Baked Potatoes

[blue_dolphin]

1 hour ago, Anna N said:

Does not seem to be hazardous when applied to small potatoes at least according to this.

As I feared, this is now behind a 💰 wall although it was not when I linked!

 

That (small spuds, buried in salt) seems to offer more moisture control and seasoning than simply placing (nestling?) a big tater atop a bed of salt. I get the salt would allow more air circulation than directly in a pan. Presumably less circulation than if it were right on a rack. Curious the salt is so crucial. 
 

 

[CookBot]

26 minutes ago, Anna N said:

First I need to point out that I am not the one proposing nor defending this method.

 

Duly noted.

 

11 minutes ago, Anna N said:

Very strange. But here’s the relevant quote:

[....]

The potato itself has a very thick, crunchy outer shell, almost like a pastry crust.....

 

I'll bet it does!

 

Well, the proof will be in the potato.  And I've got a couple of russets doing nothing to contribute to their share of the rent, so why not give them a spin?  I think I'll do it tonight and report back.  But I'm going to draw the line at putting cottage cheese on a baked potato, no matter how incinerated it is.

Edited October 24, 2022 by CookBot (log)

[Anna N]

7 minutes ago, blue_dolphin said:

That (small spuds, buried in salt) seems to offer more moisture control and seasoning

I believe I actually made these potatoes once many years ago. Although the recipe makes it sound as though it’s a piece of cake to serve these things, it really wasn’t! There was still more salt on each potato than most people wanted to consume so now they have the issue of getting that salt off the potatoes without making a mess over the table or their dinner plate. Would work much better in a casual setting like a barbeque. 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

1 hour ago, Anna N said:

I believe I actually made these potatoes once many years ago. Although the recipe makes it sound as though it’s a piece of cake to serve these things, it really wasn’t! There was still more salt on each potato than most people wanted to consume so now they have the issue of getting that salt off the potatoes without making a mess over the table or their dinner plate. Would work much better in a casual setting like a barbeque. 

 

I use very coarse salt.  Sort of like small stones.

 

[gfweb]

10 hours ago, Anna N said:

 This kind of digging for a Reference keeps me out of the pool halls. 

 

That would be trouble with a capital T

[Dave the Cook]

On 10/23/2022 at 4:57 PM, Anna N said:

I would love to have found the Richard Olney reference you speak of . . .

 

23 hours ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

I too would love to find the Richard Olney reference! 

 

Without checking, I wonder if James Peterson might have channeled Olney. He's a known devotee.

[Anna N]

46 minutes ago, Dave the Cook said:

 

 

Without checking, I wonder if James Peterson might have channeled Olney. He's a known devotee.

Perhaps. It’s definitely a thought, but an initial quick search didn’t uncove anything about Peterson and long baked potatoes. 
But it did show up a recommendation for 3 hour potatoes. Granted these are done at 350°, but the article also offers a way of testing potatoes baked from 1 to 3 hours such that they can all be taste tested at the same time. 

Edited October 25, 2022 by Anna N
Clarification (log)

[Kerry Beal]

So after dinner tonight I popped a single large russet into the CSO - steam bake 425º F for 2 hours. After about 90 minutes the water ran out and in the process of reloading it -water started to spit into the oven so I took the potato out at that point. 

 

It was already much better than the one hour potatoes I usually do. 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

2 hours ago, Dave the Cook said:

 

 

Without checking, I wonder if James Peterson might have channeled Olney. He's a known devotee.

 

Not impossible, I have his Vegetables and Sauces, but I've been cooking potatoes two hours at 425F since before I purchased them.

 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

1 hour ago, Kerry Beal said:

So after dinner tonight I popped a single large russet into the CSO - steam bake 425º F for 2 hours. After about 90 minutes the water ran out and in the process of reloading it -water started to spit into the oven so I took the potato out at that point. 

 

It was already much better than the one hour potatoes I usually do. 

