Roast Potatoes - Help!

[aardvark]

Longtime reader here, but never bothered to sign up, until now. I read Chris' recipe on the site regarding his roast potatoes, using carotino oil, and it was were spot on! Possibly the best bbq/roast potatoes I've ever had. Crunchy on the outside, fluffy on the inside. Perfect!

Well, they were... once.

The first lot I made and roasted on the bbq were amazing. But we haven't been able to get the same since. The crunch seems to have disappeared.

Here's what I do:
- Peel potatoes
- Par boil them
- Melt some butter in the microwave and mix it with a heap of carotino oil
- Coat potatoes with mixture
- Roast in oven, or under bbq hood, for up to an hour

Not sure what I'm doing wrong. I've tried making them again 6 or 7 times now.
Should they be peeled?
Is the crunch dependent on how long they are par boiled? Should they still be quite hard before roasting, or soft and mushy?
Is adding the butter causing the problem?
Not roasting long enough, or at a high enough temperature?

I'm longing for my fix of those perfect potatoes again... Any advice you can offer would be very appreciated.

[urbangriller]

Hi Jason,

Yes I peel my potatoes and the variety is important, I use Kestrel or Royal Blue (see this chart: http://www.westernpotatoes.com.au/go/co ... ato-to-use). If you can get them use: Sebago and King Edward or Maris Piper, it is a floury kind of potato you want.

Nadine (which most supermarkets use) are rubbish and not fit to be Pig Food, they go soggy and brown when roasted....avoid them.

I par boil mine till they are soft and almost falling apart, then drain and coat in butter and carrotino oil (or duck fat), season, then fry in a frying pan for at least half an hour, up to 1.5 hours on a gentle bubble, the slower the cook the better the result. I find the frying pan works better than the traditional oven method, but the oven will work. Turn only when the first side is crunchy and golden.

I like to crush my potatoes a bit half way through the "roasting", this id the time to add herbs like rosemary or other flavour enhancers like olives and garlic.

Cheers
Chris

[Davo]

I use a more conventional approach to roast potatoes and like all here, I par boil in the microwave for about 8 minutes, drain and take out of bowl and pat dry with paper towel, you don't want the surface wet with water if possible.Par boiling just gives the potato a good head start.
I either use butter or oil but not both together, carrotino oil is good as is rice bran oil. Give them a good coating, and season, I either use the roast vegetable seasoning from McCormicks or Cajun spice for a spicier spud.
Have your BBQ preheated to about 220C and place in the BBQ for about 20-30 minutes at that temp on the indirect heat side...check at 20 mins to make sure they're not blackening too much, then reduce heat to about 180-190C for another 20 mins..open lid and flick your finger nail or the back of a table knife on a spud and if it sounds like a click/clunk then the surface is nice and crisp, if not..turn it up again for a few minutes untill crispy on the outside.Mostly you can tell be appearance if they will be crispy or not but do the flick test anyway.
For wedge size potatoe cuts, i usually skip the preboil stage and just roast them on 220C most the way through, usually nice and soft on inside by then.
I like to make a few spares so i can eat-test them when i think they are done to test for the texture....the benefit of being the cook

Anyway, this is the way i do it

Cheers

Davo

[urbangriller]

Ok, I did Roast Beef and veg for Managements dinner last night, here are the roast spuds:

Choose a good spud, these are Royal Blue


Peel, cut into wedge shapes (to maximise the amount of cut edge you have to play with) then drop into boiling water till they are quite soft.


Heat some Carotino oil with a couple of chunks of butter till it foams nicely.


Drain the spuds and toss them in the hot oil to coat all sides, turn them onto a flat side and hit them with high heat for 3 minutes, then turn the heat down to a low bubble.


Turn the spuds when they start to develop a nice crust, and cook till all sides are how you like them.


Job Done!......Another succesfull mission!


You can do this in an oven or BBQ the idea is the same.

Cheers
Chris

[mullo]

I do my spuds very similar to Davo's except after you have par boiled and dried them scrape each sud with a fork and then bake, nice and cruchie every time.
Cheers
Mullo

[aardvark]

I think I had them perfect last night... Then I ruined them by wrapping them in foil until the meat finished cooking, and they went soggy.

*sigh*

I like the look of your Chris. Will give that method a shot.