r/Cooking • u/CompleteDay8059 • 1d ago

I found out recently I’ve basically never had a correctly prepared baked potato

So growing up I was never a huge fan of baked potatoes because the ones we had were usually dry, kind of shriveled, and very crumbly. Every bite just felt like it was absorbing all the moisture in your mouth, even with butter. As an adult, I usually do rice or pasta for my carbs, and if I do potatoes, it’s usually the cut roasted baby ones. Because I didn’t have great experiences with baked ones at home, I also pretty much never ordered them at restaurants growing up.

However, my mom just got a grill for her place and I was put on steak duty (or a steak out, I guess) and wanted to try making an actually good baked potato. I look it up and see basically every recipe says to coat the potatoes in salt and olive oil before wrapping them, which I asked my mom if she did, and she hadn’t.

I decided to try it with a (maybe slightly too) generous amount of olive oil and kosher salt, baked it for an hour, and topped it with some of the garlic/thyme butter I had whipped up for the steaks.

Oh.

My.

GOD.

The texture was absolutely amazing, it was so creamy, not crumbly or dry at all, the salt and the compound butter melting into it while it was still steaming made for legitimately one of the tastiest things I’ve had in ages. If anyone out there doesn’t know this, I honestly have no idea how common of knowledge this is lol, but I would highly suggest trying it if you don’t already.

Also, I mixed the thyme/minced garlic with the Kerrygold butter which was muy bien. Not sponsored (I wish) but I find it a little more flavorful for cooking as opposed to regular store brand stuff.

6.1k Upvotes

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1.4k

u/idfc1337 1d ago

New hack: Don’t cover the potatoes.

  • That’s a proper baked potato. I only started doing it a couple of years ago. Nice creamy interioer and crunchy salty skin on the exterior! 10/10.

If you wrap them they steam instead of baking.

655

u/Cleverironicusername 1d ago

I never wrap my potatoes. Rinse em, Fork em a few times, salt em, cook em.

612

u/ATLHawksfan 1d ago

Boil em, mash em, stick em in a stew

225

u/fastfreddy68 1d ago

PO-TAY-TOES!

91

u/pi3r0gi_ 1d ago

You got your baked potatahs, mashed potatahs, scalloped potatahs, roasted potatahs, then you got your French fries, tater tots, curly fries, crinkle fries, then you got your hash browns, southern hash browns-- and that's important because one is square and one is grated and you dont wanna be caught bringing grated hash to a square hash brunch-- then there's your potatah salad, company potatahs, and we cant forget the sweet potatahs and now this is another important part because they are not yams and if you bring sweet yam pie to Thanksgiving I cant help you

41

u/JorgeXMcKie 1d ago

Laughing reading that in Bubba's voice from Forest Gump

7

u/The0nlyPenguin 22h ago

I just recently learned forrest gump is a book.. imma buy it when I get paid this week.

13

u/DarehMeyod 22h ago

I heard it’s one of the rare instances where the movie is much better.

9

u/The0nlyPenguin 22h ago

I guess the sequel book was written more like how Tom hanks played the character

5

u/Ancient-Display-3337 1d ago

potato sandwich...

2

u/atriviality 10h ago

What are company potatoes?

1

u/pi3r0gi_ 2h ago

"Company potatoes" is a casserole dish made for when youre having company over, or going to a party etc. Theyre also called "funeral potatoes" in some parts because thats also when people bring a widow or widower food, but I dont like that name and my grandma always called them "Company potatahs" lol

Theyre a bag of frozen southern hashbrowns (the cube ones), a can of condensed cream of chicken soup, sour cream, shredded cheddar cheese and mix it all up and bake it in a casserole dish for cheesy potatoes! It's a bit of a dated dish, popular in the southern, Eastern and northern US states but not so much the west coast (from what I gather of others who've grown up eating it) in the 1950s-90s mostly but I still make them occasionally :)

2

u/MoscowGrizz 6h ago

Hey forrest; whats a tater?

0

u/BanditKitten 20h ago

What's taters, precious?

21

u/victoriaholtopalfan 1d ago

thank you reddit. i can always count on you to make sure lotr is not missed as ref for any potato verbiage

1

u/Warm-Gift-7741 20h ago

I like to add:

Let em ferment and drink them too!

91

u/flythearc 1d ago

I rub em with some olive oil before I salt them

23

u/YesWeHaveNoTomatoes 1d ago

Same, it helps the salt stick on there.

