Roasting potatos in the oven

[gandro]

I used to make a recipe where I cut up some red potatoes, added carrot, garlic gloves and chopped onions and roasted them in a foil packet in the oven with salt/pepper, olive oil and rosemary.

I recently tried this again but was disappointed that I didn't get a some crust and browning on the potatos.
Any ideas to make this work?

Thanks

[Butterguy]

replace the olive oil with clarified butter.

Gives it a nice crisp and more flavor.

[cheesecake17]

For super crispy potatoes, try this method-- slice potatoes into the thinnest rounds possible. I add an orange pepper or two and an onion as well- also very thinly sliced.

Place in a roasting pan and toss with olive oil, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes. Roast at 400 degrees, shaking often, until vegetables are at the desired crispness. I think I once let them go about an hour and a half.

[Allice98]

This sounds really great. i am not the biggest fan of the potato though i really like some kinds and applications. But crispy is definitly my favorite!

[Gio]

Another way to roast the potatoes is to scrub them, slice them in quarters or eighths, parboil them in salted water for about 5 minutes then put them in a roasting pan. Season with Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, minced garlic, EVOO, and perhaps crumbled thyme. Place in a preheated 400F oven for about 30 minutes or till they are golden brown and crisp on the outside.

[chowser]

I prefer this method, too. Don't skimp on the olive oil. I use whole garlic sometimes. Hmm, I've never added bacon but it sounds like a good combination.

[Val]

I pretty much believe that it is a consensus on this board that bacon with ANYTHING is better!

[Gio]

Oh yes....bacon lardons or even diced pancetta. The variations are endless. Isn't cooking fun????? ??

[Will Owen]

I don't just preheat the oven, I preheat the pan. Parboil the potatoes, then shake dry over heat and put into a big bowl with the oil and seasonings, toss and let sit while the iron skillet gets good and hot. If I'm roasting something for an hour, like a chicken, I'll have the pan on the top shelf before the chicken goes in, so that it's up to full temperature fifteen minutes after that. Then I dump in the potatoes, spread them out and put the pan back in. After 20-25 minutes I take it out and turn the potatoes over, then in again. When the chicken comes out and the oven's turned off, the potatoes can sit while the chicken rests. When the bird's ready, so are the potatoes.

[gandro]

does parboiling the potatos help them brown better in the oven?

[chowser]

It reduces the cooking time and the starchiness.

[chowser]

I'll bet it would be really good to cook the chicken over the potatoes and let the dripping fall on it, too. I usually make a huge sheet pan of potatoes, but the skillet sounds good.

[Gio]

I do that, Chowser. Sliced potatoes and onions on the bottom of the roasting pan, tossed with S & P, sometimes some crumbled rosemary or thyme, and just a small drizzle of EVOO. The chicken sits on top of the veggies. It makes a wonderful one-dish meal.... with salad.

[LaLa]

Once you have them this way you will never go back!

[elfcook]

pretty much whenever I roast a chicken, I throw some veggies in the pan now. I still put the chicken on a little rack in the pan, but surround it with potato, big chunks of onion, carrots, celery. A little salt & pepper, and that is it - the veggies get beautifully brown and tasty, full of good chicken fat.

[grampart]

I do this quite often with a spatchcocked (butterflied) chicken. It turns out great every time.

Crisp-Skin High-Roast Butterflied Chicken with Potatoes
Ingredients:

1 cup kosher salt (or 1/2 cup table salt), for brine
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 whole chicken , 3 1/2 to 4 lbs, preferably free-range or other high-quality chicken such as Bell and Evans, giblets removed and reserved for another use, fat around cavity removed and discarded
2 1/2 pounds russet potatoes (4 to 5 medium), or Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and sliced 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick
Vegetable cooking spray (nonstick)
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
3/4 teaspoon table salt (for potatoes)
Ground black pepper

Directions:

1. Dissolve salt and sugar in 2 quarts cold water in large container. Immerse chicken and refrigerate until fully seasoned, about 1 hour. Meanwhile, adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 500 degrees. Line bottom of broiler pan with foil and spray with nonstick vegetable cooking spray. Remove chicken from brine and rinse thoroughly under cold running water. Following illustrations 1 through 6, butterfly chicken, flatten breastbone, apply flavored butter (if using), and position chicken on broiler pan rack; thoroughly pat dry with paper towels.

2. Toss potatoes with 1 tablespoon oil, salt, and pepper to taste in medium bowl. Spread potatoes in even layer in foil-lined broiler pan bottom. Place broiler pan rack with chicken on top. Rub chicken with remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons oil and sprinkle with pepper.

3. Roast chicken until spotty brown, about 20 minutes. Rotate pan and continue to roast until skin has crisped and turned a deep brown and an instant-read thermometer registers 160 degrees in thickest part of breast, 20 to 25 minutes longer. Transfer chicken to cutting board. With potholders, remove broiler pan rack; soak up excess grease from potatoes with several sheets paper towels. Remove foil liner with potatoes from broiler pan bottom and invert foil and potatoes onto cookie sheet or second cutting board. Carefully peel back foil, using a metal spatula to help scrape potatoes off foil as needed. With additional paper towels, pat off remaining grease. Cut chicken into serving pieces and serve with potatoes.

Yield: 4 servings

http://www.dahlshouse.com/recipes/arc...

[chowser]

Those all sound great. I'm addicted to Zuni chicken and need that hot skillet to sear but I have added all the grease, garlic (I throw in a handful of cloves into the pan near the end) into mashed potatoes. Maybe next time I'll add bacon to the garlic and add it all the the mashed potatoes.

[Will Owen]

I've roasted chicken and lamb both on top of potatoes, and I like that, but I also find that they come out a bit soggy with the drippings. If that's what you want, it's good, but I like to roast enough potatoes to have plenty of leftovers for cottage fries with a breakfast, and for that I'd rather have crisp brown exteriors and fluffy innards. A good roast with potatoes catching the drippings is awfully good, though.

[chowser]

Yeah, I love the crispy skin of the Zuni chicken and am not willing to give that up for good potatoes. I'll stick with spooning the drippings over them. Or save the chicken fat to make hash browns the next day.

[jfood]

Pre-heatingthe pan is a great idea...jfood will have to give that one a try.

[Will Owen]

I got the idea after learning how to make proper cornbread...

[cinnamon girl]

I'm with Gio on this . . . I only discovered the parboiling method a couple of years ago after watching a bunch of British cooking shows. They come out almost with a crust on them. Heston Blumenthal did a batch using salted water (for the parboiling) and one batch w/o salt in the water. The former came out brown and golden and crusty; the latter remained pale. After boiling they get roughed up a bit in a colander or the boiling pot. The "fluffy" surface absorbs the oil and gets cripsy. I was transfixed! lol . . . then I tried it with parsnips and carrots and every root veg I could get my hands on - delish. Oh - and he cuts them so they have long planes and angles to get even more crispy bits. And, yes, preheating a generous amount oil in the roasting pan is essential.

[Val]

what lamlex said...you COULD use foil, just don't make it into a packet...in a packet, it steams...on a flat, opened surface it will roast and thus bring out the browned crispiness you seek .. and now I want some of those roasted potatoes!

[lamlex]

Don't put it in the foil - just throw the potatoes, etc. in the roasting pan with the olive oil.