At last I mastered the art of the perfect roast potato!

Well done, quit whilst you are ahead. I agree the best part is the roasties.

I agree about potatoes being the best part of a roast but could could you please share your secret? Type of potato used, what you did,etc to get them so memorable. Always happy to learn of a success and try it myself!

That was the question I was just about to ask Bellanonna !

I can do roasties, but not as well as my DD.
Maybe it is because I don't have the oven hot enough, or is it because, I now use oil, instead of the old fashioned lard?

My roasties are always great (this from a woman who can't make yorkshires to save her life). My secret is cook them in butter. Shocking I know, but I only do them once a year so I think it's allowable.

Mine always come out well.

I use Maris Pipers, get the hob ready, pour boiling water over them, boil for about 10 minutes, drain, shake well to rough them up a bit, roast in sunflower oil at a high temperature, turn occasionally.

I’m going to try that Phoenix. I do them very seldom now as I’ve never felt happy with the result, but this has inspired me to try again!

More or less the same as phoenix but I use duck or goose fat really hot and a really hot oven.

I always use red potatoes, parboil for 5 minutes, shake them up a bit and spray with olive or rapeseed oil before roasting in a hot oven.

I'm with phoenix, it's Maris Pipers, pre boiled, shaken in the pan, then into the oven. Yesterday I did the pre boil bit at 8am whilst making coffee and didn't put them into the oven till an hour before we ate. I just sprinkled olive oil over them then put them at the top of a hot oven - they were pronounced excellent and there are none left. The other down side was that I forgot to remove the dish of stuffing from the bottom of the oven where it had been keeping warm. Burned to a crisp so into the bin but fortunately, the stuffing in the turkey was good.
I love Christmas food. I also can't imagine only eating roast potatoes once a year - they're a weekly (at least) treat here.

Mine went wrong yesterday. I had had the oven on the timer, but did not realise it had switched itself off, so I reckon the temperature was not hot enough for about 20 minutes. It was probably only off for five minutes but long enough to cool then reheat. Everything else was cooked on time but we were waiting for the potatoes.

We go roast free for December, so really look forward to our Christmas dinner!

I used King Edwards, but agree Maris Pipers would be good too. Ok. I’m also lucky to have two ovens.

Christmas Eve
I parboiled for only 4 minutes.
Then I fluffed them up by shaking the pan with lid on.
Rolled them in warm melted goose fat and put them in a hot oven for 5 minutes. Let them cool, transferred to Pyrex disgh and put them outside overnight. (Well protected)

Christmas Day
An hour before meat was ready I heated up goose fat till sizzling, rolled the potatoes in it and cooked for 45 mins turning once.

That’s it.

Yesterday DGD told me I always made the best roast potatoes, but then she is prejudiced in my favour!

I use any available main crop potatoes, usually home grown, this year I think I planted a variety called Rudolf for obvious reasons, but it can vary.

I peal and par boil them, bung a lot of goosefat in a tray, put it in the oven to really heat up (tray and fat), bring it out of the oven, bung the potatoes in and turn them in the fat and then put them back in a hot oven (180 degrees in a fan oven) for approximately an hour.

My cooking is usually 'guess and by god' and this year more so than usual as I am feeling slightly under the weather, but this years, despite some disorganisation I garnered the compliment, so they were clearly up to standard.

Our roasts didn't roast. When my husband died in 2016 I switched the aga off, to save oil, and only had it relit this January. Yesterday my daughter put a pie in the bottom, I already had the roasts in the top, and the temperature dropped so much they didn't brown at all. Kids were good about it, but they were just parboiled and hot

DIL reckons my husband’s roast potatoes are the best. He, shock!horror! does NOT par boil them! I know!
He cooks them in goose fat, having sprinkled them liberally with garlic and rosemary. Have to say they are very tasty.
I am just glad he wants to do them, saves me a job.

Yesterday DH's roasties were a triumph. (He parboils the spuds for 5 mins, dries them, shakes them in salt, then roasts them in rapeseed oil.) Thank goodness we had guests: otherwise I might have scoffed the lot!

Me too - its only taken me 50 years to work out that you have to have the fat VERY hot before putting in the spuds which have previously been dried off. I too was very excited at this achievement so well done you

Ive found that after parboiling and draining you have to let them go cold before adding them them to sizzling hot fat.
Having tried many fats, oil, goose fat etc I now use beef dripping as it gives a lovely savoury flavour. I keep a tub in the freezer for just this purpose.

King Edward's do make the best roast potatoes imo, but don't preboil for 10 minutes as they could turn to mush, 5 minutes maximum, drain and shake, using a colander fluffs them up.
Maris Piper are good too and can take a bit more preboiling.

Coat the potatoes with fat of choice - melted goose fat at Christmas, rapeseed oil which stands a high temperature the rest of the year.
Leave in fridge overnight or roast straight away, whichever is convenient. Shake the pan a few times as they start roasting and turn once.

I admire all your dedication. I used to do all that too. Till I discovered Auntie Bessie's roasties. All the work done for you and they taste delicious

At the risk of blowing my own trumpet so to speak,my roast pots were very good this year .I parbolled for 6 minutes ,drained roughed them up sprinked.with seasoned flour and rapeseed oil and when cool open froze them to keep them separate(a month.ago)then packed them and froze ready to use yesterday.They were Maria Pipers I put a little more oil on them ,a little more salt and cooked at 180 for 40 mins then for the last 20 minutes with about 50 grams of butter and turned heat up to 220 .They were brown and crunchy on the outside and fluffy on the inside.Unfortunately I had put my sprouts in the pan with No water !luckily at the same time I prepared my potatoes I had done the same with some sprouts so the fresh ones.got chucked in the bin the pan went outside to hide the evidence .

I boil till soft, plentifully oil the pan and the potatoes, and pepper them and sprinkle a veg OXO cube over them then put them in the middle of a 199 degree oven until they are the right colour.

Phoenix, after boiling for 10 minutes how long do you put them in the oven for and what sort of temperature?

More or less the same as Pudding123 except while the potatoes were boiling I heated duck fat in a roasting tin in the oven at 200 fan to get it really hot. After tossing the par-boiled potatoes to fluff up and sprinkling with flour I cooked them for 30 minutes in the hot fat at 200 fan. Turned them over after 15 minutes for even colour. I then let them cool before freezing. While the turkey was resting on Christmas day I cooked the roast potatoes straight from the freezer on a flat tin (no added fat) at fan 200 for 30 minutes turning half way. They were definitely the best roasties I have ever cooked.