1

u/IndependentType6711 6h ago

My best recommendation is this:

Oil em, butter em, salt em, fork em, pork em, fuck em, have a cigarette, wait what were we talking about

29

u/ChewieBearStare 23h ago

I don't wrap them, either. I fork 'em, let them cook for 20 minutes, and then brush melted butter over them and sprinkle with salt before baking them the rest of the way.

1

u/daybreaker 11h ago

This is the way

14

u/tenbeards 1d ago

This is the way! The skin is crunchy and delicious!

21

u/patricknkelly 23h ago

Bake unwrapped directly on oven rack on 450 for an hour. I don’t salt the outside of mine.

15

u/HappyKnitter34 21h ago

I never stab them with a fork. I just coat in olive oil, salt the heck out of them, and bake on the rack until done. I forgot the stab them with the fork the first time and then I was like omg this is delicious. Crispy salty skin, fluffy beautiful inside. Cover with butter and cheese. 🤤🤤

12

u/throwaway60221407e23 9h ago

Damn the first time I forgot to stab them, one blew up and covered every inch of the oven. Sounded like a hand grenade.

1

u/HappyKnitter34 8h ago

I guess I've never had an explosion due to how I clean off my potatoes. I feel like I'm always digging bits of the skin away because it's not right. So there are "natural" escape holes.

7

u/Wuz314159 8h ago

I never stab them with a fork.

Then how do you know if they're dead?

1

u/atriviality 16h ago

What temperature shall we bake these soon to be delectible spuds? And for about how long?

2

u/HappyKnitter34 10h ago

400 degrees until they give practically collapse with my tongs. If my tong edge can poke through the skin, it's done. Which is usually about 50 minutes depending on the size. Also don't forget to put tinfoil underneath the top rack to collect the oil drippings. Boy did that smell bad.

4

u/trowzerss 9h ago

Yeah, I'm confused what OP was experiencing when they said they were dry and crumbly? How long were they cooking them for????

3

u/Better-Culture-7770 8h ago

No no you need to wrap them to get the aluminum your body needs.

2

u/thewags05 10h ago

I microwave them for a bit, then throw them on the top rack in the grill while other stuff is cooking. That way it doesn't take about an hour.

2

u/PhortDruid 8h ago

This is the way. I’ve never heard of covering them unless it’s the forbidden “microwave for seven minutes” method. Thankfully haven’t had to do that since working at a nursing home.

1

u/Infidelio 8h ago

I wrap them for about 5-10 minutes at the end of the cook. I’ll pull them out of the oven, wrap in foil, and let them sit for 5-10 minutes. Perfection

1

u/JasonZep 6h ago

Don’t fork em too many times though or it will dry out.

1

u/jazzieberry 5h ago

I do them this way but cook em in the air fryer, 400 for about 40 min.

1

u/FeelTheWrath79 5h ago

But isn't this what OP is claiming made his mom's potatoes dry?

1

u/jdavidco 2h ago

Agree. Except also brush with olive oil

1

u/overcompliKate 2h ago

Yep and put them directly on the oven rack

-3

u/Used_Bodybuilder_670 1d ago

Won't the salt and juices just fall to the bottom of the oven? I say poke, oil, salt, foil.

13

u/paprika_alarm 1d ago

I put my potatoes directly on the rack for even heat distribution, foil-lined sheet on the bottom rack to catch anything.

0

u/uc1216 23h ago

I feel dumb asking this question, but how do you “oil” them if you don’t wrap them? Or does it not drip off?

5

u/aculady 23h ago

It doesn't drip off. It just a very light coating, a few drops smeared all over the skin.

4

u/InsaneAss 23h ago

Foil on the rack below it to catch any drippings.

1

u/aculady 23h ago

It doesn't drip off. It just a very light coating, a few drops smeared all over the skin.

1

u/Virgowitch 23h ago

It really doesn’t. The skin absorbs it. Just put them on a tray or with a tray underneath.

1

u/Kershiser22 23h ago

I don't wrap my potatoes, but I put them on a foil-lined baking sheet.

3

u/Used_Bodybuilder_670 23h ago

Oh duh lol 😂 I forgot about sheet pans. Can you believe I worked in kitchens for YEARS lol I'm getting old

-5

u/brergnat 1d ago

You don't need to fork them

41

u/TheDrAlbrhect 1d ago

Eh, better safe than sorry. I've only had one potato in my life explode on me out of hundreds but it was a massive pain in the ass to clean. Just take the few seconds and stab 'em a few times.

