OT but sort of DIY

[Mick Cant]

Hi all, Am sorry if this is too far OT. There used to be a group about food and cooking, but I lost it in a computer crash years ago, my server does not carry group descriptions so it is difficult to find new suitable groups.

I am a male living alone who wants to improve my meals now that I am retired and can spend more tome preparing and cooking meals.

My problem at the moment is getting roast potatoes nice and crispy! I peel them and wash them then part boil them for 10 min, then roast in a pre heated oven at 220 in my combination microwave oven. I roast them in beef dripping for around 30 minuets turning them and they come out ok but could do with being a bit crisper on the outside.

Can anyone help with a group or where I am going wrong please? Mick.

[Jim]

1. Try bashing them around in the pan after parboiling them
2. Try basting the oil over the top of them several times
3. You may be using the wrong potatoes - some are "fluffier" than others

Can't help with a recommendation of a cookery group, unfortunately - uk.food+drink.misc?

[Adrian C]

Buy them frozen and follow the instruction on the packet!

(I'm sure Delia Smith said this)

[The Wanderer]

Nah, s'prising what gets discussed here.

Are you using the right potatoes? King Edwards are good for roasting. Several supermarkets label their different spuds as 'Good for......'

Hmm, don't normally parboil for more than 3-4 minutes, personally.

Drain fully then shake the saucepan for a couple minutes before adding the potatoes to the fat. This makes the outside of the potatoes go a bit floury and fluffy so they take up the fat better on the outside.

Preheat the fat and place the dish onto a hot hob so the fat is good and hot as you add the spuds. Turn the spuds to coat them with fat before you pop them in the oven.

Again, I favour a longer time at a lower temperature - 45 minutes at 180 C in a fan-assisted oven. I'm guessing your combi microwave will have fan assist for baking.

Goose fat is *the* roasting medium for spuds. Readily available at supermarkets.

[Invisible Man]

I don't like this thread. Just lost 3 stone and got my blood pressure and bad clorestrol within reasonable limits. Roast spuds are now a rare delicacy here.

[Owain]

Oscillates between spammy and bitchy most of the time.

Here's a Heston Blumenthal recipe

[The Medway Handyman]

Aunt Bessies roast potatoes are the business! Give them a try.

[Rod]

At this time of year, getting good roasting potatoes is at the least difficult, and quite probably impossible. They will get better. But far too many potatoes today seem to be very un-floury, even in winter. Also, so many varieties blacken once boiled and become very unattractive.

In addition to par-boiling until they are nearly falling apart, you might find a sprinkling of flour or fine semolina helps. Also best if you can let them dry off a bit after the boiling.

Your oven temperature sounds a bit high to me - you need the time to allow the surface to dry out and crisp up. I find a setting of around

170 in our fan oven works pretty well.

Yesterday I did what I usually do around now when hankering after roasties - get some Charlottes, par-boil in their skins and lightly roast with just a hint of olive oil. Not quite what you asked about - they are not as crispy as the real thing - but pretty damn nice. (No other variety I have tried works as well as Charlottes.)

Our other effective satisfier of the hankering is what we call square potatoes. Cut potatoes (old or new) into approximate cubes - something like 7 to 12 mm each side. Par-boil for 5. Drain and allow to dry off thoroughly. Spread on a pre-heated baking/roasting tray of some sort with some olive oil and cook turning several times. Halfway through, add bay leaves (love them fresh), rosemary, thyme, pepper and some mild chilli powder - or anything else you fancy. (Salt as desired.)

[Andrew Gabriel]

liquid nitrogen in the recipe...

[Fergus O'Rourke]

Google "Niall Harbison" - he probably does it on video

[Owain]

I was more expecting oxty-acetylene

Owain

[The Natural Philosopher]

crap. You need an aga or fan blown. and a bit more heat.

Probably encase them in car body filler, use a blowlamp, and then split with an angle grinder :-)

>

[The Natural Philosopher]

Kind Edwards are good for wallpaper paste, but not much sles IMHO.

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[Frank Erskine]

On Mon, 27 Jul 2009 19:43:48 +0100, The Natural Philosopher had this to say:

And spray with WD-40.

[The Natural Philosopher]

To taste, only.

[chris French]

Yup, I usually aim for 5, 10 mins sounds too long, they breakup too much.

Yup.

I do ours for at least 45 minutes - probably more like an hour at about Mark 6 (200C?).

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[tinnews]

What on *earth* have roast potatoes got to do with your cholestorol level? I'm not even sure they have any effect on blood pressure either.

[brass monkey]

My local carvery swears that all they do is deep fry 'em, absolutely gorgeous. Knocks Aunt Bessies (which we use at home) into a cocked-hat.

[Peter Parry]

Firstly choose your potato. This time of the year Red Rooster are acceptable, later Cara or King Edward.

Secondly. when you par boil them use lots of salt, for two persons worth of potatoes use at least a tablespoon of salt. The salt is only absorbed into the outer skin but helps create a very crisp finish.

When they come out of par-boiling put them on a tray to dry for a minute or so and then distress them slightly by putting them back in the dry empty pan and shaking them a bit.

Personally I find beef dripping a bit strong. Duck fat is good or Rapeseed oil. Olive oil on roast potatoes is foul.

[Pete Verdon]

Personally I tend to stick with Saint Delia for stuff like this.