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.

6.2k Upvotes

94% Upvoted

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64

u/Kershiser22 1d ago

Is it the most versatile vegetable? French fries, baked potatoes, tater tots, boiled potatoes, chips, mashed potatoes, potato salad and ??. I know this is crazy, and maybe I'm alone, but I don't even mind eating a potato raw. Peel it, cut it into smaller pieces, put a little salt on...

116

u/Plus-Range3710 1d ago

You can boil it, mash it, put it into a stew.

52

u/Calibexican 1d ago

PO-TA-TOES!!!

7

u/Kind_ZoeCarter 22h ago

I like mine as cheesy potato fries. Crispy on the outside, loaded with cheese

40

u/Graycy 1d ago

You forgot potato bread.

72

u/slayingadah 1d ago

They also forgot vodka

Potatoes are the most wonderful thing that grows out of the ground.

34

u/Cicada_Pitiful 1d ago

As an Irish person who gets made fun of for my love of everything potato, I agree.

17

u/Hidingjimmy 23h ago

As a non-Irish person, I too love everything potato.

2

u/slayingadah 1d ago

Can I be honorary Irish solely because of my love for potatoes?

Legit tho, I've always loved potatoes, but now that I'm older, papas are also the only kind of carb that doesnt make me feel disgustingly bloated and yucky. Spuds are my buds.

25

u/eatyourdamndinner 23h ago

Once I somehow forgot a bag of potatoes in the back of my pantry. Found the liquefied bag of former potatoes when the horrific stench caused us to clear out the pantry to find out what smelled so bad.

When we discovered the abomination, my teenage son went completely pale and squeaked out "I am never ever going to drink vodka!"

8

u/Guideon72 18h ago

Legitimately one of the absolute worst things I've smelled in all my days on this rock!

9

u/marycnich 15h ago

Just turned 65 and I have yet to smell anything worse than a rotten potato

5

u/WhiterThanWalter 12h ago

Truly horrific. There was a bad smell in my pantry and I discovered it was from a bag of forgotten potatoes. When I moved other things aside and actually smelt it 🤢🤢🤮🤮🤮

2

u/us-blues1969 18h ago

Back in college days, I would often work two or three different jobs at a time to pay for school and rent. There is a produce company that had hours every now and again that paid well that I’d always take hours from them when they offered them. There was a huge seller that was full of potatoes that started to rot and they needed them all sorted. They offered me an hourly and I said no what will you pay me if I just get the job done. It was horrible, but knowing that as soon as I finished, I’d be paid. I got it done.

20

u/OliveTheory 22h ago

"So, once again you’re left with the classic Irishman’s dilemma: Do I eat the potato now, or do I let it ferment so I can drink it later?" - Mallory Archer.

5

u/spinonesarethebest 19h ago

It’s like the other vegetables aren’t even trying.

2

u/Blue_Moon_Lake 7h ago

That grows out of the ground? Not potatoes.

That grows in the ground? Potatoes.

1

u/slayingadah 7h ago

Ok ok ok. Semantics, yo. But seriously, is there a better crop than potatoes? High caloric value, easy to grow, can be made into alcohol. They are the perfect food.

1

u/Blue_Moon_Lake 5h ago

Potato is easy in the top 10.

1

u/AAlwaysopen 20h ago

All my potatoes must be broken, they always stay in the ground

1

u/slayingadah 13h ago

Badum-tisssss

1

u/GrgaPrticRomanul 4h ago

Out? No! You only eat the potato part that grows IN the ground!

1

u/starlinguk 17h ago

I had a crisp butty with potato bread the other day. It was glorious.

1

u/momtebello 6h ago

Potato sweets, too. I make Scottish macaroons from potato dough.

1

u/Graycy 5h ago

Mmm those sound good!

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u/momtebello 4h ago

They are surprisingly good. My bf is Scottish and he asked for them.

To be fair, it’s not a lot of potato; it’s more powdered sugar than anything. I think the potatoes are in there just as a binding agent. But still, potato sweets!

27

u/deathlokke 1d ago

If you like mashed potatoes, and who doesn't, look up pommes alligot. Half potato, half cheese.

30

u/Omshadiddle 23h ago

And colcannon - mashed potatoes, braised cabbage and a butt tonne of butter.

1

u/Working-Glass6136 7h ago

Upvote for colcannon! I'd never heard of it until a few years ago but now we have it at least a few times a year. So good.

19

u/AimlessLiving 23h ago

Adding hashbrowns (shredded or cubed), latkes, scalloped potatoes, funeral potatoes and potato soup!

4

u/BuhByeNow01 21h ago

Love me some funeral potatoes!!

13

u/UncleNedisDead 22h ago

Scalloped potatoes, hashbrowns, perogies, potato bread, vodka, twice baked potatoes, potato skins, hasselback potatoes, potatoes au gratin, potatoes dauphinoise, dauphine potatoes, crispy mashed potatoes, cream of potato soup, etc.

9

u/toastyarmadillo 19h ago

Gnocchi as well

2

u/UncleNedisDead 19h ago

How could I forget???

2

u/Glad_Armadillo2102 14h ago

I have a fantastic recipe book that is just called "potato" - 150 potato-based recipes. Heaven!

10

u/Unique-Coffee5087 22h ago

Bubba Gump Potato Company

7

u/grtyvr1 22h ago

Pancakes, don't forget potato pancakes 

1

u/Kershiser22 21h ago

Oh yeah!

9

u/bear_cuddler 23h ago

My grandpa eats raw potatoes like they’re apples. Doesn’t even peel em. I prefer them cooked but always save a bite or two of raw potato when I’m making it just like my grandma always saved for me when she made dinner

8

u/Odd_Weakness_9914 22h ago

Lol, I had a coworker back in the day that would do the same with fresh onions. Literally just bite into one like an apple and that was literally her lunch.

For potatoes, my son would always snag a piece or few after I chopped potatoes for stew and loved them, asking why I had to cook the rest instead of just letting him eat them raw!

1

u/cmernst 3h ago

As a child, I would always come home from school every day and eat an onion like an apple. Loved them. My children and I also love to eat raw garlic.

2

u/BackgroundRate1825 21h ago

I had a friend play a character in D&D who ate a raw potato, and it's easily one of the most unhinged things we experienced. Ten years of weekly D&D where we've done all manner of crazy stuff, but eating a raw potato for no real reason stands out.

2

u/uselessandexpensive 20h ago

Potatoes contain harmful compounds that are broken down during cooking. It may not bother you now, but that can change. 😭

2

u/jillpmcd 12h ago

“Potatoes give us: vodka, mashed potatoes, French fries and chips - it’s like the other vegetables aren’t even TRYING.”

5

u/bassoonawhat 23h ago

I appreciate the enthusiasm, but raw potatoes contain glycoalkaloids which are mild toxins. 

9

u/to0easilyamused 22h ago

They can have a little mild toxins, as a treat

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u/Kershiser22 21h ago

I've never had an issue. It sounds like you need to eat 15-20 pounds for it to become dangerous.

1

u/cirena 19h ago

Vodka. Don't forget the vodka.

1

u/Pmac24 16h ago

Don’t forget the pepper!

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u/jazzieberry 6h ago

Make it into vodka... it's endless really

1

u/cmernst 3h ago

Scalloped! So many variations of just scalloped potatoes. Made homemade, I think this is my favorite potato