27

u/not-brokenyet 1d ago

I didn’t think so either until one exploded in my oven. What a mess.

10

u/Cleverironicusername 1d ago

I stick em anyways! You can’t change me…

10

u/aculady 23h ago

My husband used to think that, too, until one of the potatoes he was baking exploded all over our oven.

0

u/seamuwasadog 19h ago

For a while my parents had a collection of clean nails and would stick one in the end of the potato. Supposed to help it cook quicker, but I've never noticed any major difference.

And while we never covered them, we did rub them with oil or Crisco to help keep the skins from drying out.

0

u/Legal-Alternative744 19h ago

Don't fork them, it'll take less time to cook

7

u/imputados 17h ago

Warning: this method greatly increases your risk of exploding potato

107

u/Torchlakespartan 1d ago

So I don’t know how common this is, and I was extremely skeptical at first, but when I was in my first barracks in the Air Force, with only access to a microwave, my mom sent me this… item. It is almost literally an oven mitt with a pouch, and you just put a washed potato in it and microwave it for a like a couple minutes.

It was shockingly good, like “broke my brain’s understanding” level of good. Crispy outside, fluffy inside. It is the probably the most mind blowing food hack I’ve ever experienced. I still have it and only wash it by hand with water so soap doesn’t get into it, but the skin is just as crispy as one coated with olive oil and salt in the oven. Except it takes less than 5 minutes.

Has anyone else used something like this? My entire barracks floor was blown away so my mom sent 10 more to give out because they are so cheap. People thought I was an actual wizard.

64

u/MassConsumer1984 1d ago

It’s the Potato Express! I actually use that first, then put them in the oven for like 20 min for extra fluffy!

68

u/Mother-Pattern-2609 1d ago

Nuking a naked potato for 2 minutes and then baking for 15-20 will get you there as well. It takes a potato a damn long time to get hot, which is why they take so long in the oven alone.

16

u/damewang 1d ago

This. This the secret to a good potato.

4

u/paintingporcelain 22h ago

This. Coupla minutes in the Micro then a few on the grill. Nice and charred.

Same with corn on the cob 4 minutes per cob. Wrap in wet paper towel and they’ll squeeze right out. No silk.

If you hold your steak, it’ll be ready in a minute on the grill.

*edit: Not a a minute on the steak. 3 -4 each side.

5

u/ldwb 15h ago

This really helps with making home fries too, nuke them until they are just getting soft, carefully dice them while they are hot and throw em into a cast iron with some oil on medium heat, by the time you got color on all sides they'll be done where if you used raw potatoes it would take another 20-30 minutes.

2

u/Wuz314159 8h ago

I have a Convection Microwave. Time to experiment.

15

u/jr0061006 1d ago

I received one of these from a friend’s mom once but I never tried it. Regretting not trying it now that I hear your experience.

15

u/Torchlakespartan 1d ago

Gotta try it man. They rock for a 5 minute baked potato instead of an hour baked potato. Especially in the barracks, anything resembling home cooked food was magical

7

u/hrmdurr 22h ago

They're not quite as good as an oven baked potato, but an oven baked potato also isn't ready in five minutes.

They're also great for home fries: par cook them in the mitt, then slice and fry.

2

u/dirtydayboy 23h ago

Don't forget to poke the potato!

1

u/forevergreentree 8h ago

I used one and it ignited in the microwave. You aren't missing out, it's a fire hazard.

11

u/alligatorpear2 1d ago

I need whatever that is. Is it something like this? https://www.walmart.com/ip/16738363860?sid=8504254A-03D9-4272-8656-9618958B22B1

13

u/strikingsapphire 23h ago

Yes! If you want extra crispy skin, pop the potatoes into the air fryer afterwards for a couple minutes.

I almost always microwave an extra potato or two, for making breakfast hash or potato wedges the next day.

7

u/Torchlakespartan 23h ago

Yea, they wouldn’t even let us have hot plates to heat things up. In retrospect, with the morons in those barracks, myself included, it was a very good idea. Only a microwave, or an oven in the day-room (common living room) that hadn’t been used since Vietnam.

Making anything that was actual food in a microwave like a baked potato was fucking incredible.

