There is something truly amazing about American Baked Potatoes. That crunchy, salted skin with that tender and fluffy potato flesh. Find out today how to make the best oven-baked potatoes!
American vs Jacket Potatoes
I want to distinguish something and why I called it an American Baked Potato. In other parts of the world, they make Jacket Potatoes. It’s the same ingredients but the length of cooking is consideringly longer (ranging around the 2 hours mark).
As most of you know, I’m not a huge fan of using the microwave for anything more than heating a cup of tea. I mean I don’t even like microwave popcorn.
A billion years ago I was at a friend’s house for dinner where she said she would cook. Bonus! Right?! So I helped her prep the salad and she said “Time to make the baked potatoes”. Imagine the look on my face as she threw these gorgeous russets in the microwave and said “10 minutes and we’ll have baked potatoes”.
Baked Potatoes Are NOT Made in The Microwave
Um.. no.. that’s not baked. Zapped, Nuked, or heated maybe but not baked. Like a gracious guest, I kept my mouth shut and let her do her thing. I hate those who throw their 2 cents in when it’s not wanted. FORTUNATELY, while we were eating she commented on how she can never get her potatoes to taste like restaurants. They are always just … blah no matter how much butter/salt/sour cream is thrown on them.
Then she looked at me with that “help me” face and I said, “I can show you how to do it if you want”. See some people take offense to stuff like this which is odd. I mean you’re asking for help but yet when you offer suggestions they look at you like you’re evil.
Grab Your Ingredients
Fortunately, she was all too appreciative of my showing her how to make these. We broke up the baking sheet, some tin foil, olive oil, and salt. As she stood there, she just kept saying “Is that it?” Nothing else?
- Russet Potatoes – cleaned and dried
- Salt – you can use sea salt or kosher salt
I chuckled and just said “Sometimes simplicity is best in the kitchen. Think of the potato as your canvas. Once it’s done you can turn it into your masterpiece!” I explained that when you baked these you had two options – baking directly on the oven rack or the pan.
The real difference is you don’t have to flip the potatoes if you bake them on the rack. The drawback is that since they are covered in oil and salt, you have splatters and drips onto your oven that can either cause a fire or make it smoke.
NO FOIL WRAPS
The foil “steams” the potato which will make the inside soft but you get a super soggy exterior. And I’m sorry but anything soggy when it comes to food is not appealing.
About an hour later (her taters were ginormous!), we sat down to true baked potatoes. Her first bite and reaction was priceless! Folks I thought she was going to jump up from the other side of the table, pick me up, spin me around and kiss my forehead! LOL
She kept thanking me over and over for teaching her some kitchen voodoo magic (as she called it). I just laughed and said, no magic – just basics.
The following week, she called me to tell me she had eaten 10 pounds of potatoes herself! Yeah, I think I created a small obsession for her. LOL
Looking For More TKW Family Favorite Recipes?
These recipes are favorites of yours (and mine!). Check them out and see why thousands globally have fallen in love with them.
Oven Baked Potatoes
There is something truly amazing about American Baked Potatoes. That crunchy, salted skin with that tender and fluffy potato flesh.
Ingredients
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 and place the rack in the middle. Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil. – this is optional. You can cook eat potato directly on the rack but I highly recommend placing a lined cookie sheet on the rack below to catch the drippings. Scrub each potato with cool water, not hot!
- Dry the potatoes thoroughly with a paper towel. *Optional: Using a fork, pierce each potato a good 4-5 times ensuring you go deep. Slather each tater with oil ensuring it’s coated evenly. Sprinkle with Sea Salt. Either lay on the lined cookie sheet or the rack.
- Cook for roughly 45 minutes to an hour depending on the size of the potato. The skin should be crispy and the internal temperature should read between 200-210F.
Notes
*Note: if you bake it on the sheet, flip them about every 20 minutes. Baking on the rack directly, you don’t have to flip.
Insert a fork or wooden skewer into the potato. It should go all the way in. The skin should be crisp and the flesh soft.
Leave a Reply