How to Make Baked Potatoes
Baked potatoes are a staple side dish in my home! You can load these up however you want! My favorite part of this recipe is the crispy skin. Potatoes are the quintessential starchy vegetable and although they may not be friendly to those on a low-carb eating plan, they are actually only about 110 calories and are an excellent source of potassium (it contains more than a banana!) and Vitamin C!
My Grandmommy grew up in the Great Depression in a rural community about 8 miles outside a city and was fortunate enough to have a family vegetable garden and fruit trees. My Great-Grandmother was an expert gardener (she was still digging her own fence posts at 91 years old!) and fed the family fresh fruits and vegetables. She kept the peels on most vegetables, like carrots and potatoes, because she knew that there were essential vitamins and minerals in those peels. She also was steaming vegetables in an era where most people were boiling them, which decreases their nutritional value.
Because of this, my Grandmommy and Mom instilled in me that the potato peel should always be eaten! So, with this way of preparing baked potatoes you will begin by scrubbing the potatoes and the skin will be crispy and delicious.
Let’s reel it back a couple of steps, however. Not all potatoes are created equal when it comes to baking potatoes. There are Russet Potatoes, Red or New Potatoes, Golden Potatoes or Purple Potatoes. Some potatoes are bigger and some are smaller!
What You Will Need:
Fork
Cookie Sheet
Ingredients:
Russet Potatoes
Crisco Vegetable Shortening or Olive Oil
Preferred Toppings (butter, shredded cheese, sour cream, bacon, scallions, etc.)
Step 1: Purchase Russet Potatoes
When making baked potatoes, you will want to purchase Russet Potatoes (otherwise known as baking potatoes). They vary in size but have brown, rough, dirty peels.
In this step, you must also decide how many potatoes you are baking! I usually get medium to large potatoes, based on what is available at my grocery store. Bake one potato per person. If you have small children (under 5), you can cut a baked potato in half. Do the math :-)
Step 2: Preheat the Oven to 400 degrees
This step is pretty simple- 400 is really the perfect temperature to bake potatoes! Make sure the oven rack is in the center of the oven.
Step 3: Scrub the Potatoes
Using a clean bristle brush under water, scrub the dirt off the peels of the potatoes. Rinse under the water, then pat each potato dry with a clean kitchen towel or paper towel.
Step 4: Stab the Potatoes with a Fork
This is a great way to relieve a little stress! Stab each potato 9-12 times with a kitchen fork, trying to distribute the punctures as evenly as possible. It doesn’t not have to be perfect to work, though! The holes are to let the steam out of the potato as it heats up while its baking, otherwise the pressure would build up and the potato would burst (I’ve never seen this happen, but I blindly trust that it would!)
Step 5: Place the Potatoes on a Cookie Sheet
You can place them on any kind of baking tray. I typically use a cookie sheet, but I’ve also used my trusty cast iron skillet. The only thing I would not recommend using is a glass casserole dish.
Step 6: Grease the Potatoes
Now it is time to get your hands a little dirty. You can use whatever you prefer (olive oil is a healthier option), but my Grandmommy used Crisco, so that’s what I use. Rub it over the surface of each potato until it is evenly and lightly covered. If you are using Crisco and the entire potato is white on the outside, you’ve used too much! This step is what creates the crispy skin!
Step 7: Bake the Potatoes
Place the potatoes in the oven! Bake them for at least 1 hour. If the potatoes are really big, bake them for 1 hour and 10 minutes.
Step 8: Remove Potatoes from Oven
Remove the potatoes from the oven once your timer goes off and set them on the stove to cool for a few minutes. If you want to keep the potatoes warmer for longer or if you are serving them at a baked potato bar, wrap them in foil at this point!
If you are fixing the rest of dinner, let the potatoes cool for a few minutes before serving them! You still want them to be hot enough to melt any cheese or butter you put in it!
Step 9: Cut the Potato Open
Once your potato is on a plate, cut the top of it open by making a long vertical cut along the top of the potato, leaving about half an inch on each end. Then, squeeze each end of the potato inward to expose the soft, hot white inside of the potato! The inside should be tender and soft. If it is hard, or doesn’t come apart when you poke it with a fork, it is not done yet.
Step 10: Garnish the Potato
Now is the time to add your favorite toppings to your potato! The possibilities are truly endless! Whenever I’m planning to make baked potatoes for my family, I usually have butter, shredded cheese (we like Fiesta Cheese around here!) and sour cream available!
Whenever I’ve done a baked potato bar for a party or event, I usually have bacon bits, chopped scallions, different types of shredded cheese, pre sliced butter and sour cream available! You can serve baked potatoes with chili, or with different kinds of creamy soups or you can just eat it with a tiny bit of butter and a little salt!
Whatever you choose to do, enjoy! And don’t forget to eat the skin for some extra nutrition :-)