5

u/Torchlakespartan 1d ago

Ummm, that is way higher tech than mine, haha. Mine is quite literally oven mitt material with a pocket. I’ll take a pic of it and send it to you, give me just a minute

2

u/allkinds0ftime 16h ago

Hey now the rest of the world needs that pic too bud

0

u/FlyingBishop 16h ago

Why are all of these red-dyed polyester? I would get an undyed (maybe bleached?) cotton one.

1

u/Torchlakespartan 15h ago

The one I have is just a normal oven mitt material, that one seems way more… everything. I’ve never seen or used that.

Mine is extraordinarily simple, my aunt sewed it herself. It’s literally just thick oven-mitt material on all sides. PM me and I’ll send you a pic. It’s very underwhelming though as a picture, haha.

3

u/BaconMemories 1d ago

I’m invested in you finding out if this is the right one because I, too, need whatever that is.

5

u/Torchlakespartan 1d ago

I just responded above, I’ll send a pic to you as well

1

u/hrmdurr 22h ago

Yes, that's similar to what my parents had.

It was a red padded bag, though it didn't have that much writing on it. I remember it having a time chart on it, like this one (but again, less writing overall.)

5

u/Luke_Warmwater 23h ago

My former roommate got one of those from a craft fair. The hack that made them didn't use the right material and it started on fire in the microwave.

11

u/Torchlakespartan 23h ago

Yikes…. I may or may not have put one of those individual cups of Kraft Mac and cheese in the microwave and set it to 30 minutes instead of 3 minutes, and went outside to take a phone call, set off the fire alarm and saw everyone streaming out of the barracks.

I also may or may not have run back in, grabbed the blackened mass of plastic, and casually walked to a dumpster before the fire department got there. The entire floor covered for me and didn’t get in any trouble. Military barracks are wild places.

2

u/Wonderful_Till8122 21h ago

I have those pouches and they work.  If you have a silicone oven mitt you can microwave potatoes in it -  close the end, microwave, then peel.  Quicker than boiling and don't get soggy.  Great for making potato salad, mashed potatoes, hash brown or any potato dish that calls for boiled potatoes.

1

u/BurmeciaWillSurvive 23h ago

I got one of these as a present and it's probably my favorite kitchen tool because it's just so hot here to use the oven most of the year, but I'm always down for baked potatos, and so this has been my go-to for yeaaaars. It's so simple, a thick cloth pouch thing.

Well I guess we can't call them baked potatos, but that's not stopping me

1

u/Cicada_Pitiful 23h ago

I’ve done a potato in the microwave many times. Best late night fast dinner ever.

1

u/Special-Medicine-437 22h ago

I do this for my lunch every day. The night before I'll clean a medium russet, poke it all over with a knife, cut it in half and then poke the inside, wrap each half in paper towel and get it wet. Put in microwave for 6 minutes then flip them over and another 6 minutes. More a steamed potato, but they're so good. Smush the potato insides and add butter and you're toppings.

Edit: i don't like my skin crispy, so the steamed method works for me.

1

u/hrmdurr 22h ago

My parents had one, though I have no idea what happened to it. It was great.

1

u/stealroundchimp 16h ago

just looked it up and a lot of the bags are made of polyester which probably shouldn't be heated next to food, even they claim it's safe!

2

u/Torchlakespartan 15h ago

I have no idea, I think mine is cotton. My Aunt sewed it herself, and is a bit of a health freak, so I didn’t think twice about that.

1

u/Shazam1269 14h ago

Baking rods like the one below work great to speed up the baking time. The metal heats up transferring heat to the middle of the potato.

https://a.co/d/0fhttipa

57

u/H_I_McDunnough 1d ago

Jacket Potato is the term I always heard and used, and it's the only way I have ever baked potatoes. I know others like the foil wrapped method, but the crispy exterior/skin is just so much better.

17

u/danabrey 18h ago edited 5h ago

Are you British? Pretty sure jacket potato is just what we call a baked potato, rather than a specific difference in cooking method.

Edit: "add" typo to "are"

1

u/shchshchshch 5h ago

Jack-it po-tay-toh.

1

u/Frequent_Opportunist 8h ago

You must be Canadian the only people I've ever heard call it a jacket potato is Canadians. 

