How do you roast potatoes

[Amyw Profile]

Now I've always made roast potatoes by giving them a good shake once they've been drained , to ruffle them up and give them crispy edges. Apparently Tom Kerridge says to tak them out the pan individually and put them on a cooling rack to cool before roasting.

How do you roast yours ? Are you a ruffler?

[jeral Profile]

I'm a ruffler - I even break steak chips in half before the final crisping fry to get that ruffled edge. Normally though I'm more likely to marinate them, Bombay style, before baking after the parboil stage. (The taste of the actual spud still has to be one I like though.)

[strictlysalsaclare Profile]

I am a ruffler too. I did make them via the Tom Kerridge method once out of curiosity, but they were the worst ones I have ever made!

[Badger's Mate Profile]

Ruffler too. Let them dry out afterwards. Use some dripping, either as is or with oil, salt them well. Don't overcrowd the pan.

Different varieties produce different results. King Edwards, Cara, Desirée, Maris Piper work for me. Baby new potatoes roasted with skins on are nice but are not roasties as we know them.


I don't bother ruffling wedges, just ping them until cooked, cool & cut. Roast with spices.

[dennispc Profile]

I suppose I’m a ruffler and a cooler, but depends on time scale.

Generally drain in a metal colander, shake about, season and leave.

Putting them on a cooling tray individually shows he has plenty of time and doesn’t do the washing up!

[Stokey Sue Profile]

I ruffle and dry off well and I cook them one of two ways

1) into very hot fat or oil on the hob, turn them over and just heat a few minutes until they stop spitting and steaming, which means they are completely dry on the surface and will go very crisp quite quickly when the pan is transferred to the oven

2) when I need to be organised and starting on the hob is going to be disruptive , parboil the potatoes well in advance, dry off and put in the roasting tin with quite a lot of veg oil, making sure they are well coated. Put to one side for a couple of hours then put in a hot oven. It will look as if they have soaked up all the oil but it reappears very quickly and they come out crisp and dry.

The difference in the methods probably goes to show that if you have the right spuds and a hot oven you will get decent roasties!

[strictlysalsaclare Profile]

A weighty enough tin also helps no end! I also find that it doesn't really matter what oil/fat I use either, although I wouldn't use EVOO, due to it's smoking point.

[jeral Profile]

Talking of cooling, I watched a Youtube re triple cooked chips and the cook refrigerated for 30 mins after each stage. Something to do with the reaction when they hit the hot oil.

It's not something I've done with roasties especially, although when I marinate the parboiled ones in oil/spices, they'll automatically be straight from the fridge when cooked.

I can't say if chilling does make a difference, although their being in the fridge would advantageously keep the counterspace clear.

[Amyw Profile]

When I ate meat, I found goose or duck fat definitely gave the best flavour . Maris pipers are my preferred choice of spud

[Renee Profile]

I always use duck or goose fat at Christmas, but at other times, I use the fat from the meat so that they take on the flavour from the meat.

[Pampy Profile]

There was a chef on yesterday's Saturday Kitchen (Freddy Bird, I think) who said that he didn't like roast potatoes done in duck or goose fat because he think it makes the potatoes a bit chewy.

[karadekoolaid Profile]

Peel my spuds.
Boil them for 1 minute; drain.
Set oven ; heat an enormous baking tray full of oil. No duck fat, guinea fat, ostrich fat - can´t afford it!
When oil is hot, dump potatoes into it- if they don´t sizzle, then the oil is not hot enough.
Cook until browned all over, making sure to turn the spuds from time to time.
PS - I have no idea what "ruffle" means

[Stokey Sue Profile]

Ruffle isn’t a technical term - more often described as roughing up the surface, giving the spuds a little shake until the surface is a little fluffy so there is more surface to go crisp

The last time I did spuds in duck fat they were a bit chewy, I thought it was because the fat wasn’t as dry as it should be, it was fat I’d saved from cooking, not bought in a jar, but maybe it’s not me

Mum used to used white shortening such as Cookeen, very crisp and golden

[karadekoolaid Profile]

Thanks for the definition, Sue!
I think my mum probably used the same! "Lard", she used to say - and aforementioned lard was saved for the next Sunday lunch...
and the next
and the next

[Badger's Mate Profile]

Mum used lard.

I use dripping, which at this time of year is from the goose. Indeed for most of the year it's from the same goose...

If mine seem insufficiently crisp they probably need longer. Generally I've tried to get too many in the pan.

[scullion Profile]

i've often tried to replicate the roast potatoes we used to have at school. sometimes i get close.
they were scrubbed, skin left on, cut in half lengthwise, put cut side down on a tray, covered in veg or olive oil and a bit of salt and bunged in the oven for as long as it took to get a crispy layer on the cut side which was two or three millimetres thick.
they were fantastic and served every friday with fabulous spaghetti.

[dennispc Profile]

For years I’ve had a fat pot, mostly duck or goose, but decided for health reasons to use olive oil. Don’t think I should keep that for very long.

I like Tom Kerridge, but for some our families there wouldn’t be enough work top space (nor cooling trays) for their amount of spuds.

[jeral Profile]

For years I’ve had a fat pot, mostly duck or goose, but decided for health reasons to use olive oil. Don’t think I should keep that for very long.
...

I wonder if fat is cheaper in the long run for deep frying since you're not supposed to top oil up or use it more than a handful of times.

Also, a lot of oil seems to be absorbed by the outer of an item considering the amount that gets wasted when blotting off on kitchen paper. Probably doesn't happen so much if left to drain over the hot pan for a minute or two.

[Stokey Sue Profile]

I was just making a batch of Burmese crispy garlic to use as an ingredient in another dish

And I caught myself wondering if I could use a bit less than the stated 150 ml Oil to save a bit. Then I worked out that the total cost of all that oil is only 18 pence using KTC sunflower oil. The garlic cost 40 p. The oil will be discarded, it caught a little after I fished the garlic out.

If I’d been able to buy the garlic ready made, which you can sometimes, I’d have paid £1 without thinking

Something about ships and ha’pporths of tar…

[Renee Profile]

For years I’ve had a fat pot, mostly duck or goose, but decided for health reasons to use olive oil. Don’t think I should keep that for very long.

Actually, duck and goose fats are high in ‘heart healthy’ monounsaturated (55g compared to 19.8g in butter) and polyunsaturated fats (10.8g compared to 2.6g in butter).
Goose Fat is also rich in Oleic acid C18.1 (a specific type of monounsaturated fatty acid) which can lower blood cholesterol levels. Goose fat contains on average 58% oleic acid, C18.1, and is generally higher in comparison to other animal fats.