I'm sure there are a number of personal preferences for the Perfect baked Potato.

This is my favourite and I've been making them this way for over 30 years.

Wash and dry Russet potatoes. Rub with butter and sprinkle with salt. Bake in a 400 to 450 oven for 25 minutes. Prick with a fork , turn the potato over and prick the other side and continue baking until potato is cooked. Time will depend on the size of the potato. Usually 45 to 60 minutes.

I know that some believe that you need to prick the potato before it goes into the oven. But if you want the "perfect" baked potato, do not prick until after the potato has baked for 20 to 25 minutes. Perfect every time.

~Ann

I use a method much like Ann T's except I don't prick the potato. Only once have I had one explode, LOL.

I usually do mine now in the 6 quart Nesco roaster. Rubbed with olive oil and sprinkled with kosher salt, then into the roaster at 400F for about an hour. yum, baked potatoes sounds really good, and I have leftover chili to put over them.

Annie

There's something wonderfully comforting about a baked spud.

This will probably incite a riot comparable to the 2" of (that red sauce that shall remain nameless) on meatloaf, but to me, it should be a capital crime to "bake" a potato in foil with the possible exception of sticking them into a campfire, but that's still not a preferred way of making them IMO. And microwaving them is not baking either. (It's steaming them)

Rubbed with bacon fat is fine. The oil/butter and salt is OK but a good crispy skin is half the reason for eating a baked spud. I don't usually put anything on them. Wash them good and put them in the oven. Time will depend on the size so there's no magical number. If they sit a bit you can pop them under the broiler to crisp up a bit too.

If you have the oven going, pop the potatoes in there. The Nesco is great and the countertop convection oven works great too and both are cheaper to run than an oven that's otherwise empty.

"---This will probably incite a riot comparable to the 2" of (that red sauce that shall remain nameless) on meatloaf,
---" LOL!

This method, too, will cause a riot:

I steam the potatoes first until they are 100% cooked, then I bake in my roaster/convection oven.

This way I know there will never be uncooked potatoes, especially if you have mixed sizes. I can also decide to peel or not to peel for baking. Peeling is much easier after steaming.

dcarch

Oh, cynic, I'm with you on foil-wrapped potatoes. Although I haven't seen one served like that in a restaurant for some time. The worst thing was when they were foil-wrapped, split, and a knob of "butter" stuck on top, sometimes even a wrapped piece of butter stuck in the split. If you wanted to eat the potato skin you ended up with 10 greasy fingers and limp potato skin. Not a pleasant thing.

I also agree on the foil wrapped baked potatoes, plus if you bake potatoes sealed in foil and leave them out on the counter, you can cultivate a nice batch of botulism. It happens mostly in restaurants.

I also agree on the microwave. I can cook a potato in there, but it is definitely not baked.

Annie

The whole foil-wrapped baked potato gambit was underwritten by the Reynolds Aluminum Co. to increase sales of tin foil LOL
I like them dry and crispy however the one that I live with who shall go unnamed has it cemented in his head that wrapping in foil is the way it's done with the resulting soggy jacket. I do believe this comes from the aforementioned steak house style of a foil wrapped potato with a big glob of butter on top. Oh well. Sometimes you can't teach a dog a new trick. Ha.

I saw an episode of America's Test Kitchen, where they overthink everything, where they baked the potatoes buried in a pan of salt.

I like them rubbed with olive oil and salt then baked, and I also like them wrapped in foil and baked. Guess it depends on my mood at the time.

I used to prick the skins but haven't in years. Never had an issue by not doing it, so I just stopped.

Linda

Yum yum...microwaved potatoes on the side of meatloaf with 2 inches of ketchup on top! "mahvalus dahling"! Sounds good to me! I ain't a food snob though...

You've lost me there, akgirl. I don't mind the catsup, but I don't really care for meatloaf!

Potatoes, however, I'll eat nearly any way I can get them. I do microwave potatoes, usually when I'm in a hurry, but they're microwaved, not baked. I microwave them for a quick batch of American Fries for breakfast, or I stick one in the microwave to cover with leftover chili for a quick supper, but if I want a baked potato, I want the skin to be crunchy. That never happens in a microwave and it has nothing to do with being a food snob or not.

Annie

This post was edited by annie1992 on Mon, Feb 25, 13 at 16:55

Well anyway, all that aside, the OP was looking for a thread about how to make a perfect baked potato so does anyone have that link to give them?

No foil on my baked potatoes.

When a jump start is needed, I pre-heat the oven to 475, microwave potatoes for about 5 minutes, oil and salt the microwaved potatoes, bake in oven until cooked through (about 30 minutes). They turn out fluffy on the inside with crispy skins.

Some of us just don't like ketchup. On anything. If that is all it takes to make one a food snob than so be it.

