Roast potatoes are best cooked in beef dripping after parboiling for 5 to 10 mins.

Thanks for that I was a bit concerned that they wouldn't cook right through, maybe I will just use small potatoes.

Not sure why they're better, but I now roast potatoes in a silicon lasagne tray - when you put the potatoes in the hot oil it foams up (weird - thought maybe it was because there was fairy liquid residue, but it appears not...). coat the potatoes in the oil, then in the oven on 200 for approx 45 mins, turning once. BRILLIANT. If I do say so myself....

I parboiled my roasties for 10 mins last night (they were big spuds) then bashed them around the pan a bit to roughen up then put them in the freezerfor 15 mins to chill them , then took them out and flash fried in very hot oil for about a minute and then chucked them in the oven sprinkled with sea salt , black pepper and dried ground garlic 200 for 30 mins ..lovely crispy and golden !

well its taken me 26 years to get lovely roast pots but last year i cracked it heres how

peel and quarter your pots and par boil for about 7 mins.

drain the water off and toss the pots around in the pan for couple of mins, rub/smear the bottom of a large baking tray with oil, put in oven for few mins until smokng hot

place pot quarters or smaller. on tray and drizzle over with oil, i use extra virgin olive

every 15 mins remove pots from oven turning them so all sides are covered in the oil and keep re drizlling them, do not have the tray swimming in oil though that will make them soggy.

when all sides of pots are lovely golden brown and crispy remove from oven

hey presto sucess and works every time

enjoy

CBA to keep taking them in and out - I turn once, job done. Crispy on the outside, fluffy on the inside. I don't get the whole olive oil thing either - it doesn't have a very high smoking point. I also don't want my roast potatoes to taste of anything other than potato and the bit of salt water they were parboiled in....

Parboil, always, until it's almost too late. That way you get cripsy roasties. Dry your potatoes in the pan, and give them a bit of a shake to fluff them up. I use groundnut oil, as it doesn't taste of anything and I want to taste my potatoes. I heat my pan in the oven with the oil, until sizzling and then add the potatoes and season.

In my experience Maris Piper or King Edward spuds are the best to use for roasties no matter what method you use to make them. Another crucial thing to keep in mind is your oven.

I used to peel and cut the spuds, coat in seasoned flour and bung them in the oven on a pre heated tray with some oil and turn them a couple of times - they would be in the oven for about 40-45 minutes.

A new oven and quite a few failures later ....

I now peel and cut the spuds, rinse them well in cold water and then place them in cold salted water and bring to the boil for about 10 minutes. While the par boiling is going on I have the grill pan with oil (never olive oil) or fat heating in the oven. I drain the spuds, let them "steam" dry off for a minute on the stove then toss them in the hot oil in the grill pan. They go in the oven and get tossed or turned a couple of times and are so good after about 40 minutes.

Himself par boils the spuds and coats in seasoned flour before roasting in oil or fat in a pre heated grill pan..

At the end of the day I think we all know what we like and look for in a good roastie.

We use our grill pan like an extra oven shelf and it is perfect for roasties or for a Chrimbo Turkey.

Last weekend I did a par boil test. Some bar boiled and some not and they all came out entirely identical. My wife could tell a difference.

There seems to be a contradiction here.

If you don't parboil, how do you rough up the outside of the potato? Or don't you bother in either case?