Soak it, salt it, and — shove a nail through it?
If you want the perfect baked potato, you better believe it.
Technically, you can use any type of spud for making baked potatoes. After all,
a potato is a potato, right? But why not strive for perfection and save yourself
the disappointment of eating bland and flavorless food? That's because some
types of potatoes are undisputedly the best for baking, with the right texture, skin,
and flavor that make them the star of this dish. Others, not so much.
For perfectly crisp baked potatoes, russets are the way to go. They have higher starch content,
meaning the cooked insides will fluff up nicely. Plus, according to Baker Produce,
its dry, white skin will crisp up to a gorgeous golden brown, just how we like it.
Conversely, waxy red potatoes are a poor choice for baked potatoes, since they tend to hold their
shape and won't cave under high temperatures. Not only that, make sure to use same-sized potatoes
for consistent results, with medium-sized potatoes often being the best in this regard.
According to one Reddit user, if you want your baked potatoes to have restaurant-quality taste,
make sure you don't skip the soaking step. The truth is that
a simple soak will transform your potatoes from bland to banging.
The science behind this magic is simple. Soaking the potatoes in water will allow
the potatoes to soak up plenty of moisture. The food blog Blessed Beyond Crazy notes that you
need to let the potatoes rest in the water for no longer than two hours. If you exceed this time,
you'll end up with soggy spuds that will have lost any semblance of good texture and flavor.
Once the moisture has seeped in, you can go ahead and continue with the rest of the
steps to bake it. We think the result will be the epitome of deliciousness,
resulting in the fluffiest, tastiest baked potatoes ever.
If you have been using plain water for soaking your potatoes, you're missing a
key ingredient. Adding a dash of salt to cold water can seriously up your baked potato game.
Since you're bathing them anyway, why not add a pinch or two of salt to help season the skin,
add flavor, and crisp them up? Apart from getting a crisp exterior, we have found
that potatoes taste an order of magnitude better after they take a bath in salt water.
It's clear that salt does wonders to the texture and taste of baked potatoes,
but that's not the only reason you should be soaking potatoes in salt water. According to
Boss the Kitchen, soaking potatoes in cold salt water also helps to remove a chemical
called acrylamide from potatoes. This chemical is potentially linked to cancer,
per the National Cancer Institute, and is activated along with starch when potatoes
are cooked under high heat. Improving flavor and possibly fighting cancer? Thanks, salt!
Of course, now that you've soaked your potato, there's another important step
you should include: drying. That's because drying potatoes is kind
of a big deal. Skipping this step is a culinary catastrophe waiting to happen.
Why? Well, if you don't thoroughly dry your potato, you'll get a sad,
soggy mess that lacks the gorgeous golden crisp exterior that you so dearly desire.
You really need to dry the spuds after washing, scrubbing, or soaking them so
you can save your potatoes from turning into mush, per the site KitchenSeer. Moreover,
one Redditor argues that this step is the key to making the skin crispy.
Use paper towels, cloth towels, or even napkins if that's what happens to be handy. It doesn't
really matter what you use, so long as it absorbs the moisture and, of course,
is clean and sanitary. Leave the potatoes out in the open to air dry for a bit before you
start working on them. You'll see that this step makes all the difference in
the world and can help turn average baked potato ones into restaurant-quality spuds.
Finding out your baked potato is still hard despite giving it ample time in the oven is
heartbreaking. Sometimes, the oven might be at fault, where the temperature may be too low
for the heat to penetrate the skin and soften the insides nicely. A simple pre-cook in the
microwave is all you need to ensure your potatoes finish up perfectly in the oven. We just don't
recommend relying solely on the microwave. While you can cook potatoes entirely in the microwave,
doing so will likely result in poor texture and bland flavor.
Per Boss The Kitchen, you can do a quick pre-cook in the microwave for just three or four minutes
on both sides to ensure the flesh is nice and soft. Once that's done, you can proceed to bake
your potatoes in the oven to allow the skin to crisp up and the flesh to become tender.
Just hit the potato button on the microwave for a pre-cook while your oven preheats. Moreover,
a few minutes in the microwave also shortens baking time,
so if you're in a hurry, it's a good idea to stick to this step.
Baking potatoes in aluminum foil is a big fat no — unless you don't mind eating baked potatoes
that have been flavored with disappointment and sadness. This may come as a big surprise,
though. You'll find that the internet is full of recipes calling for a foil wrap
before you bake potatoes in the oven, but don't be fooled. Wrapping them in
foil simply traps the moisture around your potatoes. When you pull them out of the oven,
instead of baked potatoes, you'll have steamed potatoes. In short, you'll get a soggy mess.
According to the Idaho Potato Commission, encasing a potato in foil is typically done
to cut down on baking time. If you need to keep them warm post-oven,
you can try using a bread warmer or place them in a heat-proof cabinet once they've been baked.
Preheating your oven can make or break your baked potato recipe. Per Food52,
two elements affect the flavor and texture of the dish: time and temperature. Thrusting your food
into a cold oven sets up your food for a disaster, with a bland flavor and not-so-perfect texture.
