Roast potatoes – how do you cook yours?

We always parboil in lightly salted water from 5 to 10 minutes (depending on the type of potato). If they are very firm, we may shake them in an old colander with a lid over it to rough them up. Then roast in a hot over for 35-45 minutes in proper fat – goose or beef fat, depending what is available. Now that the ‘experts’ have finally decided that advice on animal fat being so bad, it is good to know that the traditional recipes were just fine after all!

Always make sure your par boiled. Potatoes are dry, don’t roast them straight after draining them.

Pretty good advice from Adam unsurprisingly – always par boil them!

You can put them to one side at this point and keep for 24 hours if you want to do some of the work in advance.

Goose fat is best (I bought extra at Xmas as it’s most readily available then) and it needs to be crackling hot. Rather than semolina I’ve used plain flour after giving them a good shake in a colander.

They come up nice and crispy!

Great to hear from all these people with their hints and tips. The one person I don’t think we’ll be hearing from is Aunt Bessie. Who knows what they get up to in the roast potato factory?

Mr Tayto makes a valid point, it is all about the reduction of steam in the oven.

I would personally recommend storing your potatoes in bags packed with rice, this will adsorb any residual moisture in your potatoes/cupboard.

To achieve the ultimate crispy skin, ideally empty your oven, additional items (such as roast chicken) create a lot of moisture in the oven’s atmosphere preventing the potatoes from achieving their optimal skin.

We used Chopin this Christmas – par boiled, drained, shaken and left lid off to cool and dry until ready to finish. Then into a tin with hot olive oil, basted, 200 deg C. We have made shallow cuts round each one before now, but not worth the effort.
I wonder what famous people would think having potatoes named after them? Nicola – well that’s OK.

I Par-Boli my potatoes then thoroughly drain and stand for a while. Place the roasting tray with fat or whatever you choose to roast with, in the oven to get very hot before adding the potatoes for roasting. Baste all of the potatoes with the hot fat and sprinkle with salt (helps to brown them)Leave to roast on a high heat, checking occasionally. If you have any tasty juice left from the roasted meat spoon that over the potatoes. Should come out crisp and tasty. Mum always did hers like this and hers were by far the best for taste.

You’re all wrong! My mum and her contemporaries always put raw potatoes round the roast so that they absorbed the meat juices. Leave them to cook while you go to church on a Sunday morning (optional). When the joint is cooked take it out to rest then whack up the heat to do the Yorkshire puddings and crisp the roasties whilst tuning in to Billy Cotton’s Band show on the radio. Happy days.