 

Question is, why didn't you cook your potato before dinner?

 

[liuzhou]

I've been using Delia's recipe since 1979. Wouldn't change it, at all.

 

https://www.deliaonline.com/recipes/type-of-dish/vegetarian-recipes/jacket-potatoes

[weinoo]

On 2/3/2014 at 10:22 PM, JoNorvelleWalker said:

I've had very good potatoes on Prince Edward Island, but that was about 1970, so things may have changed. On my baked potatoes I like olive oil and sour cream better than butter. As I recall earthworms are an invasive European species and not at all native to North America.

 

I just bought a 3 lb. bag of organic Yukon Golds yellow potatoes at Trader Joe's today.

 

 

\

 

https://www.redisleproduce.com/

 

 

[gfweb]

Russet potato at 425 with steam x 2 hours.

It was nice...maybe better than a usual baked potato.

The skin was nicer...crisper.

 

 

 

[Anna N]

 

So I was finally able to get a couple of potatoes for this experiment. I am unsure of how to describe the results and will probably end up contradicting myself.

This potato was so big that even without supposedly making an experiment, I am fairly certain it would’ve taken close to two hours no matter what.

I scrubbed it, stabbed it and put it on the rack in the oven at 400°F. (I chose a lower temperature because I was baking it in the countertop Breville.) Somehow I think my science is not the best!

After two hours I attempted to cut a cross in the potato with little success. My paring knife would hardly go through the skin.  I managed to mostly mutilate the potato. When I tried my usual trick of squeezing the potato to fluff it, it would not give. I eventually managed to open it out, using a couple of forks.
I tasted the potato undressed (no, no I was wearing clothes — don’t go there). It tasted fine, but I was not in any way feeling transported. 
I dressed it with butter and pepper, and it was a fine potato. Again, nothing that I would write home about. I found the skin to be very tough rather than crispy. That was a definite disappointment.

I have one more potato. I’m not quite sure what changes I should make to convince me that a two hour potato is so much better than a one hour potato.  Given the size of the potato should I go for three hours? Or should I go for two hours at a higher temperature? 
I just looked at my shopping list and the two potatoes weighed .925 kg. They were pretty much the similar in size so that makes them about 16 ozs each! Holy cow I didn’t realize there were that big. 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

4 hours ago, Anna N said:

 

So I was finally able to get a couple of potatoes for this experiment. I am unsure of how to describe the results and will probably end up contradicting myself.

This potato was so big that even without supposedly making an experiment, I am fairly certain it would’ve taken close to two hours no matter what.

I scrubbed it, stabbed it and put it on the rack in the oven at 400°F. (I chose a lower temperature because I was baking it in the countertop Breville.) Somehow I think my science is not the best!

After two hours I attempted to cut a cross in the potato with little success. My paring knife would hardly go through the skin.  I managed to mostly mutilate the potato. When I tried my usual trick of squeezing the potato to fluff it, it would not give. I eventually managed to open it out, using a couple of forks.
I tasted the potato undressed (no, no I was wearing clothes — don’t go there). It tasted fine, but I was not in any way feeling transported. 
I dressed it with butter and pepper, and it was a fine potato. Again, nothing that I would write home about. I found the skin to be very tough rather than crispy. That was a definite disappointment.

I have one more potato. I’m not quite sure what changes I should make to convince me that a two hour potato is so much better than a one hour potato.  Given the size of the potato should I go for three hours? Or should I go for two hours at a higher temperature? 
I just looked at my shopping list and the two potatoes weighed .925 kg. They were pretty much the similar in size so that makes them about 16 ozs each! Holy cow I didn’t realize there were that big. 

 

Did you rub the skin with oil before baking?  After baking I smash my potato against a plate to release steam.

 

[Anna N]

42 minutes ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

 

Did you rub the skin with oil before baking?  After baking I smash my potato against a plate to release steam.

