The Baked Potato

[Ellen Shapiro]

Although the popular choice for world's-most-perfect-food may be the egg, the humble potato gets my vote. Especially the baked potato: the poached egg of the potato world.

Baking a potato is simple but involves considerable nuance and a number of variables. How do you bake yours?

I have taken to a high-temperature approach: 450 degrees F. I put the potatos in wet, with skin punctured in a few places, and let 'em rip until they test just underdone with a fork. I then shut off the oven and set the door slightly ajar and leave the potatoes to finish for about 10 minutes.

[snowangel]

We have baked potatos often.

If I'm in a real hurry, I'll start them in the microwave, then into my big toaster oven at 450. I want crispy skin, fluffy inside.

One of my kids won't eat the skins. Not a problem -- cut in half, scoop out inside. I get the crispy skin filled with butter -- enough so it drops down my arms when I pick them up with my hands.

All five in my family prefer then with butter and freshly ground black pepper. I don't often put out sour cream for them because the kids think that the potato would be a vehicle for cups of sour cream.

Leftover baked potatos are great diced or shredded, fried until crispy and served with that other perfect food, the egg, over easy on top.

[Richard Kilgore]

You mean that baked potatos are not cups for sour cream?

[snowangel]

You mean that baked potatos are not cups for sour cream?

Yes. I am of the butter/baked potato taste, therefore shall my children be.

[pjs]

Ellen, try rubbing them with veg oil before baking. Crispy skins, yum. Otherwise you've got it right.

PJ

[dave88]

Are we talking Yukon Gold, or Idaho Russet?

[jackal10]

Best baked potato is rolled in clay then put in the middle of a campfire...

The point is that the potato is ridiculously overcooked, so you get that delightful taste, and crisp crunchy skin. You can reproduce it in an medium oven, just cook for a long time - 3 hours say.

Butter, salt, black pepper is all you need...

Lesser potatos are just a sponge to sop up other food- melted cheddar, baked beans, chili...

[beachcove]

Here's to Mom:

Scrub potatoes, slather skin with handfuls of room-temperature butter, then douse in kosher salt - into a 450 oven on skewers, directly on to the oven racks...and yes, snowangel! Baked potatoes are vehicles for butter, not sour cream!

[wgallois]

My wife's quick and wonderful method - which has elements of some of those listed above - is to microwave the potato until it is fairly done and then to roll it in olive oil and rock salt in a baking dish, and to finish this off for twenty or so minutes in a very hot oven. Makes me want baked potatoes tonight...

[porkpa]

Never, never wrap them in foil. If you do, you will get a steamed potato instead of a baked one.

Porkpa

[Marlene]

Our normal method is to start them in the microwave, then finished them off in the oven after rubbing them with oil and salt. Convection oven at about 350 will crisp the skins nicely.

When I'm in the mood to fuss though, I'll make these. Twice Baked Potatoes

[snowangel]

Are we talking Yukon Gold, or Idaho Russet?

Idaho (or Minnesota ) russets.

And, yes, I do olive oil and kosher salt them before baking...

[porkpa]

Further to my previous post. Why do restaurants, even the odd good one wrap their so called baked potatoes in foil? What good is doing that supposed to accomplish?

Porkpa

[claire797]

Further to my previous post. Why do restaurants, even the odd good one wrap their so called baked potatoes in foil? What good is doing that supposed to accomplish?

Porkpa

I bake my mine without foil then wrap it in foil just before plating. The foil helps the potato retain the heat while it's sitting on the plate. It's useless if you plan to dig into your potato right away. However, if you tend to eat one thing at a time, the foil is a good thing.

[torakris]

I hate baked potatoes!

Never order them

never make them

[elyse]

Further to my previous post. Why do restaurants, even the odd good one wrap their so called baked potatoes in foil? What good is doing that supposed to accomplish?

Porkpa

So they can bake them at 3:00 and serve them at 10:00.

[Nick]

Okay. I have to confess that I LIKE baked potatoes. Especially the skins with some butter, but also the meat with salt and pepper. Good, freshly ground pepper.

I also have to confess that I bought one of those Polder meat thermometers that you stick in the meat and trail the wire to the outside of the oven. They're great!

Anyhow, in several of my manic moments I have used the Polder to keep track of the baking potatoes' temperature. Through my diligent research, I discovered that the potatoes were done when they reached 212F, the boiling point of water.

[elyse]

Interesting, Nick.

[Nick]

Interesting, Nick.

I thought so myself. Black, Cavendish, and Rumford have nothing on me.

[johnjohn]

How about a baked sweet potato? I never had them growing up, but am curious about trying one this weekend - Do you bake them the same as you would an Idaho potato? If not, what temperature and how long in the oven. Also, do you eat the skin of a sweet potato?

johnjohn

[elyse]

Interesting, Nick.

I thought so myself. Black, Cavendish, and Rumford have nothing on me.

Baked sweet potatoes are great. I bake them the same way as whites, which is on high heat until they're done. I squeeze them after a half hour, and every 20 minutes or so after. Skins are good too.

[torakris]

Baked sweet potatoes are wonderful! skin and all!

[Bigfoot]

I think the Barbeque Bible has a great recipe for a lovely cinnamon/maple syrup butter to go on the baked (or roasted in coals -- yum!) sweet potatoes. I roast them in the coals and peel off the charred skin.

[torakris]

I am assuming the following would work with regular sweet potatoes, though we do this with Japanese sweet potatoes.

Wash the potato well then wrap it in a slightly damp newspaper and then wrap this in tin foil, place inside the coals of a BBQ and leave it alone for about 30 minutes, turning it once. Unwrap and eat while still steaming hot, this is always the hit of our BBQ's!

[Ye-Ye Girl]

I baked a sweet potato just last week. Scooped out the baked insides, mixed with grated ginger, salt and pepper, then spooned onto a plate to go underneath my sauteed sea scallops.