According to many recipes, you need an hour or so to cook a baked potato so it comes out
perfectly. This time includes a preheat, where the temperature should be set to 425 to 450
degrees Fahrenheit for best results. We've found that doing a preheat often cuts down
our time in the oven, at least if we've timed it right. So, if you're in a rush,
take a breath and remember to hit that "preheat" button first thing.
What's more, taking the time to preheat is also an excellent opportunity to check if
your oven is working correctly. You can do this by using a thermometer to see if your
oven is heating up to the temperature its display claims to have achieved.
Preheating your baking tray is nothing short of a magic trick. But why bother? Per The Argus,
every oven can have uneven heating that leaves some areas undercooked and others overcooked.
Preheating your baking tray helps to ensure that your food cooks up nice and evenly. For
hefty potatoes that need just the right time to cook through, this could make a big difference.
Furthermore, this step also saves time by cooking up your potatoes relatively quickly.
Since the oven tray is already hot, your potatoes will immediately start simmering in the heat,
ready to become delicious and hot. Preheating your baking tray is as simple as it sounds.
Simply toss the tray into the oven and let them both preheat to your desired temperature.
As if that weren't enough, consider how this step can bump up a potato's
texture. One Quora user who works at a restaurant suggests preheating a pan in
the oven to help create a crust on baked goods — just what we want for a baked potato, too.
If you've forgotten to puncture your round veggie, chances are you might hear a loud
thud in the oven: the sound of exploding potatoes. Making holes in your potato frees steam from the
tiny little exits you've created. Otherwise, the buildup of heat and steam in your potato
might make it explode, making you scream bloody murder in the middle of the day.
While it doesn't happen all the time, it's always best to err on the side of caution. Food52 notes
that since potatoes are full of water, the steam will build up, and the skin will act
as a barrier. To prevent them from bursting, it's best to poke them with the tines of a fork. Also,
you're more likely to have a potato explode when baking them in the microwave than in the oven.
Often we're in a rush and just wish for a magic wand that can produce
baked potatoes in a second. We're here with a little less hocus pocus
and a bit of science instead. The magic wand, in this case, is a potato nail.
According to the blog for the potato nail product called Spuds Spikes,
this little-known food accessory can decrease a potato's time in the oven by up to 50 percent,
depending on size and variety of the potato. The idea is that these steel nails will
conduct heat to the middle of the potato, while lending strength and structure to your potato.
Chef Cristian Feher explains that these screws or nails act like a lightning rod that transfers
heat from the oven to inside the potato to help it cook faster. This hopefully means
that you won't be biting into any hard spots. If your nail slides out easily,
your potato has done its time in the oven and is ready to be served.
When making many potato dishes, you've likely encountered black spots. These spots,
although edible, are undesirable and visually unappealing. According to Home Cook World,
these spots indicate that the potatoes have been handled roughly, resulting in
bruised skin. These dark blemishes also mean that bitter-tasting chemicals have
been released into the surrounding flesh, obviously affecting the taste of the potato.
Therefore, it's best to cut and throw away the bruised section so you don't
compromise the flavor of your baked potato. If you encounter a blackened area after the
potato has been cooked, you can easily scrape it away with a fork or knife.
Per Leaf, there's a second kind of dark spot that you may encounter when
working with russet potatoes. This one features a long dark passageway known
as a "hollow heart." Don't worry about the creepy name, though, as it's not harmful.
It's basically a deformity. Simply scrape it away and enjoy the rest of the potato.
When you're in a hurry, you might be tempted to turn the heat up a notch just so your food
can cook up quicker or you can achieve perfectly crispy skin. Resist that urge,
though, lest you experience some drastic potato baking consequences. Regardless of
the motive, you need to be mindful of the temperature when you're baking potatoes.
Taste Essence suggests that the oven temperature for the perfect, medium-sized baked potatoes
should be between 400 to 425 degrees. The Idaho Potato Commission likewise recommends baking at
400 degrees Fahrenheit for an hour in the oven. A perfectly baked russet potato should have an
internal temperature of 210 degrees, as well. If you turn up the temperature too high and skimp
on cooking time, you'll have an uncooked center and a burnt-to-crisp outer skin of the potatoes.
While overripe spuds may be just about perfect for making mashed potatoes,
they're a big no-no when it comes to baking. Soft potatoes have lost their moisture,
according to PureWow. Dry, shriveled, and soft potatoes will no longer give you the
kind of texture you'll want to eat. A surefire way to tell if your potatoes are overripe is to
simply touch them. Potatoes that are slightly soft with only a few sprouts are edible and
fine to eat. However, any softer, and they really aren't ideal for baking.
Even if you use mildly soft potatoes to make baked potatoes,
you're still running a risk. The food blog Foods Guy explains that, at this stage,
the potatoes you're hoping to use just aren't at their best. Apart from issues with texture,
soft spuds will often lack the more rich flavor you would otherwise get from a fresh potato.