 

No, I did not use oil on the skin. I don’t know. I just found it very strange how difficult it was to break into. Initially, it seemed to resist the knife so much that I wondered if it was even baked. I think some white small potatoes just might produce a better result. I would not have chosen such large potatoes, but I had no input into their size as I shop online.

[mgaretz]

I tried the two hour baked potato tonight.  It was a medium sized russet.  Two hours at 400F in the BSOA.  Like @Anna N's potato, the skin was rather hard, but not so hard I couldn't cut it with steak knife (and I kinda like it like that).  I did not oil it.  The insides were very nice.  Tomorrow I am going to try microwaving the potato for 5 minutes then bake for one hour and see if the results are similar.  In the past I have done the microwave plus bake, but only for 15 minutes.  That is much better than microwaved baked potato alone, but still not as a good as full bake.

[Anna N]

9 hours ago, mgaretz said:

Tomorrow I am going to try microwaving the potato for 5 minutes then bake for one hour and see if the results are similar

An interesting approach. I shall be following closely.

My second potato is still pricking my conscience as it sits on the counter. I am dithering as to what I should try. I am thinking oiled and baked for three hours at 400° in the Breville.

[rotuts]

I used to microwave my russets before

 

CSO  1 hrs 425

 

works fine.  

[btbyrd]

ATK suggests that oiling potatoes before baking results in a leathery skin. This accords with my experience. They suggest a quick dunk of the potato into a very strong salt brine before cooking. A few minutes before you take the potato out of the oven, brush it with some oil to crispify the skin.

[mgaretz]

Last night I did the 5 minute microwave, 60 minute bake at 400F with a medium sized russet.  The insides were comparable to the 2 hour bake version.  The skin had a more withered appearance, but was still very crispy, not as hard as the 2 hour bake but still hard.  This method seems much more energy and time efficient than the 2 hour bake with comparable if not better results.  Picture is after adding butter, salt and pepper.

 

 

[Anna N]

 

Having given it a fair shake, I have to say I will return to my normal baking method. 
This time I oiled the skin and rubbed it with salt and baked for 2 1/2 hours @ 400 degrees Fahrenheit in the Breville oven. The skin was at once crispy and tough. Not at all pleasant to eat. The potato might have picked up a little more flavor, but not enough to warrant the energy needed (mine and that of the oven). I was open to an epiphany, but I never got it. Perhaps I should have been on the road to Damascus but in 2022 that sounds a bit risky.   Oh well. 
 

[CookBot]

On 10/30/2022 at 1:32 PM, Anna N said:

Again, nothing that I would write home about. I found the skin to be very tough rather than crispy. That was a definite disappointment.

 

I was open to an epiphany, but I never got it.

 

Same here.  I roasted two this past weekend and had the same experience, skins tough rather than crispy.  Insides were nice and fluffy, but not enough difference to convince me to spend an extra hour of cooking time.

 

I did mine in the countertop oven with convection turned off, at 400F for two hours (lowered slightly because the Cuisinart runs about 50 degrees hot, even with convection turned off). 

Edited November 3, 2022 by CookBot (log)

[JoNorvelleWalker]

 

Potato from last night's dinner.  Skin rubbed with grapeseed oil, baked two hours at 425F in a bed of salt.  Stabbed with a fork after thirty minutes (because in rereading the thread, I used to do that).

 

[billyhill]

I have not had a potato in 4 weeks. I am trying to fight off type 2 diabetes. My mouth is watering reading this thread.

 

If I get them in the garden early enough, very little pesticide or fungicide is needed. Following southern peas in my planting cycle and adding heavy compost minimizes fertilizer inputs. There is a yukon gold on the butcher's block that was probably dug in July.  It is just now starting to eye up. It will be part of my son's breakfast tomorrow. Great home garden crop, just highly variable yields.

 

Edited November 6, 2022 by billyhill
To remove picture with my feet... (log)