How to make crunchy and soft roast potatoes/pumpkin?

[pulykamell]

I’ve never bothered with parboiling or skinning (to me, the skin is what makes roast potatoes so glorious.) Just quarter them or otherwise get them to roughly equal size, toss in olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic, and stick it in a 400F oven until they’re done. About 45 min to an hour. Make sure they’re spread out well in a single layer, and flip 'em or otherwise toss them about a bit about halfway through cooking. The only time I parboil potatoes is if I’m making pan-fried potatoes on the stovetop for breakfast. For the oven, I’ve never found it necessary.

[RobDog]

Can’t add much else to this except; if you can get it, roast them in goose fat.

Nomnomnom.

[pulykamell]

@RobDog

Can’t add much else to this except; if you can get it, roast them in goose fat.

Nomnomnom.

Nice one. Chicken and duck work well, too.

[Moonlitherial]

Parcooking before broiling is an excellent time saver if you’ve mistimed your potato entry to oven time but the OP’s two real problems have already been addressed:

1. single layer with space for them to move when you shake the dish
2. oil, not a lot.

[SciFiSam]

@Novelty_Bobble

Pre-heat a deep sided and thick oven dish at 400 f (whatever that is)

Prepare the potatoes and par-boil for 10 minutes.
Drain the water off and leave them in the uncovered pan to steam off the residual water
Put lid on the pan and shake vigorously for a few seconds. (this breaks up the edges and helps produce crispy bits
Pour over a good slug of vegetable oil together with salt and pepper (should you choose) and give them another quick shake.
Tip into the pre-heated oven dish and return to the oven for 30-35 minutes.

keep checking them and turn with tongs to get an even roast as required

That method has done me well for 25 years and my roast potatoes get consistent high praise. Of course it works best with a floury potato but even waxy ones will benefit from this treatment.

This, except that I wouldn’t pour cold oil onto the potatoes and then put them into the pre-heated dish: I’d put the oil into the dish to pre-heat it, then put the potatoes in there and scoop the hot oil over them. That’s one of the reasons the skins turn crispy - the skins got hotter a lot earlier than they would if you just dunked them in cold oil.

Shaking the potatoes in the saucepan is, as you say, what makes them crispy, but you can also prick the potatoes lightly with a fork once they’re in the roasting dish.

[RobDog]

Ooh. One thing I sometimes do is put the pan on the stove top first and get a little bit of fat good and hot over a high flame.

I then put the spuds in and turn them around in the fat until the surfaces look well sealed.

My hypothesis is that doing this seals the water inside the potato and steams it creating the fluffy centre, and further assists the outer crispiness.

[RobDog]

Ah. Simulpost with SciFiSam!

[Novelty_Bobble]

@SciFiSam

This, except that I wouldn’t pour cold oil onto the potatoes and then put them into the pre-heated dish: I’d put the oil into the dish to pre-heat it, then put the potatoes in there and scoop the hot oil over them. That’s one of the reasons the skins turn crispy - the skins got hotter a lot earlier than they would if you just dunked them in cold oil.

Shaking the potatoes in the saucepan is, as you say, what makes them crispy, but you can also prick the potatoes lightly with a fork once they’re in the roasting dish.

no, quite correct. I wasn’t clear. The majority of the oil is in the oven tin pre-heated. Just a little slug into the pan with the seasoning to coat them when you shake them up.

[Jeff_Lichtman]

It also helps to use a low-rimmed baking sheet rather than a deep baking dish. High sides slow evaporation (especially near the edges of the dish). The potatoes won’t brown properly in a moist environment.

[Chefguy]

@Cyros

I am going to go with the Jamie Oliver recipe. I’ve done this with russet potatoes and they are truly fantastic.

I tried this recipe last night. It worked out well, but I had to crank the oven to 425 during the last half hour. The recipe doesn’t call for turning the potatoes during cooking, which means they get nicely crisp on the bottoms, but not so much on top.