Potato Wedges? - All you ever wanted to know about how make potato wedges

lex

I can't find the dehydrater on the Tchibo site anymore? Has anyone got one recently?

lex

amazon_spice

I use Sharwoods cajun spice mix. Not the cheapest but v. nice.

ladygrey_2

I tried making potato wedges last week and they ended up very soft and broke up easily,
are any particular potato types best for the job?
should I be parboiling first?
how hot should the oven be?
do they need turning?

and for moneysaving which do you recommend as the best all round potato for most dishes

Edinburghlass_2

I had some potatoes cooked in chilli oil at the w/end and they very near blew my head off

arkonite_babe

A waxy potato will hold shape better I think, your potatoes must have been "floury" hence the tendancy to fall apart.

Have a look at http://www.britishpotatoes.co.uk/variety.asp

HTH

ladygrey_2

so which potatos would you class as waxy arkonitebabe?

moggins

Desiree are waxy ones.

p.s. I've been having problems with jacket wedges recently so I experimented a bit yesterday and cooked them in the microwave on high for 5 minutes beforehand. It was a definite improvement.

arkonite_babe

http://www.britishpotatoes.co.uk/varietieschart.pdf

Anything between a 1 and a 4 should do your job. It all depends what varieties are available in your area.

HTH

Debt_Free_Chick

ladygrey wrote:

I tried making potato wedges last week and they ended up very soft and broke up easily,
are any particular potato types best for the job?
should I be parboiling first?
how hot should the oven be?
do they need turning?

and for moneysaving which do you recommend as the best all round potato for most dishes

They would also break up if you placed them too close together as the steam released during the baking process can't easily escape - essentially, you end up steaming the potatoes, rather than baking them.

The same would happen if you use a roasting tin rather than a baking tray .... again, the steam is trapped in the tin. With a tray, it can escape more quickly.

Too much oil and too low a temperature would make them soggy and break up too.

I have to admit, we make oven chips or wedges with any type of potato. Desiree are not particularly waxy, but I agree they're not as floury as, say, King Edwards. But we make oven chips with King Edwards ....

My suggestions .....

A very light coating of oil. In fact, it's sufficient just to coat the baking tray to stop the pots from sticking. Or use Bake-O-Glide or a teflon liner. If you want to coat them in oil, use no more than 1 tbsp for a generous two-person portion.

Use a very shallow tin or better still, a baking tray.

Spread the wedges out and leave a good space between them.

Use a hot oven - sorry, I can't be precise as I have an AGA so don't use "settings" or temperatures. But I bake my oven chips in the top of the AGA which heats to approx 500°F, for 35 mins. For thicker wedges, you might need to do 15-20 mins in a hot oven and then 15-20 mins at a lower temperature, to get them cooked through.

I wouldn't parboil first as this is more likely to cause breaking up.

HTH

astep70uk

I use Maris Pipers for everything. In the supermarkets they are expensive, but I go to my local farm shop and pay £3.50 for a 25Kg sack :j