Perfect Roast Potato's

[Headtime]

I can never get my roast potato's to taste the same as my mother used to make. Without resorting to goose fat (as has been recommended by friends), does anyone know how to get them crispy on the outside, with a few black bits, and light and fluffy on the inside. Thanks.

[melody2002]

Ok Headtime. Firstly, get ya fat as hot as can be in the oven. Boil for approx. 5 mins. your potatoes in a large saucepan. Drain all water and put lid on and shake vigourously until you see 'fluffy bits' on your potatoes. Then, carefully introduce them to your scorcing fat turning them so that they are drenched in fat. Then cook for an hour. They come out very crispy and also your potatoe should be size of jacket potatoe for best effect. As to the 'black' bits on them - I suggest your Mother may have not cleaned her tins out properly!

[treaclefight]

see now i boil the potatoes until they are cooked through (20 mins), the hot fat bit is essential, the hotter the better and baste them all over, lots of heat is the important bit, but i like my tatoes quite small, so you get more crispy surface area.

[Headtime]

Cheers Melody...can I perchance ask a couple of suplimentary questions that are at the root cause of my tatty-woes??? How much fat (and do you mean animal fat or veg oil or olive oil) do you need in the tin when heating it? A centimetre? Half an inch? Also, roast meat often requires a much lower temperature, gas mk 5...How 'Hot' is Hot? How can you do the potatos at the same time, and not totally zap your joint? Thanks again, H

[treaclefight]

cm of fat is ok, put your tatoes right at the top of the oven where its hottest for the last half hour of the joint cooking. the joint needs to come out of hte oven and have 5 minutes rest before being carved, that gives your tatoes another fifteen minutes at the end where they're the only thing in the oven and can be cooked on warp factor 9 for that time

[Gef]

A good joint will retain its heat for quite a while (cover with foil) and no problem if served on heated plates with hot gravy etc. Peel tatties and cut into four if they're palm sized. Par boil for about 10-12 mins then drain and shake until they are fluffy. At the same time heat oil (not Olive) in a roasting tin (just enough for coating, they shouldn't be sitting in oil) at about 220C. Place tin on a hot heat and transfer and baste tatties in oil. Cook for about 45 mins turning halfway through. I used to make my homemade Yorkshires to my Mum's recipe but now (like she did latterly) use Auntie Bessie's frozen ones. 4 minutes in a very hot oven whilst you are serving the rest.

[chijiki]

Gef, good of you. Now tell us about the iron filings in your cornflakes !!

[woodpam]

Perfect answers. I would only add that after draining the potatoes it's best to leave them in the pan with the lid off so that any residual water on their surface evaporates as steam before doing the shaking to fluff up the surface. Too much oil will make them soggy and a quick baste every 20 minutes will ensure maximum crispness. When you take the tray out to baste them be sure to shut the oven door to keep the heat up. If your mum's had black bits on them she may have put them around the meat (on a lower heat than recommended gere).

[woofgang]

I use olive oil, but your mum probably used dripping, great taste, but the house smells for days afterwards

[treaclefight]

i use vegetable oil because i find that olive oil gives off smoke at the temperature (warp factor 9) that i cook my roasties at, is my olive oil inferior? it's certainly not the most expensive.

[melody2002]

Hi again - I only use a very small amount of fat in tin. e.g so it just covers the bottom. When I say 'drench' I mean 'coat' and when I say 'scorching' I mean leave tin in oven for 20-30 mins prior to putting in pots. They don't have to be cooked at 250 or singed at 300! - It is the initial introduction to the fat that is the essential part so that it 'scolds' the potatoe which in turn creates the fluffy crispy bits (same rule as Yorkshire's - very hot fat initially). I use sunflower oil (Flora) and cook at what ever temp. my meat needs to be done 180 ish. And size of potatoe seems to be down to preference although I swear to v. large pots so that they remain extremely firm. Essentially also is the fact that the pots are not too brown. Quite pale but brown, but not dark brown to burnt. Hope this helps if not, diet. You can only have boiled ones then!!!!!!!!!.

[Hamish]

If you are not bothered about the rough out side you can cook the pots from raw. Buy good pots. Cut pot the size of your fist into four quaters. Coat in oil and put in with roast (about 1hour) at 180C.

[darth vader]

If you can't get goose fat then buy pork fat from your butchers, failing that use dripping, or vegetable oil (don't use olive oil or sunflower oil as they will leave a residual smell for days!). Also sprinkle with dried rosemary and a pinch of salt, after you have firstly coated them in oil. Personally i don't bother with the par boiling perlarva and they go straight in the oven along with the joint, cook for an hour and a quarter to an hour and a half, basted a couple of times - that'll give you your nice "black" bits

[Headtime]

Three roast stars to you all for all your answers...

[paulz]

Couldn't agree more with all the tips above, I'd add after the par boil, straining & standing for about 5 mins, chuck a few spoonfulls of flour [mixed with salt/pepper - paprika works well] The give them the shaking of their life till they're all a bit coated with the flour, if you worried about too much fat after the first 40 mins, strain the excess off, flip them all over, then back in the oven, they'll go even crispier. Enjoy!! :+}

[FTVS]

I actually dry mine off with kitchen roll before putting on the oven. I believe this makes them crispier but hey, could just be a wacko tip acquired from my Granny. You are now going to have the most perfect roasties ever and we expect an update as to how they're going!

[Spellmaster]

As a well-meant tip, the plural of potato is potatoes. An apostrophe denotes a missing letter or ownership, ie a potato's skin.

[drochit]

Well Mister Spillmester I hope all your potatoes are precisely to your liking.