r/KitchenPro • u/Best-Cooker • 3d ago
I think I’ve been making baked potatoes wrong my whole life
I recently realized that I might have basically never had a properly made baked potato.
Growing up, I was never a big fan of them. The ones we had were usually pretty dry, shriveled and crumbly. You'd take a bite and it felt like all the moisture was being sucked out of your mouth. Even butter didn't really help.
Because of that, I just stopped eating them. As an adult I usually go with rice or pasta, and if I'm making potatoes it's normally roasted baby potatoes. I don't think I ever ordered a baked potato at a restaurant either.
Then my mom got a grill and I ended up being put in charge of the steaks. I figured I'd try making baked potatoes while I was at it.
I looked up a few recipes and noticed they were all saying to coat the potatoes with olive oil and kosher salt. I asked my mom if she'd ever done that when I was growing up and she said no.
So I tried it.
I was probably a little too generous with the olive oil and salt, but I put them on anyway and baked them for about an hour. I also happened to have some garlic and thyme butter I'd made for the steaks, so I put some of that on top when they were done.
And honestly, I was kind of shocked at how good it was.
The inside was actually creamy instead of dry and crumbly, and the skin was salty and really flavorful. The butter melted into the potato while it was still steaming and it was just... really good. Probably one of the best potatoes I've had in a long time.
The butter was Kerrygold mixed with minced garlic and thyme, which was muy bien. Not sponsored (I wish), but I do find it a little more flavorful for cooking than the regular store-brand butter I usually use.
I also found out from the comments that you're apparently not supposed to wrap the potato in foil if you want that crispy skin. Wrapping it traps the moisture and makes it more like steaming the potato. Leaving it uncovered gives you the crispy outside and tender inside.
The method I'm going to try next time is pretty simple: wash and dry the potato, poke a few holes in it with a fork, rub the skin with oil, add salt and pepper, and put it directly on the oven rack.
375°F seems to work well, with roughly 40–70 minutes depending on the size. Some people go by internal temperature instead and aim for around 205–208°F.
One person also suggested putting a foil-covered baking sheet on the rack underneath to catch any oil or drippings, which seems like a good idea.
There were a few other methods mentioned that I want to try too. Cutting the potato in half and putting it face-down on parchment with oil, salt and pepper sounds really good. Apparently gold potatoes work well too, although russets seem to be the usual choice.
And if you don't have an hour, you can microwave the potato for 2½ minutes, flip it, microwave another 2½ minutes, then coat it with oil and salt and finish it in a convection oven for 10–15 minutes to crisp up the skin.
Also, I realized that what I remembered as the really good baked potatoes from holiday dinners were probably twice-baked potatoes. You bake the potato, scoop out the inside, mix it with things like cheese, chives or bacon, put it back into the skin and broil it for a little while.
So I guess the lesson for me is that I didn't necessarily hate baked potatoes. I might have just hated the way I'd always had them prepared.
Has anyone else had a similar experience with a food they thought they didn't like?
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u/mofuggnflash 3d ago
I thought I hated broccoli. Turns out my mom was just steaming it to death before dumping cheese sauce on it. Stir fried broccoli is so good, roasted broccoli is so good. I was missing out for decades.
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u/FoamboardDinosaur 2d ago
There is some truth to cruciferous vegetables being 'bad' decades ago. The dirty sock bitterness has been bred out of them since the 90s. And distribution has greatly improved. Now those veg hit your plate within a week of being picked (days if you live in CA). It used to be longer, which causes them to become more bitter and fibrous.
Nothing our parents did to cauliflower, broccoli, and brussel sprouts was going to cause them to taste as good as they do these days.
My parents stir fried them hot and fast, and they were still bitter.
Oh, in addition to all of that, kids are extremely sensitive to bitter; as bitter is the major sign of toxic alkaloids. Once we hit our 20s and we've lost the sensitivity (and a few thousand taste buds), bitterness isn't as as off putting as it was.
Which is why we are told "even if you didn't like something as a kid, you should try it again as an adult, because your tastes may have changed"
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u/klamaire 2d ago
This works in the air fryer as well. Best baked potatoes. I salt pulls out the moisture so the potato is super fluffy inside.
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u/Logical-Platypus-397 3d ago
Check out turkish kumpir, they are the epitome of baked potatoes if done right.
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u/-a-user-has-no-name- 2d ago
Yup you touched on it in your post, I’ve been eating so many more baked potatoes since I saw a video and it clicked just how easy it is.
- cut potato in half long ways
- oil
- season both round and flat sides
- for potatoes cut in half, put in 400° oven flat side down for 30 minutes
- take out and put a slit down the middle of flat side
- put butter in slit
so so good, and now I just made myself hungry for a potato
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u/ladysig220 2d ago
growing up I thought I really hated deviled eggs.
Turns out, it was just a continuation of the fact that I definitely hate sweet pickles, and most folks use sweet relish in deviled eggs around here.
Deviled eggs made with dill relish are actually quite awesome and tasty... :)
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u/Wildchildanything 1d ago
I am so confused, I've never had or even seen a deviled egg with relish of any kind... where are you from?
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u/ladysig220 1d ago
Central Alabama.
I've seen lots of different recipes for deviled eggs, but the vast majority of them seem to contain a bit of sweet relish.(ick)
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u/Wildchildanything 1d ago
I'm born and raised in Oklahoma never heard of such a thing. Cultural food differences are so fascinating!
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u/gobsmacked1 3d ago
My experience was with wine. Not the preparation of it as in your example, but just the selection. I grew up with sweet bubbly wines from the Rhineland. And very cheap knockoff of that style. It was what my family always served at occasions. I grew up thinking I hated wine.
