Best Baked Potato

cooking_geek's Note:

Another keeper from Alton Brown's show Good Eats! I don't make baked potatoes any other way now.

• Total Time: 1 hrs 10 mins
• Prep Time: 10 mins
• Cook Time: 1 hrs

Ingredients:

Servings: 1

• 1 large russet potato
• canola oil
• kosher salt

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350°F and position racks in top and bottom thirds.
2. Wash potato (or potatoes) thoroughly with a stiff brush and cold running water.
3. Dry, then using a standard fork poke 8 to 12 deep holes all over the spud so that moisture can escape during cooking.
4. Place in a bowl and coat lightly with oil.
5. Sprinkle with kosher salt and place potato directly on rack in middle of oven.
6. Place a baking sheet (I put a piece of aluminum foil) on the lower rack to catch any drippings.
7. Bake 1 hour or until skin feels crisp but flesh beneath feels soft.
8. Serve by creating a dotted line from end to end with your fork, then crack the spud open by squeezing the ends towards one another.
9. It will pop right open.
10. But watch out, there will be some steam.
11. NOTE: If you're cooking more than 4 potatoes, you'll need to extend the cooking time by up to 15 minutes.

Reviews

[juniperwoman]

Oh my God! It works!

After years of stiff, hard baked potatoes, I am happy to say that I have produced restaurant-quality ones, thanks to this recipes. I poked 2 large russets 6 times each, then nuked them for 3 minutes, placed them on a plate and drizzled them with olive oil. Then I sprinkled them with garlic salt and put them in the toaster oven for about 35 minutes. I did the recipe's method of opening the potatoes, and it was like magic (just rip a paper towel in half--one side for each hand--to protect your hands while you are pushing the potato open). Fantastic! I will make these constantly.

[SarahLeap]

This is truly a wonderful recipe for baked potatoes. All the previous reviews say exactly what I feel too. I will never bake potatoes any other way. I also use olive oil rather than canola, I feel it gives it a bit of extra flavor. Thanks for posting!!!

[Outnumbered By Peanuts]

These turned out great! Admittedly, I've never attempted baked potatoes in the oven before (always microwaved them...and I knew I was missing out). Anyway, I wanted to have real baked potatoes with our dinner last night, and this is the recipe I (thankfully) chose. Easy to follow method. I did skip the salt and I don't like to bake things directly on the oven rack so I put the potatoes on a foil-lined cookie sheet to bake. Ended up with tender, perfectly baked potatoes. I really enjoyed the tip about splitting them open as well. As others have stated, I'll never bake potatoes any other way again. Thank you!