A real one, this time....
When roasting potatoes for your sunday lunch/dinner, before putting them in the oven, cover each one with a light coating of olive oil. This will bring a nice crispy texture to your roast spud.

N.B: Don't go crazy on the oil! Just enough to coat it.
(The Stig, Mon 15 Sep 2008, 17:01, 23 replies, latest was 16 years ago)

it's best to do this
by first heating the oil in a roasting tin till it is hot as fuck, and then coating the spuds.

hot oil goes to work crisping your potatoes straight away.

surely everyone knows this after Nigella did it, but goose and duck fat makes the best roast potatoes when used in this way
( Vipros. clever got me this far, then tricky got me in, Mon 15 Sep 2008, 21:10, Reply)

Also
A fine dusting of semolina makes your spuds extra crispy and extra tasty.
(Bazongaloid, Mon 15 Sep 2008, 23:32, Reply)

I'm confused
I thought you had to put oil on something to roast it, Shirley its just baked otherwise
( Peej, Mon 15 Sep 2008, 23:39, Reply)

Wow!
Any others oh master?

Use a pan and water to boil an egg perhaps?
( Ring Of Fire A petty, drooling belming butthurt retard., Tue 16 Sep 2008, 7:46, Reply)

btw
Olive oil doesn't crisp up as nicely as regular sunflower oil.fact. Try it if you don't believe me.
(The Archduke of South London I'm in your Girlfriend eating her organs, Tue 16 Sep 2008, 10:23, Reply)

For even crispier niceness...
...parboil the potatoes first and pummel them until the edges are fluffeh. The peripheral particulate potato will become ohsovery crunchy.

Olive oil doesn't get as hot as sunflower or vegetable oil, but it does taste a lot better.
(ThomsonsPier consumes, Tue 16 Sep 2008, 11:07, Reply)

^^What he said.
Works a good'un
( D3xt3r Don't take any guff from these fucking swine...., Fri 19 Sep 2008, 19:42, Reply)

The oil is important but
I'd say the potato is just as important. King Edwards make for the best roasties IMO
( Ring Of Fire A petty, drooling belming butthurt retard., Wed 17 Sep 2008, 13:21, Reply)

I wholeheartedly endorse this comment
Kind Edwards ftw
( Vipros. clever got me this far, then tricky got me in, Fri 19 Sep 2008, 13:35, Reply)

Nope - it's Maris Piper
Parboil them in salted water, drain them and let them dry a little then shake them a little to rag up the edges. So the semolina thing if it moves you., Use groundnut oil in a heavy roasting pan, put it in a hot oven for 15 mins and get that oil really hot. Take it out the oven and pit it ona big gas flame. Roll each potato in this very hot oil. Put it back in the oven for an hour. If you are really sharp, then weeks before you will have bought your Maris pipers in bulk from a nice organic place and spent a happy evening parboiling, drying, fluffing and then freezing them into bags. this saves a LOT of hasles and starchy mess on a Sunday which you need like another hole in your ass if you have people coming round and got up late. Straight from frozen into hot oil as above...
(Fredwestie, Fri 19 Sep 2008, 20:56, Reply)

Thanks Nigella!
The best tip ever for crunchy roasties is to parboil the potatoes then roll them in semolina powder before you roast them. You'll never be satisfied with anything else once you've tried this.
( Olembe Refuses to write in this space, Fri 19 Sep 2008, 11:15, Reply)

Shit! I accidentally clicked "I like this" instead of reply
How are people surprised by the concept of adding oil to potatoes in high temperature to achieve crispiness?

Has nobody eaten CHIPS before?

FUCK.
( gronkpan https://twitter.com/VomitingLarry, Fri 19 Sep 2008, 15:52, Reply)

Also: Duck or goose fat gets the crispiest potatoes.
As mentioned above, parboiling is also important.

After you've done that, rough up the surface of the potatoes with a fork. It increases the surface area, allowing more oil-to-starch contact.
( gronkpan https://twitter.com/VomitingLarry, Fri 19 Sep 2008, 15:53, Reply)

Duck fat is indeed good for it
But don't buy rendered duck or goose fat, as this is produced by boiling remnants of the animal to seperate the fat.

Best thing to do is to buy a fatty duck, make holes all over the skin with a sharp fork, then roast it with some wine and whatever seasoning / stuffing.

When it's done, pour off all the juices and fat into a jug / bowl and leave to cool before putting it in the fridge. All the juices, wine and bits of food will sink to the bottom to form a hard jelly, while the fat will sit at the top, pure and white.

The difference is, this fat tastes AMAZING. Rendered fat will make your potatos crispy, but fat produced from roasting will make you cream your pants, trust me.

Also agree with the points about parboiling / roughing spuds / getting teh fat as hot as poss.
(prescottspies eating pies to save the nation, Sat 20 Sep 2008, 12:19, Reply)

this is most true
its also good to par boil them til just before they fall apart

and drizzle over a mix of oliveoil, crushed garlic and rosemary

Lard is great as well
( Joe Scaramanga with a G-double-O-D vibration, Fri 19 Sep 2008, 15:57, Reply)

Par boil in...
...stock.

Seriously. Rather than just using water, par boil them in (vegetable) stock. This will give them extra yumminess.

If you don't have any stock, try Bisto and some herbs.
(terryeden, Fri 19 Sep 2008, 17:45, Reply)

Nice idea!
I might try that by freezing the stock from the previous roast and see how it works.
( gronkpan https://twitter.com/VomitingLarry, Sat 20 Sep 2008, 10:22, Reply)

The best way to make lovely crispy roasties:
Pour some sunflower oil into a small sauce pan and add a couple of bashed garlic cloves, a bay leaf, a stick of fresh rosemary and thyme and a few whole peppercorns. Heat until it starts of sizzle and take it off the heat.

Par boil your potatoes for about 10 mins, or until you can just easily pierce the outer layer. Drain, and leave to steam to get rid of all the excess water.

When ready pour the season oil into the pan with them and hold the lid down while giving them a shake, just enough to rough the surface up a little.

Stick them in a roasting tray with a sprinkling of thyme and salt and pepper (coarse sea salt is the best).

Chow down when golden.
( Monty Propps, Fri 19 Sep 2008, 16:12, Reply)

I'm similarly confused by this
Do people ever roast potatoes without oil?
( JimM, Fri 19 Sep 2008, 17:16, Reply)

I use warm ejaculate

( Muns, Fri 19 Sep 2008, 18:03, Reply)

Now that's innovative!

( JimM, Fri 19 Sep 2008, 22:31, Reply)

My mum
always used to use a technique from an old Delia Smith book for her roasties - boil them in a pan of water on the hob first, then drain the water, put the lid on the pan and shake it around like buggery for a few minutes so that they're fluffy on the outside, then into the roasting tin. Probably why her elbows are knackered now.
(trashbat, Fri 19 Sep 2008, 19:10, Reply)

all as the above...
but when par boiling the tats, par boil a handfull of cloves of garlic... drain off the water, bang them about the pot for a while, then put them into the baking tray for roasty goodness...
(feedingtimeatthezoo day 1 of his bikini diet started, Fri 19 Sep 2008, 22:01, Reply)