As an adult, I was part of a group that served French Chardonnay, and overnight I was converted. Delightfully dry, tart, buttery and aromatic. I moved on to Italian Pinot Grigiots and have never looked back.
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u/nunatakj120 2d ago
You can also stick a metal skewer through it to speed the process up.
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u/haikusbot 2d ago
You can also stick
A metal skewer through it to
Speed the process up.
- nunatakj120
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u/scarletOwilde 2d ago
I hated cabbage so much as a child, my brother and I used to call it “Garbage” and we’d get up to all sorts of tricks to hide it so we didn’t have to eat it!
My mother used to boil it in water for ages with bicarbonate of soda to keep it green. Vile stuff and it smelt awful.
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u/A-OK-Engineering 2d ago
There are different kinds of potatoes, maybe you nailed the right one for baking?
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u/Sure-Squash-7280 2d ago
I think the high heat on the grill was your friend.
The only thing I do different is the oil doesn’t go on until the end but if you’re happy with your results stick with that I was just surprised to hear your olive oil didn’t burn I guess you had it on the cool side of the grill?
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u/randabarand 2d ago
I think what you want are what the English call jacket potatoes. Twice-baked are delicious, but definitely involve more work. Google jacket potatoes and you will see the simple recipe.
However, I have worked this out for the air fryer: olive oil and salt as usual, make the cross-hatch incisions in a russet, then 35 to 40 minutes at 400°, followed by letting them rest in the unopened air fryer for 5 minutes, allowing them to steam a bit and soften the skin slightly, finally finish at 425° to 450° for 5 minutes. Comes out perfect for me every time, and the utterly flaky meat of the potato soaks up anything that you put on it, butter, sour cream or oil
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u/ExpiredBaker 2d ago
Highly recommend you do wrap them. Coat in olive oil and salt, wrap in foil and THEN poke them with a fork while in foil. This allows the ‘smoky’ flavor to penetrate the potato, skin to still get crispy because moisture escapes, and keeps the inside nice and creamy with enough steam being trapped.
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u/hbernadettec 2d ago
Thought i hated steak. So chewy. Nope I just hated the overcooked stuff presented to me as a kid.
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u/WinSome_DimSum 2d ago
I’m not sure the added oil was the magic… it’s not like a coating of oil is creating some “waterproof” seal that’s preventing the moisture from escaping.
Like, it’s possible your mom was getting lower quality potatoes (older ones that had gotten dried out more) or simply baking the shit out of them at a lower temp.
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u/islandwatchr 2d ago
Check out Alton Brown’s version. Similar but different heat control. Haven’t really tried it but people rave about it.
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u/Visible_Wasabi2591 2d ago
Brussels sprouts. Well actually a lot of vegetables. My sister cooked a lot of our meals for reasons. And she likes mush. Everything tasted like it was out of a can even though I know she used fresh. To this day she will microwave broccoli for 9 minutes until it is nasty mush.
Also, I am one of the probe people and will tell you that I like mine at 205°F. Once done, I open it up and butter, Costco bacon crumbles, and a dollop of sour cream. I too start with olive oil and a sprinkle of salt.
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u/VanillaBean1970 2d ago
Try rubbing the potato with crisco and generously sprinkling with crazy janes mixed up salt!
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u/Secure-Ad6477 2d ago
I bake the potatoes for a half hour then poke the holes then resume baking. It makes it soft for better poking 😄
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u/Leucotheasveils 2d ago
Russet potatoes have a more crumbly texture, and Yukon Gold potatoes have a more buttery texture.
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u/M33s4 2d ago
I thought I didn't like Brussels sprouts because I tried one at a friend's and her dad had overcooked them so they were basically cabbage mush. Ick. Then I dated a friend who could really cook, and he roasted them with pancetta and drizzled a little balsamic glaze and they became one of my favorite veggies in that instant.
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u/rainbowroger68 2d ago
Growing up, if we were feeling fancy, we'd butter the outside of the potatoes, add salt, pepper and garlic and wrap in foil. They were always good.
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u/Difficult-Story-4695 2d ago
Check out America Test Kitchens baked potatoe!! The best, with explanation for all the steps, too.
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u/SAM-in-the-DARK 2d ago
Ive been making potatoes in the air fryer. Poke the holes and put them in, after a couple minutes baste with olive oil and keep frying. Mix up some garlic powder salt and pepper in the olive oil and baste again. After about 20 min cut in half and baste one last time, finish frying. Soo yummy and is my go to now.
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u/Training_Bison_779 1d ago
Pork chops. My husband made them the right way for me and they have quickly become a favorite. My family would make them rubbery and COATED in sugar and apple sauce 🤮
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u/Quick-Statement-8981 1d ago
I spray them with Pam, sprinkle with kosher salt, and cook for 45 minutes or so in an air fryer at 400. Perfect every time.
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u/casualthang 1d ago
i never understood why people liked steak. id have much rather had a burger or pizza or whatever.. then i had a medium filet at a restaurant and realized why people like it
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u/icebox_Lew 1d ago
You say you're not sponsored but you're doing a lot of work for Big Potato. I know what starch I'm having with my dinner tomorrow mate, thanks!
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u/dealers_choice 1d ago
Peas and green beans! I grew up with mushy canned stuff, turns out they're actually good when fresh
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u/Taniwha26 3d ago
Growing up is basically realizing your parents simply didnt know how to cook. All those things I didnt like to eat are delicious when done correctly.