# How do I get my roasted potatoes crispy?



## Michelemarie (Dec 1, 2006)

I love roasted potatoes - especially when they are really crispy on the outside.  I am planning to do white and sweet potatoes quartered with some sweet onions and possibly some garlic cloves. I usually drizzle with olive oil and do some sort of spice combination. I usually cook them at 425 degrees F for about 30 minutes - they are just okay - I want the onions to get real crispy around the edges and the outside of the potato to be real crispy too - should I increase the temperature?  Any advice would help - I need comfort food here guys, I'm stuck in the house with a crabby toddler, hormonal teenager and a foot of snow outside! Thanks!


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## ChefJune (Dec 1, 2006)

I'd leave them in the oven a couple of minutes longer, and I would be sure to turn them a couple of times while you're roasting them.


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## jennyema (Dec 1, 2006)

I'd crank up the heat.  I roast my spuds at 450 or 475 for 15 min or so.

Also, heat up the pan real well before you put the potatoes in.


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## Reanie525i (Dec 1, 2006)

You may try turning up the heat to about 450  also try broiling for a few minutes at the end


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## StirBlue (Dec 1, 2006)

*Crispy Potatoes*

To get a crispier product from the oven, make sure your pan is flat (like a pizza pan or a cookie sheet).  This allows the steam to escape and the food to crisp.  Veggies have a lot of moisture and may never crisp on a rainy day.  I spray my pan with a light coating cooking spray and also spray my food.  You can sprinkly spices on your potatoes and onions and they will stay on your food while it roast.  This is just making me a little hungry!


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## ironchef (Dec 1, 2006)

Also, blanch your potatoes for about 10-12 minutes, then shock them and dry them before roastintg. Then you can cook them at a really high temp to get the outsides crisp without the potatoes not cooking all the way through.


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## Jules402 (Dec 1, 2006)

Ooh, roasted potatoes...one of my favourite things! 

The best way to get them crispy is to roughen them up first so the fat 'catches' the edges. I do it the traditional way in the UK and boil them first till they are just soft, then drain them off in a colander. I put a lid over the colander and shake them hard so the sides are sort of rough and fluffy. You can sprinkle a bit of flour over the top at this point if you like but I don't usually do this.

Then tip them into a tray (about a couple inches deep is best) that has been in the oven with oil in it till the oil is really hot. Baste quickly to coat the potatoes with the oil, season with salt, pepper, spices (I like a little cayenne) and put back into the hot oven. I cook them on 180C (not sure in F) for about 40 minutes but check on them every now and then, it depends on how much you make. I sprinkle on some mixed herbs just before taking them out. 

This makes really crispy potatoes with a bit of crunch that are softer inside


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## babyhuggies (Dec 1, 2006)

Roasted potatoes sound so good..might try those tonight.I've had the same trouble-never as crispy on the outside as i would like.I'll keep in mind all the tips.


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## Andy M. (Dec 1, 2006)

The combination of higher temperatures (450-475) and a low sided pan should do the trick.


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## Ishbel (Dec 1, 2006)

Here's a thread on roasting potatoes, which echoes the comments of Jules402.

http://www.discusscooking.com/forums/f18/roasted-potatoes-the-british-way-13644.html?highlight=roasted+potatoes+boil


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## Michelemarie (Dec 1, 2006)

Thank you all!  I am going to try parboiling like suggested, rough 'em up, preheat my pan - low sided - with oil - cook them at a higher temp - lets see what happens! I am so hungry I may start dinner early!  Thank you all!


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## thymeless (Dec 1, 2006)

I often start them in a large cast iron skillet on the stove, then finish them in a high oven. The hot cast iron keeps browning the bottoms and the oven crisps the tops. Turn and toss them a few times of course.

thymeless


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## carolelaine (Dec 1, 2006)

Never tried roughing them up, that sound like a good idea.  I agree with cooking them first and then turning up the heat to roast them.


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## mudbug (Dec 1, 2006)

Sometimes a little less oil is better (did I just say that????).  Too much can make your taters soft if you don't heat them up fast enough.


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## daisy (Dec 1, 2006)

You might need to check on the variety of potatoes to use for best results. Varieties differ from country to country, but you need to know which ones are good for mashing, and which ones are good for roasting or for chips etc. The 'mashing' ones don't always brown and crisp up well. 

You will always get a really good crunchy coating on roast potatoes if you use high heat, and if you roll the potatoes in flour before putting them into the oven. You can partially cook the potatoes first (a microwave is handy for this), then turn the heat to very high to finish them off. 

