Not oil, fat needs to be used to make the best roasties. Par boil, heat in dry pan to dry off the potatoes then add fat and toss, put on a tray and bake doesn't need to be too hot 180 to 200C until cooked.
I feel now called to practice in the coming weeks until I crack it. Thanks for your thoughts. The therm on my oven may well be buggered. It's an old inherited oven that came with the house.
Late to the thread here but fwiw I've used both oil ( sunflower or rapeseed ) or beef fat with no noticeable difference in crispness as long as the fat is hot enough. Parboil , shake dry in a colander and sprinkle with 2 tbsp seasoned coarse semolina or cornmeal (polenta) .preheat oil/fat at 210 C for several mins until very runny , tip in the potatoes and toss around to cover in oil. Heat down to 190-200 as soon as they go in. They always take longer to get to @Fire 's first photo stage than i "expect" -- around 1 hour < don't make them too often >
( for my electric oven ) 3 things make a diff: =oil and tray is preheated very well so potatoes sizzle aggressively when put in = large enough pieces so chunky enough to have fluffy bits and crispy bits =they have plenty of space ( pic 2 from Fire looks too crowded to me , will steam as much as roast in my oven like that )
I think what maybe happening in my oven, is that the steam isn't being released properly and so food is steamed rather than baked or roasted. It's therefore hard to get things crispy. Maybe the vents are blocked. Perhaps time for a new oven.
I use sagitta potatoes, bit unusual I think but a farmer locally grows them specifically for the chipshop trade and sells 20kg bags at £8. They are brilliant so tasty however you use them, I've taken to doing roast teas in the pizza oven and the tatties are fantastic. My little thing is to par boil to the point the potatoes are about to fall apart then drain as carefully as possible tip onto a warm dry roasting pan and let them steam dry for at least 30 minutes. Then just roast in hot sunflower oil, their great.
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Parboil , shake dry in a colander and sprinkle with 2 tbsp seasoned coarse semolina or cornmeal (polenta) .preheat oil/fat at 210 C for several mins until very runny , tip in the potatoes and toss around to cover in oil. Heat down to 190-200 as soon as they go in. They always take longer to get to @Fire 's first photo stage than i "expect" -- around 1 hour < don't make them too often >
( for my electric oven ) 3 things make a diff:
=oil and tray is preheated very well so potatoes sizzle aggressively when put in
= large enough pieces so chunky enough to have fluffy bits and crispy bits
=they have plenty of space ( pic 2 from Fire looks too crowded to me , will steam as much as roast in my oven like that )
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