baked potatos?

Question

ive never really done these before...mainly just use to making mashed potatos...and i think im on the right path with these..i just dont wanna screw anything up lol....ok..so i should wrap each potato in foil? then put them on a baking sheet in the over....then just cook till they are soft? oh and when should i do the slit in them? thanks a whole bunch everyone

Answer 1

STUFFED BAKED POTATOES WITH HORSERADISH CREAM

6 large russet potatoes, rinsed, dried
6 tablespoons plus 1/2 cup sour cream
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) butter
4 tablespoons prepared white horseradish, drained
2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill



Preheat oven to 400° F. Pierce potatoes several times with fork. Place on oven rack; bake until crisp outside and cooked through, about 1 hour. Transfer to small baking sheet; cool 5 minutes. Cut off top third of potatoes. Scoop potato from bottoms into large bowl, leaving 1/4-inch-thick shell. Scoop potato from tops and add to same bowl; discard tops.
Mash potato with 6 tablespoons sour cream, butter and 2 tablespoons horseradish. Season with salt and pepper. Spoon into potato shells, dividing equally.

Mix 1/2 cup sour cream, 2 tablespoons horseradish and dill in small bowl. (Potatoes and sour cream topping can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill.)

Preheat oven to 400° F. Place potatoes in baking pan and cook until heated through and golden brown, about 50 minutes. Spoon sour cream topping on each. Serve, passing remaining sour cream topping separately.

Serves 6.

Answer 2

Don't wrap them in foil, they will steam instead of bake and get soggy, and they take longer to cook that way. Oil the skin or butter it to keep it from getting too crusty. Place on a baking sheet and bake at 425 degrees for about an hour. It's not really necessary to pierce them before baking.

It can be hard to tell if it's really done all the way through. I hate it when potatoes are still hard in the center. The best thing to do is take the temperature--it's done when it's 210 in the center.

As soon as they come out of the oven, cut an X in them and squeeze to open them up.

Answer 3

You never bake them with foil because they won't actually bake, all you'll be doing is steaming them and that is no good. Simply rub them clean with a paper towel, poke top with a fork, and put in a 425 degree oven for about 45 minutes to an hour depending on how big they are. The skin will be nice and crispy, as it should be and your potato meat will be nice and fluffy, as it should be. Any one who is a cook will tell you NO FOIL and don't use a cookie sheet, just put them on the oven rack. Easiest thing you can make ever!
And you don't slit them, let the person eating the potato slit it themselves right before they are adding their toppings.
I'm telling you, you can not screw up a baked tater
And no microwave either, it goes right back into the fact that you are steaming, not baking.

Answer 4

Oven-Baked Potatoes
4 servings

Time to prepare: 30-40 min.
Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients
4 Russet Potatoes (medium, 5" in length - roughly 12 oz. each)

Directions
1. Scrub medium-sized Russet baking potatoes thoroughly and dry using paper towels.
2. Prick each potato’s skin in several places using the point of a Spud Spike and insert a Spud Spike deep into one end of each potato. (For maximum effectiveness, the point of the nail needs to completely penetrate through the potato so an equal length of nail extends on both ends of the potato)
3. Place directly onto the oven rack and bake at 425°F until done (approximately 40 minutes).

Use a toothpick to test each potato. If you can easily pierce the potato to the Spud Spike with the toothpick, the potato is done.
For a change of pace, bake sweet potatoes in the same way. Serve with butter and a little brown sugar or maple syrup.

Let me know how it turns out for you!

Answer 5

Yikes! Don't wrap in foil and don't cook in a microwave! You want baked potatoes!

Scrub the potatoes, dry them well, cut a tiny slit in them and put directly on the oven rack in a preheated 400 degree oven. After 30 minutes, turn them over. After another 30 minutes, they're done.

Answer 6

I just tried this yesterday & they were awesome! Rub some olive oil & salt on potatoes. Put in baking pan and poke some holes in potatoes (No need to wrap in foil). Bake for 90 minutes at 300 degree oven. They are so yummy!