If you're roasting potatoes in the same pan as your roast chicken, the potatoes will come up mushy. Put your veges in a different pan. You could also think of 'dry roasting' them. To do this, I use a separate dish, spray it and the veges with some cooking oil, and roast them that way.


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## Constance (Dec 1, 2006)

I cut mine into wedges or chunks and toss them in Olive oil. I then put the potatoes on a foil-covered baking sheet, sprinkle with garlic/herb seasoning, toss again, then spread out and place in top half of 400 degree oven. I usually turn only once. 
They always turn out crisp, with browned crunchy edges. Yum!

You can flavor them all kinds of different ways...try using onion soup mix, ranch dressing mix, or taco seasoning.

Leftover baked potatoes roast well, but it seems to me that par-boiling the spuds would make them mushy. I've never tried it, however, so what do I know?


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## Ishbel (Dec 1, 2006)

You only par-boil them until the edges are softened - the potatoes aren't cooked...   it's just enough to allow you to shake the pan vigorously and the outsides become a little 'fluffy'.  When you add goose-fat into the equation...   manna!


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## auntdot (Dec 1, 2006)

I do them in a roasting pan, 350 degrees or maybe 375, that is covered with foil for about half an hour or so, a bit more if there are a lot of taters (I toss them in oil first and add some spices and maybe some onion chunks). 

That steams them.

Then take off the foil, up the heat to 400 or so, and wait until they are nice and crisp on the outside and nice and soft on the inside.  Never really time the stuff so it is by the seat of my pants.

Advantage of method is you don't have to parboil first.

Just my way of doing it.


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## Constance (Dec 1, 2006)

What kind of potatoes do you all use? 
I usually use russets, but Yukon Gold and any kind of baby new potatoes are quite delicious as well. 

I love roasted vegetables in general...carrots, peppers, onions, tomatoes...I've never tried sweet potatoes, though. My husband is not a big fan of them, but I just need to go ahead and do it some day. Who knows, he might like them.
I'd also like to try a rutabaga. That's something I've never tasted, but think I might like. I've never tried parsnips, either, but if they taste anything like carrots, I'd love them.


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## Michelemarie (Dec 1, 2006)

Thanks, everyone, for your ideas! I tried to parboil the first batch, boil for 10 minutes, I think I either cut the potatoes too thin or boiled them too long, because they were cooked and started fallling apart. Okay, Plan B - I washed another batch, quartered, tossed with olive oil and spices and whole garlic cloves and onions and baked at 450 degrees F for about 30 minutes and then broiled for about 5 minutes. They were good! Thanks!


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## Ishbel (Dec 2, 2006)

Constance said:
			
		

> What kind of potatoes do you all use?
> I usually use russets, but Yukon Gold and any kind of baby new potatoes are quite delicious as well.
> 
> I love roasted vegetables in general...carrots, peppers, onions, tomatoes...I've never tried sweet potatoes, though. My husband is not a big fan of them, but I just need to go ahead and do it some day. Who knows, he might like them.
> I'd also like to try a rutabaga. That's something I've never tasted, but think I might like. I've never tried parsnips, either, but if they taste anything like carrots, I'd love them.


 
Swede turnip (as we call rutabaga) is a versatile veg which is used in a lot of Scottish winter dishes, Constance.  It is great when you grate it into a Scottish lentil soup or Scotch broth; boiled and the added to potatoes and mashed well, with lots of butter and black pepper (traditional dish to accompany haggis); cut into cubes and used in stews and casseroles.  Creamed, on it's own with a little cream, butter and lots of pepper.

Parsnips are (imo) much sweeter than carrots, especially when roasted.  But I also use them in a similar manner to swede.


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## Ishbel (Dec 2, 2006)

I wonder if it may be the varieties of potatoes that we use here which makes the par-boiling method successful.  The potatoes really do need very little cooking, just enough to soften the very outside layer of potato, not enough to let a knife penetrate too far.  Then drain very well and return to the saucepan.  Lid on, vigorous shake....   result:  roughened edges!


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## Gretchen (Dec 2, 2006)

I don't think you can do the onions right with them--maybe in the same pan but separated. The onions will give off a lot of moisture. Roll the veggies in some oil also.


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## karadekoolaid (Dec 4, 2006)

My brother does about 50 kgs of roast potatoes per day in the restaurant. 
He peels the spuds, brings them to a boil, boils for 1 minute, then turns off the heat. 
When he's ready to roast, he drains the potatoes and roasts them in the hot oil. 
Crispy, crispy evey time!!


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