Roast spuds.......what is your foolproof method?

[Dave7]

Well they turned out well.....thanks to all.
Had no goose fat and they were in th'oven when I read the tip about flour.
TBH if I could reach I would pat my own back

 

[jowwy]

MrsD can't stand them (I am not keen). ABs Yorkshire puds are OK for a quick fix.

I agree…aunt bessies are very dry and tastless, compared to a fresh roasted spud

 

[jowwy]

View attachment 604391
Well they turned out well.....thanks to all.
Had no goose fat and they were in th'oven when I read the tip about flour.
TBH if I could reach I would pat my own back

No meat???

 

[Dave7]

No meat???

Yep..... that is roast chicken at the top.
Not much tbh as we both enjoy the veg and spuds.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

The Sunday roast at pub.

 

[stephec]

Aunt Bessies. Can't go wrong.

Weirdo, at your age you should know how to do a proper job.

 

[welsh dragon]

Weirdo, at your age you should know how to do a proper job.

At my age? You. You young whippersnapper NOT

 

[stephec]

At my age? You. You young whippersnapper NOT

I've still not given up hope of ending up in the dungeon. 😊

 

[postman]

Get oil hot in oven first before adding spuds. Part boil em but not too much. Sprinkle with salt (and again after basting and turning).

edit: add herbs to your taste, fresh rosemary etc.

Me and 19 C C members will be at your place next Sunday lunchtime.I'll bring a bottle of red.looking forward to seeing you.

 

[swee'pea99]

Peel potatoes and cut to desired size (not too small).

Place in a pan of salted cold water, bring up to boil, cook until just softening on edges.

Drain away all the water, keep in the pan, and shake so edges roughen.

Pour over some crisp and dry rapeseed oil to coat them all over. Place some more of this oil in the bottom of a roasting tin, place potatoes into tin, making sure all sides have oil on them.

Sprinkle with a little more sea salt over the top (and sprinkle sparingly some dried thyme if desired).

Roast in a preheated oven for about an hour on 200c (Fan assisted 180) / Gas 6.

Turn half way through cooking.

Cook until crispy on outside (should be fluffy on inside).

Chef's tip: If out want to get them fully cooked ahead, as long as you drain all the oil off, they can sit on the side, and you can put them back in the oven, in a dry roasting tin, for about 15 mins at same as above.

Above provided by Mrs TB, professional chef, not by me

Is the correct answer! I would substitute only olive oil and re-stress a point made earlier: that the choice of spud is crucial. The OP specified Maris Piper, which are fine/good, and often used hereabouts, though given my druthers I'd always go King Edward.

1. After peeling, “turn“ each potato piece. Meaning, take all the sharp edges off the spud with knife or peeler, like you would take the arriss off, say, a window ledge timber before undercoating, so the paint sticks. This way (and chefs waste a lot of spud in turning them all to the same shape and size - don’t do that!) you don’t get burnt edges, but wholly crispy outers.
2. After par-boiling and cooling, “scruffle” each potato (this word I made up). Meaning, take a fork and scrape the entire surface of the floury delight until it is thoroughly scruffled. This way, you will get a fluffier and yet deeper crispiness. The skins will shatter between your teeth, and your dinner will be the envy of the neighbourhood.

You work on each spuddy with a fork? Are you, like, mad? Drain 'em, put the lid back on, shake till done. Done.

As for 'turning' pieces, interesting. It does bring to mind my 10 year old mind being boggled by watching carrots in a factory being 'turned' to become the uniform shape & size preferred by the American consumer, a process which left about half the carrot used in the bin.

Oh, one more thought for anyone who's never done it, you test for the 'doneness' of the boiling potatoes by poking/scraping them with a fork. If they still feel hard, boil on. They're done when you can feel the surface give slightly to the fork...when you feel you can scrape them. Doneness matters, because if they're too hard they won't go floury, soak up oil and get crispy.

I used to use lard, because my mum always did. I was recommended olive oil for health reasons, and it seems fine to me. And healthier.

 

[Toshiba Boy]

Re Olive Oil v Rapeseed Oil (fully acknowledging its down to personal choice), and again deferring to Mrs TB and her 35 years as a chef, Olive Oil tends to make the roast potatoes less crispy than Rapeseed Oil, and can make them a little too "oily".

But, hey what do I know, the only cookery programme I ever watch is Nigella, and whenever my wife "catches" me watching, she always asks "So what's she making?" to which I always have to honestly reply " I have absolutely no idea!"

 

[Profpointy]

Some of you are over complicating this.

Chop up your spuds, smear 'em in (preferably goose) fat, sprinkle with coarse salt, bung 'em in the oven at 180C until done.

 

[Eziemnaik]

Steam/boil untill near breaking point, toss a couple of times in colander/gastro to rough up the edges, tray with infused oil, heavy seasoning and voila. Have tried duck fat, beef dripping, pork fat, olive oil, goose fat and my favourite is cheap sunflower oil - it lets other ingredients shine.

 

[Dolorous Edd]

When you take the roasting tin with the pre-heated oil out of the oven in order to add the spuds, put the tin on a hot hob so that the oil stays really hot and does not have a chance to cool down. Spuds should sizzle when they first make contact with the oil. The hot hob technique transformed my roast spuds from poor to really pretty good.

 

[winjim]

Some of you are over complicating this.

Chop up your spuds, smear 'em in (preferably goose) fat, sprinkle with coarse salt, bung 'em in the oven at 180C until done.

It's a recipe which contains in the title all the instructions you really need.