Answer 7

I learned this recently:

When you wrap them in foil, it's not actually baking them...it's steaming them. If you want a real baked potato, all you have to do is put it in the oven without cutting it or anything, and then just bake for about 40 mins until soft when poked. You slit them once they're on your plate and ready to be slathered in butter and cream and chives or whatever else you put in them:)

Answer 8

Baking the Perfect Baked Potato

The perfect baked potato has crisp golden skin on the utside and is pure white and fluffy on the inside.

Any potato can be baked, but for the perfect baked potato with the desired flaky texture, it is recommended that mature, baking-type potatoes such as the Russet be used. Make sure that the skin has a nice even brown tone without a greenish cast. When baking a large amount of potatoes at one time, choose potatoes with uniform shapes and sizes; they'll cook more evenly and get done at the same time.

Adjust the rack in your oven to the middle position and preheat oven.

Rinse and scrub each potato under running water, as we will be eating the skins of these perfect potatoes. Dry each potato thoroughly.

Pierce each deeply with a fork or sharp knife four times on each side at approximately 1" intervals. This will allow steam to escape or the potato may explode during baking. NOTE: Wrapping the potato in aluminum foil will produce a soft skin, too, but technically this is steaming rather than baking (as the moisture in the potato remains trapped) and the light, flaky texture will be missing.

For a soft skin, rub the potato with olive oil or butter over the skins. Bake on racks of oven until tender. NOTE: I like to roll the potatoes in coarse salt before bake. Place coarse salt onto a small plate. Roll potatoes lightly in the salt. The skin is so yummy to eat!



Conventional or Regular Oven:
Medium-size potatoes

45 minutes at 400 degrees F.
60 minutes at 350 degrees F.
90 minutes at 325 degrees F.

Potatoes are done if tender when pierced with a fork and the internal temperature reaches 210°F. Use a meat thermometer to test for doneness.

You can also test for doneness by gently squeezing the middle of the potato (using a pot holder). If it gives in easily to your touch, it is done.



Convection Oven:
Medium-size potatoes

45 minutes at 375 degrees F.
60 minutes at 325 degrees F.
90 minutes at 300 degrees F.

Convection ovens cook up to 20% faster than regular ovens. Also, the food in a convection oven is cooked at a lower temperature than in a regular oven to achieve the same results.

The general rule is to decrease your oven temperature at least 25 degrees lower than a regular oven. Use a meat thermometer to test for doneness






The higher the oven temperature, the shorter the cooking time will be and the crustier the skin. Larger potatoes will take longer to bake. Bake potatoes along with whatever else you are baking and gauge the cooking time according to oven temperature.

Turn the potatoes over halfway through the baking time to prevent browning of the undersides where they touch the oven rack.
Potatoes are done if tender when pierced with a fork and the internal temperature reaches 210°F. Use a meat thermometer to test for doneness. You can also test for doneness by gently squeezing the middle of the potato (using a pot holder). If it gives in easily to your touch, it is done.


When baked to perfection, remove potatoes from the oven. Slit across the top with a sharp knife. Gently pinch in each end towards the middle. This loosens the fluffy white interior from the skin.

Answer 9

NO FOIL!! Please!

"For conventional oven baking, the most common folly is to wrap the potato in aluminum foil. Covering the potato holds in moisture, steaming the potato. The result is a less crispy skin and the texture of a boiled potato. The best way to bake a potato is to scrub it, pierce the skin two or three times with a fork, and place the potato directly on the oven rack, at 450°F for 50 to 60 minutes. For a crispier skin, rub the potato skin with a light coating of vegetable oil, olive oil, margarine or butter."

I sprinkle some grilling seasonings on mine after rubbing with olive oil and the crunchy skin is SO crisp and tasty!!

Answer 10

Wash them well, wrap in foil, cook at 400 or so for 45 mins to an hour until soft, remove from oven, slit just before serving or unwrap and set on plate to be slit by the diner.