Lizbeth is this what you were looking for? Rosin Baked Potatoes

Thanks for all of your responses. Lots of ways for me to try and I will.

I read the post somewhere online and I thought it was here and even thought it was Ann t's recipe-apparently wrong on both counts. Someone was saying they found the way to a perfect baked potato and IIRC it was cooked several hours in a very low oven, but I didn't make a note and don't know the exact time or temperature or if it was dry or oiled, etc. It just piqued my interest because it was so different and thought it would be fun to try. I just need to make note of those things when I see them. No big deal. Thanks again!

No ann, that sounds a little more adventurous than I care to go for a baked potato!

It didn't appeal to me either Lizbeth.

Hope you find what you are looking for.

~Ann

Bacon grease and salt and set it on a piece of foil in the oven or on a cookie sheet. When it's done throw the foil away....no cleanup required,

Cracker Barrel used to serve the rosin baked potatoes. Cool! (in a cool sort of way)

jude

Rosin baked?

It is more like deep frying potatoes in boiling rosin (270 C, 518 F).

This method does not seal in moisture or nutrients as claimed.

dcarch

What's Cooking America posted a step-by-step guide on how to bake a perfect potato.

All you need is a Russet potato, olive oil/ butter/ vegetable oil, coarse salt/sea salt

You may view the site for further details.

Here is a link that might be useful: Perfect Baked Potatoes

Lizbeth, I was intrigued by the several hours etc, so I googled and came up with this:

Here is a link that might be useful: Sloooow Baked Potatoes

That slow baked potato sounds interesting! I may just give that a try...since the dad insisted on one of these every day, it must be pretty darn good.

I love baked potatoes, but there is no way I'll turn on an oven for three hours just for potatoes. I'd sure try it if I were making a stew or something that cooked for that long.

I think I might try this in my little Nesco oaster. It makes great baked potatoes anyway, and I'd bake in there for 3 hours with negligible harm to my natural gas bill.

Annie

Thanks for the link, Winter Cat, and yours too, alys.

I'm with you annie, but thought it would be fun to try if I had something else in the oven for a long time.

We like ours this way,I always scvrub mine with a brush,put on piece of foil pour a little olive oil,salt pepper wrap and bake mm

Does anyone use those thin metal skewer type things for baking potatoes. I used to have some eons ago. Supposedly they transfer the heat into the center. Can't really remember if they helped or not.

pkguy, those skewers help, but very little. Metals conduct heat well, but not that well.

This is a significantly much better way, using a technology called heat pipes:

You can buy them on eBay surplus computer CPU heat pipe heat sinks, relatively cheap. They are used in most laptops to cool down the CPUs.

Remove them and bend them straight and use them for you potatoes. If you worry about copper, you can have them tinned. (All drinking water use bare copper pipes).

They conduct a great deal more heat them just metal. Good for cooking large piece of meat also.

Google "Heat Pipe" technology.

dcarch

Peter, I remember those, I had some too. Small metal skewers with loops on the end, you were supposed to stick them though the center of the potato and it would conduct heat to cook the potato more quickly and evenly.

I couldn't really tell that they made a difference, but I burned my fingers a couple of times taking the blasted things out!

Annie

Isn't it interesting how something as simple as a baked potato can be made complicated? You have one method that takes hours and another method using some type of "skewer" to speed up the process.

Something for everyone.

~Ann

To be quite honest, I really think that a microwaved "baked potato" tastes exactly the same as when I put it in the oven for an hour. We slap butter and cheese on ours so who can tell the difference...ok so no crunchy skin but I don't care for that anyway. Personally, my favorite is to make homemade mashed potatoes and put butter and cheese on them...microwave the cheese all melty and eat! Very tasty.

It is pretty silly to make something so simple into some huge chore...maybe if it is that big of a deal to bake a potato and get it just right...maybe a potato just isn't your cup of tea?

I have an advantium micro/speed oven cooker do dad. I cook mine in there and they come out great everytime. Skin is kinda crispy but inside is soft and fluffy. I do prick them before hand as I have had to clean out exploded potato from the oven and it wasn't pretty.

akgirl, I LOVE potatoes in nearly any way possible.

However, I also have a huge texture issue with some things and the skin on a microwaved baked potato is one of those things. I'll peel it off and throw it away, but I'm not eating it, it's kind of papery and odd and the potato isn't dry and fluffy, it's gummy and moist. it's actually good when making American Fries, I always peel the skin off and the chunks of potato stay firm/moist enough to stand up to browning in a frying pan.

I love those potato skins all covered with cheese, maybe some chili, you know, those wedges of potato? The skins have got to be crispy/crunchy, though. The peels are my favorite part of a baked potato, my youngest daughter used to eat the middle of both of our potatoes (covered in A1 sauce, no less) and I'd eat the skin, buttered with salt and pepper.

Annie