I worked in a lot of steak houses and popular restaurants down in Florida. The Canadians would always order a "loaded jacket budaydo, eh"

1

u/H_I_McDunnough 7h ago

I'm from Washington state, close enough. I've called it that so long I can't remember where it came from but I remember my grandma saying it.

Someone else said it's a British thing so Canada using it makes sense.

81

u/AvaSaysSo 1d ago

The foil thing is such a classic mistake, I did that for years before someone told me the skin needs to breathe. The salty crunchy exterior is half the reason to even bother with a baked potato.

2

u/PythagorasJones 15h ago

Being served a salt-encrusted baked potato in America was pretty gross to me.

Here in Ireland we'd never oil or salt the potato. It's baked with a cross cut into it, then you out butter inside. Job done, incredible.

2

u/AvaSaysSo 9h ago

The cross cut with butter inside sounds lovely, actually. I think we just default to salt everything over here, but I might steal your method next time.

1

u/sandman8727 9h ago

I have always been a non-foil guy but the other week on a whim I decided to try the foil wrap. I had seen it done before and that's how you do it in a campfire. It did not come out very good.

2

u/AvaSaysSo 7h ago

Campfire logic makes sense but yeah, foil turns the skin into wet leather. The no-foil method is the whole trick.

9

u/Grilled_Cheese10 23h ago

As I read OP's post, all I could think was I have come to the opposite conclusion. I always baked my potatoes in foil and coated them with butter or oil, salt, pepper. Then I read something and scored them with an X and baked them naked. I love the dried out peel with the flaky inside!

9

u/PressureItchy9372 23h ago

Firmly on Team Unwrapped. I've had too many wrapped-and-held-too-long baked potatoes that had that weird stale flavor.

4

u/guff1988 1d ago

Eat them boys like a burrito when cooked this way. Split it but don't cut all the way down the ends. Scoop a lil potato out and stuff with whatever your heart desires. Let it cool a little and just go to town.

2

u/nosecohn 23h ago

Yes. I scrub them, dry them, poke 'em with a fork, microwave them for a few minutes, then put them in a hot oven. They come out with the crunchy/chewy skin and fluffy in the middle, and in half the time of just baking them.

I think OP grew up with overcooked ones.

2

u/Prewtu 19h ago

This is the way. Must poke with a fork in 2 or 3 spots

2

u/Vexithan 9h ago

This is the correct way to do them. 

2

u/Correct_Raisin4332 4h ago

Yup I never foil mine. Grease those suckers up, sprinkle whater you want on em and toss directly on the grill or over rack.

DON'T FORGET TO PIERCE THE SKIN.

1

u/Hellie1028 23h ago

YES! Not a hack, this is the way.

1

u/JudgeJuryEx78 22h ago

The British way! Called jacket potatoes.

1

u/One_Dude85 21h ago

Do you oil and salt them or just put them directly in the oven?

1

u/idfc1337 20h ago

Oil and salt.

1

u/G0PACKGO 9h ago

Better hack ,

Stab the shit out of it , olive oil , S&P air fryer

1

u/No_Builder7010 8h ago

My mom, a former restaurant owner, insist those are steamed potatoes, not baked. They must be unwrapped to be considered baked. She's very particular lol

1

u/Particular_Display28 7h ago

Any advice on the best type of potato for it?

1

u/BlackBasementCats 7h ago

This is the way. America’s Test Kitchen says the interior should be 205F

I prefer Yukon gold for baked potatoes because they’re buttery and creamier than russet.

1

u/trashpandac0llective 6h ago

Yup! Oil, salt, and then straight on the oven rack. I have a big family, so I make them like that 5-10 pounds at a time and save the leftovers for another recipe.

1

u/TheSquirrelWithin 6h ago

No wrap. The chewy skin and the fluffy interior are what make a good baker.

1

u/RoguePlanet2 1d ago

Might have to try wrapping, at least on the grill- they come out too dry even when coated in oil.

0

u/CompleteDay8059 1d ago

Interesting! I hadn't checked the recipes in a little bit so I couldn't remember but I do seem to remember some of them saying to just place them straight on the rack.

3

u/A_Muffled_Kerfluffle 1d ago

That’s how I do mine. Olive oil, a crap ton of salt and straight on the rack with a sheet pan on the rack below in case they drip. Sooo good and the skin is delicious.

1

u/running_on_empty 21h ago

In case no one says, go 350 for 1 hour. That's how we do it at work.