I had no semolina - worked a treat.

This sounds REMARKABLY like the Burger King Supa Fries kinda thing. (BK, I believe, coat their fries in powdered potato starch to give them a bit of extra "crisp"

So the semolina probably cooks and gives a crispy, crunchy coating.

or then again, possibly not

 

[guinnessdrinker]

fuck yeah!

fucking pansies with your goose fat!

yeah, just fry them in recycled diesel!

 

[aqua]

par boil them in salted water, drain and toss in goose fat, and cook

 

[sonik]

Nigella coated hers in semolina the other night that's just messing about to much. Par boiled, left to cool slightly then into super hot oil, perfect!

 

[omlette]

I do the same as everyone else (parboil, shake, oil preheated etc.) but I add a little bit (really just a little bit) of cayenne pepper, salt, garlic powder and onion powder to the oil as I'm adding the spuds, otherwise I find them rather bland.

<awaits flaming>

 

[Structaural]

Supds: Desiree are the best, according to my mum anyway.

First, boil until nearly done.
Second, Shake the boiled spuds around in a colander to fluff the edges up.
Third, preheat the baking tray in the oven, with oil/butter/animal fat in the bottom - fully covered but just a millimeter or so deep.
Fourth, take the tray out and tip the spuds in, then shake the tray around to get the spuds nicely coated.
Fifth, put them back in the oven and turn once or twice during cooking.

Wot he said. Exactly like that (but I just put the lid on the pan and shake 'em).

 

[Xanadu]

yeah, just fry them in recycled diesel!

even better

 

[Stanley Edwards]

Andalucian method. Piss easy. Fool proof and delicious.

Mix 50% olive oil with 50% water in a baking dish. Needs to enough to half submerge potatoes cut into quarter lengths. Add lemon juice, rosemary and thyme. Stick in a hot oven for 30 minutes (turning once) or, until golden brown.

More oven roasted fat chips but, fucking nice.

 

[bi0boy]

mine is simply boil them and put them in the same dish as the turkey/duck/whatever.

 

[tarannau]

Supds: Desiree are the best, according to my mum anyway.

First, boil until nearly done.
Second, Shake the boiled spuds around in a colander to fluff the edges up.
Third, preheat the baking tray in the oven, with oil/butter/animal fat in the bottom - fully covered but just a millimeter or so deep.
Fourth, take the tray out and tip the spuds in, then shake the tray around to get the spuds nicely coated.
Fifth, put them back in the oven and turn once or twice during cooking.

Oi mum. NOOOOOOOOOOOO.....

I'm going to have to disagree with the house of Crispy I'm afraid, Desiree potatoes are fairly firm and waxy. Great for Dauphinoise or gratin potatoes (they keep their shape) but not so good for roasties, which need that all important fluffiness imo. It's all about the Maris Piper or King Edward action in my house.

Good technique mind mum...

 

[Gavin Bl]

Oi mum. NOOOOOOOOOOOO.....

I'm going to have to disagree with the house of Crispy I'm afraid, Desiree potatoes are fairly firm and waxy. Great for Dauphinoise or gratin potatoes (they keep their shape) but not so good for roasties, which need that all important fluffiness imo. It's all about the Maris Piper or King Edward action in my house.

Good technique mind mum...

Agreed, Desiree is a great boiler - King Edwards or Maris Piper for roast - No Boiling!

 

[madzone]

Best ones I ever did were par boiled, dredged in seasoned flour and cooked in a roasting pan of hot fat ON THE HOB! Though I s'pose they aren't technically roast potatoes anymore

 

[trashpony]

Agreed, Desiree is a great boiler - King Edwards or Maris Piper for roast - No Boiling!

Strangely I have a bag of Maris Pipers from M&S and it says good for boiling, mashing, baking and microwaving. But not roasting

 

[Treacle Toes]

I do the same as everyone else (parboil, shake, oil preheated etc.) but I add a little bit (really just a little bit) of cayenne pepper, salt, garlic powder and onion powder to the oil as I'm adding the spuds, otherwise I find them rather bland.

<awaits flaming>

They sound great to me!

 

[tarannau]

Strangely I have a bag of Maris Pipers from M&S and it says good for boiling, mashing, baking and microwaving. But not roasting

I think that's because M&S also sell King Edwards, marketed as 'the ultimate roaster' or somesuch guff. They also cost 50p more on each bag, which are already way overpriced.

Good potatoes admittedly, but if you can take a bit of mud and some knobbly versions you'll save yourself way over half the money. I think the local market (Brixton) works out at about a third of the price...

 

[trashpony]

I think that's because M&S sell King Edwards, marketed as 'the ultimate roaster' or somesuch guff. They also cost 50p more on each bag, which are already way overpriced.

Good potatoes admittedly, but if you can take a bit of mud and some knobbly versions you'll save yourself way over half the money. I think the local market (Brixton) works out at about a third of the price...

I would normally buy my tatties at the market (Kilburn). But I just wanted to get the stuff for my roast dinner and get home. I'm very pregnant and shopping around has become a real pain in the arse

 

[Sweaty Betty]

Gordon ramsay says using charlotte potatoes is best for roasting, due to thier waxy consistency.....so thats good enough for me!!!

 

[tarannau]

I would normally buy my tatties at the market (Kilburn). But I just wanted to get the stuff for my roast dinner and get home. I'm very pregnant and shopping around has become a real pain in the arse

I know - I'm hardly in the same boat, but I still end up in the with the same issue myself when I fail to make the market on Saturday. There's either bumstandard white potatoes in Sangbo's local, their 'Taste the difference' conjobs or it's a trek to the evil empire of Tesco. Which is precisely why I too know the varieties and prices of spuds on offer at M&S.

Ridiculously overpriced of course, arguably the worse value of anything in the store. I would say that I didn't know how they got away with it, but I've found myself picking up the odd bag from there through a combination of laziness and choosiness.

 

[trashpony]

I know - I'm hardly in the same boat, but I still end up in the with the same issue myself when I fail to make the market on Saturday. There's either bumstandard white potatoes in Sangbo's local, their 'Taste the difference' conjobs or it's a trek to the evil empire of Tesco. Which is precisely why I too know the varieties and prices of spuds on offer at M&S.

Ridiculously overpriced of course, arguably the worse value of anything in the store. I would say that I didn't know how they got away with it, but I've found myself picking up the odd bag from there through a combination of laziness and choosiness.

White potatoes are awful. I had to buy some the other weekend because there was nothing else. They go grey when you cook them

Sometimes you just have to M&S

 

[Structaural]

I found a jar of goose fat at my local butcher - my taters are gonna be great!

 

[Xanadu]

I know - I'm hardly in the same boat, but I still end up in the with the same issue myself when I fail to make the market on Saturday. There's either bumstandard white potatoes in Sangbo's local, their 'Taste the difference' conjobs or it's a trek to the evil empire of Tesco. Which is precisely why I too know the varieties and prices of spuds on offer at M&S.

Ridiculously overpriced of course, arguably the worse value of anything in the store. I would say that I didn't know how they got away with it, but I've found myself picking up the odd bag from there through a combination of laziness and choosiness.

I always thought the mangos for £2 each were the biggest ripoff at M&S. My parents often get a whole crate for £2.

 

[dynamicbaddog]

I did the Nigella and coated them with semolina after parboiling them in the microwave

I had one hot am about to go get another one and crunch into it

mmmm yummy

I did this too, and they are the best roast spuds I've ever made

 

[crustychick]

Crispy's mum knows the score