My grandpa always called me “The Potato Kid”. I have always LOVED loved loved potatoes, any way you serve them: baked, American fries, mashed…but baked potatoes from a steakhouse restaurant are my ultimate favorite. Somehow they’re always piping hot and perfectly moist on the inside, and the way they’re crusted with salt on the outside and just-right crispy? Be still my beating heart!
Even though white potatoes themselves ought to be a compromise food (as a new reader reminded me in a comment recently!), I still love them. You might as well make them deliciously if you’re going to make them at all, right?
Baked potatoes have to be one of the most common reasons many folks use aluminum foil on a regular basis. Since we’re Analyzing Aluminum in August and focusing on foil this week, I’m happy to share that you don’t need aluminum foil to make a perfect restaurant-style baked potato.
It’s so simple, I’m almost embarrassed to make a post out of it. But I will anyway…
- Step one: Wash and scrub potatoes as usual (scrub hard, especially if they’re not organic! They were on the Dirty Dozen Produce list until this spring…)
- Step two: Cut out any eyes or green spots (not good for you!).
- Step three: While the potatoes are still wet, sprinkle some coarse salt on the outside (Kosher works well). You can optionally grease them with a little olive oil, but it’s not necessary.
- Step four: Make sure they’re either pricked with a fork or cut an “X” in the top skin. The cross-cut looks really snazzy and even more restaurant-presentable. (This step is really important, by the way. If the skins are intact, the potato can explode in your oven. This happened to me…twice. It makes a big mess! Here’s how I clean my oven without toxins or two hours of natural gas energy!)
- Step five: Arrange on a cookie sheet (non-aluminum, or use a mat or parchment paper underneath). You can also put them right on the rack and save dishes.
- Step six: Bake as usual (350-400 degrees for 45-60 minutes, until they give when you squish them). [
Bonus tip: conserve energy by baking something else along with your potatoes.
Another bonus: The skins peel right off with this method, so you can easily make potato salad without having to bother with a veggie peeler.
Ta-da! So tasty, no dishes, no using a non-renewable potentially dangerous resource (aluminum).
And a quick request for you: next week I'm posting on healthy school lunches. Any ideas or favorite tips and tricks to packing truly nourishing school lunches, preferably without (a) breaking the bank or (b) taking all day? Thanks for your help! UPDATE: Here's that healthy school lunch post, wildly popular!
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I have had potatoes fixed like this at a friend’s home and they are wonderful. Thanks for sharing the recipe. I posted Chicken and dressing. Stop by if you have time.
Also I host 5 Things Friday and this week is 5 Things I Know For Sure. Blessings.
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One suggestion regarding baking potatoes – consider making more for lunches or meals the following day. Baked potatoes reheat beautifully.
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Katie Reply:
August 11th, 2009 at 9:37 pm
Or for breakfast! I love a baked potato for breakfast, but then I’m kind of eclectic like that. I also like to use leftovers baked potatoes as homefries for breakfast or as a dinner side, and it’s nice to bake extra for potato salad later, too! Thanks!
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You can also bake them in the crockpot. I doubt you need the foil in this recipe, especially if you don’t mind scrubbing out the crockpot. Especially great for summer since it doesn’t use much electricity or heat up the whole home!
http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2008/01/crockpot-baked-potatoes_28.html
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I love potatoes too. I will try this recipe for sure!
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My husband woud never consider eating one from the microwave. I have never had a potato explode in the oven and don’t pierce the skin. I do know they will explode in the microwave though!
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I really need to read about your “safe” oven-cleaning method…we have to do ours before our lease ends August 31.
Thinking back on school lunches…I always enjoyed the oranges when they were in season. I also liked apple wedges or carrots sticks with a little container of peanut butter to dip them into.
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I’ve been putting my baked potatoes in the crockpot this summer. They turn out great!
~Liz
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This is exactly how I have been cooking my potatoes lately – and you are right – they’re wonderful!!
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Love a good restaurant baked potato! Thanks.
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I love potatoes too. My new favorite now that I have a mandolin is baked potato chips.
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I have always wondered about this! I eat lots of baked potatoes so I will try it this way next time.
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Do you do this with all kinds of potatoes, or just white?
My favorite easy lunch is frozen bean burritos, you can buy them premade for fairly cheap, but you can make them for even cheaper.
Just your basic tortilla (or wheat) with beans and cheese, maybe throw in some rice. Wrap them up tight and stick them in the freezer for whenever you want to grab them to go. They can defrost in the lunch box, and then be warmed up. That is if they have access to a microwave.
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Katie Reply:
August 12th, 2009 at 9:39 am
I’ve only used white…I don’t use foil with sweet potatoes, but usually just put them on a glass baking dish or parchment-paper lined cookie sheet. I don’t know a lot of people who eat the sweet potato skins, though, so salting them wouldn’t do much. Thanks for the lunch tip – do your kids really have access to a mic?
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I have never used the tin foil method. I use alumin. nails…
just wash and scrub the potatos really well put the nails in the raw potatos… 45 mins at 400.
just pull the nails out before you serve them..
and you just wash the nails in the sink.
sue
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Katie Reply:
August 12th, 2009 at 11:08 pm
Sue,
This seems like a pretty frightening alternative to foil, considering the health hazards of aluminum. What purpose do the nails serve? I would HIGHly recommend trying a method without any aluminum at all, either the way I write about in this post or anything else. I wouldn’t want aluminum right inside my potato, myself.
Thanks for visiting – hope you’ll be back!
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It’s never occurred to me to use aluminum foil on potatoes… I always just scrub them, poke them with a fork, and put them right on the rack in my oven. 45 minutes later I have perfect potatoes with crispy skins – just how we like them!
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I always wondered how they made them so much better at the restaurants. Can’t wait to try your idea with the kosher salt. Yum!
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I have never sprinkled coarse salt on the outside of potatoes before baking. I wonder what it does . . . it definitely sounds intriguing and worth trying. Thanks for the tip
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