how do i make perfect roast potatos ?

sukysue

Agree with all that's bin said but if in a hurry get tesco finest frozen roast pots with rosemary they are brilliany !!

trippy

On the subject of Maris Piper potatoes, these are currently being sold as Tesco Value potatoes for a fraction of the cost. If you look at the variety on the label it will tell you if they are Maris Piper. We have stocked up as they really do make the best roast potatoes.

nearlyrich

I use Desiree potatoes and since my healthy eating drive I have tried spraying them with Frylite (Sunflower or Olive oil both work well) I also par boil and shake the pan as per Delia, not usd flour on them but I get perfect crisp on the outside roasties using this method.

If not feeling healthy you can just stick them in a thin drizzle of olive oil or any other cooking oil that you have in the cupboard. If you want extra flavour fresh rosemary and garlic mixed in with the oil, bit of good quality black pepper and sea salt mmmmmm I am hungry now and I just had ny healthy lunch!

lil_me

I'm going to try some of the ideas this Sunday, never done them before apart from asking Aunty Bessie so will give them a whirl Thanks for the tips and if all else fails I am off to Tescos for the frozen ones

dora37

We had this passed onto us by a friend, whose friend is a chef:

Par boil potatoes.

Fluff up

Place into a baking dish.

Pour made up chicken stock to about 1/2 up the potatoes.

Either put a knob of butter on each one or spray Frylight (as we do).

Place in hottish oven.

The potatoes will soak up the stock making them succulent inside (do not taste of chicken!) and crispy on the outside.

As I like them crispy on the top and soft at the bottom, I don't turn mine.

Everybody loves them and they are healthier than some other options.:j

trippy

I've always found that if I don't parboil but start them off slowly in beef dripping they absorb the flavour then I turn up the heat and crisp them up. Otherwise they just taste like chips or baked potato inside.

kethry

Heston, in one of his search for perfection programmes covered roasties: he did the same potato the same method *except* one was parboiled in salted, one parboiled in unsalted. He said the salted water gave a fluffier on the outside (and therefore crispier) potato. He also did the shake-em-in-a-colander thing.

Oh, and a couple other tips.

1) When you put the parboiled roasties into fat, don't tip em all in all at once, because you lower the temperature of the fat dramatically when you do that.

2) Make sure you have a really good roasting tin (I use a solid cast iron frying pan) and put it on the ring with the ring on high, so the fat, whatever you use, is smoking. then add the potatoes slowly one by one so the fat has a chance to get back up to temperature before you add the next one. This means that the outside of the potato crisps up and "seals" straight away and doesn't absorb too much oil, which means the inside "steams" as well and creates that lovely fluffy creamy inside we all know and love. once all your potatoes are in, give it a few seconds to bring the heat back up then tilt and spoon hot fat over the potatoes and quickly pop into the oven.

3) try to give your roasties a few minutes after shaking in the colander before putting them in the hot fat, so that steam continues to come off them and they "dry" off. If you do this you'll find that you have much less in the way of violent spitting and hot fat splashes - its water that causes that, the water coming into contact with the hot pan, and evaporating all at once to cause a sort of mini-explosion in the pan.

As you can see, roasties are something of an obsession of mine... lol

HTH

keth
xx

jembie

I don't have the time or inclination for all that so I just buy frozen Roasters. As someone else said Aunt Bessie's usually but probably Asda's own this year.

claire23

Hi

Been reading this thread with interest. I am going to try cooking my own roasties this year (went to my mums last year and everything for dinner was that yukky "bung it in the oven straight from the freezer!" stuff) I feel that even just for one day everything should be cooked from fresh!

Anyway - Everyone is giving temperatures for electric ovens - can someone please translate them for Gas ovens please!

claire

kathyd_2

claire23 wrote:

Hi

Been reading this thread with interest. I am going to try cooking my own roasties this year (went to my mums last year and everything for dinner was that yukky "bung it in the oven straight from the freezer!" stuff) I feel that even just for one day everything should be cooked from fresh!

Anyway - Everyone is giving temperatures for electric ovens - can someone please translate them for Gas ovens please!

claire

I agree Claire, it would be such a shame for good home cooking to become a thing of the past when with just a little effort we could all be eating 'cooked from scratch' meals.

temperatures:
150C = Gas 2
160-170C = Gas 3
180C = Gas 4
190C = Gas 5
200C = Gas 6
210-220C = Gas 7
230C = Gas 8
240C = Gas 9