We adore potatoes prepared in any way, but potatoes cooked in the oven will always have a unique and irreplaceable place in our hearts. They are ideal in every respect, from the most fundamental to the most abstract. If you want to turn them into dinner, you can top them with whatever you can think of, but all they require to be a great side dish is a touch of butter and some salt. If you don’t want to do that, you can just leave them as a side dish. Continue reading for our best advice on how to get baked potato in oven to perfection every time.
Get Your Potatoes Ready
First, when it comes to baked potatoes, we believe that Russet potatoes are the ideal option due to the thick shell and starchy, fluffy interior they have (once baked, of course). About that skin, you are going to want to handle it with a little bit of additional caution since there is where all of the taste is located. After giving the potatoes a thorough washing (they did grow in the dirt, after all), you should be sure to pat them dry with a fresh dish towel so that any remaining moisture is removed. You should also coat them with a generous amount of olive oil before cooking them. In addition to assisting the skin in becoming even crispier, it also improves the flavor of the skin. Before baking, give the potatoes a good rubbing all over and then season them well with salt and pepper. You may be wondering where the foil is. Not at all! If you wrap your potatoes in foil before baking them, the moisture will be trapped inside, and you will end up with mushy skin instead of the crispy outside that you want.
What Temperature And For How Long Should I Bake?
The results are very different when cooked at a high temperature for an extended period. It will be at this temperature for around 60 minutes. If the temperature is any lower than that, the skin will likely be leathery and wrinkled, and the potato will be rough. Measure the temperature on the inside to obtain a pretty accurate indication of when they are finished. The internal temperature of a baked potato that is done should be between 200 and 205 degrees. After they have been cooked, cut them open right away to let the steam out (and therefore avoid gumminess). Your baked potatoes might alternatively be fried in an air fryer. After preparing the potatoes in the same manner as you would for the oven, lay them in the basket of an air fryer and set the temperature to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Let them cook for forty minutes.
Recipe
YIELDS: 4 servings (s)
PREP TIME: 5 minutes
OVERALL TIME: 1 hour and five minutes
CAL/SERV: 322
Ingredients
- Four washed and scrubbed russet potatoes
- Extra-virgin olive oil
- Kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Proceed to step 1 and preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Fork holes should be made in potatoes throughout. After giving the food a light coating of oil and seasoning it generously with salt and pepper, lay it on a baking sheet or on an oven-safe rack that has been fitted into a baking sheet.
- Bake the potatoes for approximately one hour until a fork can easily penetrate them in the center. Use a thermometer with an immediate readout to determine the interior temperature; it should be between 200 and 205 degrees. This will ensure that they are properly cooked.