I Tried 7 Methods for Baking a Potato and Found the Unexpected Way I’ll Do It Forever (It’s Perfect)
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When I was a kid, baked potatoes were a fancy restaurant treat. My Korean mom didn’t cook them at home; she made rice for our everyday starch. Besides, big ol’ russets took a long time to bake, so she didn’t fool with them. We didn’t have a microwave until I was maybe 9 or 10 years old, so quicker methods weren’t available to us. Whenever we would go out to a steakhouse or a cafeteria-style eatery, I would make sure to order a baked potato as a special treat. They were always wrapped in foil, like a shiny present, and I would savor the piping-hot, fluffy, butter-drenched flesh with delight. I never ate the skins, but my mom would usually salt and pepper them, then gobble them up.
As a college student, I came to rely on inexpensive baked potatoes for sustenance, topping them with bits of leftovers to turn them into a meal. Back then, I always cooked them in the microwave to keep dinner prep short and sweet. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve tried countless ways of preparing baked potatoes, always chasing the perfect blend of texture and flavor. I’ve come to now love the skin, especially when it’s crisp and nicely seasoned, and wonder how it was that I used to discard it.
I have never settled on THE method to achieve the ideal baked potato, though — one with fluffy, light flesh and deliciously crisp skin — instead consulting different advice each time. So I was thrilled to take on this assignment, to test seven different methods to see which one delivers potato perfection. Read on to find out which methods rose to the top.
Brining a potato delivered the fluffiest flesh, most delicious flavor, and crispiest skin. That said, the no-foil oven method delivers almost as good results.
A Few Notes on Methodology
The potatoes: I chose russet potatoes of a consistent size; they weighed between 9 and 9.25 ounces each. I scrubbed each potato with a brush and dried it well before cooking.
Tests: For each test, I used two potatoes. Once they were cooked, I quickly cut into them and seasoned the flesh with only a pinch each of kosher salt and black pepper. I tasted each potato systematically, taking bites of the flesh only, skin only, and skin-flesh combos.
Ratings: I rated each method on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 saved for absolute perfection. I evaluated the techniques based on the texture of the flesh and skin, plus the flavor of both parts individually and as a whole.
Method #1: Microwave
Rating: 5/10
About this method: I followed steps 1-3 of this recipe, which instruct you to prick the potatoes all over with a fork, place them on a microwave-safe plate, and microwave for 10 minutes, flipping them over after 5 minutes. I cooked both potatoes at the same time.
Results: The skins on both potatoes looked shriveled and wrinkly, and the texture of the skins was soft and soggy. The interior wasn’t the fluffy texture I had hoped for but instead seemed dense and wet, more like a steamed potato than a baked one. Granted, this method was quick and cooked the potatoes pretty evenly. If you’re going to be topping them with something like chili and cheese, and you don’t mind that the skins are soggy, this method will save the day when you’re short on time. As a stand-alone baked potato, though, the results are rather lackluster.
Method #2: Air Fryer
Rating: 6/10
About this method: I used the instructions in this recipe: Prick the potatoes all over with a fork, coat with cooking spray, and sprinkle with a little kosher salt. Arrange in the air fryer basket (mine is a bucket-style model) and air-fry at 400°F for 35 to 45 minutes, turning them over halfway through.
Results: My potatoes took 42 minutes to cook through. This dry-heat method left the skins feeling thicker than the other methods that employ dry heat (i.e. the oven), and they ended up a bit tough. The insides of the potatoes were mostly fluffy, but a few spots were unevenly cooked. Some bites were less tender than others — not crunchy, just firmer. I don’t think that cooking them longer would be the fix for more evenly tender flesh, as I worry the skins would get even tougher.
Method #3: Oven (in Foil)
Rating: 6.5/10
About this method: To test this technique, I used our baked potato method as a starting point, altering it by wrapping each potato in foil. I rubbed the potatoes with a little olive oil, sprinkled salt and pepper over all sides, pricked them in several spots with a fork, and wrapped them in foil. I baked them at 425°F on the oven rack for 55 minutes.
Results: Although this method delivered nostalgic vibes with the foil wrapping, the results were less than desired. The skins looked very pale and felt soggy, and the texture was soft and chewy. The potatoes’ flesh was dense, like a boiled potato — a far cry from the fluffy interior of my ideal baked potato. As with the microwave method, if you’ll be smothering the potato with a wet topping and don’t plan to eat the skins, this method might suit your needs just fine. But I wouldn’t recommend it if you want to enjoy the potato on its own.
Method #4: Slow Cooker
Rating: 7/10
About this method: This intriguing method begins with piercing the potatoes all over with a fork, rubbing them with olive oil, and seasoning generously with salt and pepper. You then wrap each potato tightly in foil, place them in a slow cooker, and cover and cook on high for 4 hours (or low for 8 hours).
Results: I used the high-heat, 4-hour method since it was the main instruction (the low-heat method was offered as an alternative). Unsurprisingly, when I unwrapped the potatoes I saw that the skins were pale and soft. The flesh was slightly dense but ended up far fluffier than with the microwave method or oven/foil method. The texture was somewhere between the top three methods and the bottom three. If you don’t want to crank up your oven (like in the peak of summertime), this method would be a good alternative. Just know that the skin will be soft and a bit soggy.
Method #5: English-Style Potato
Rating: 8/10
About this method: I used our recipe for English Jacket Potatoes to test this technique. I cut a cross shape a quarter-inch deep into each potato, placed the potatoes cut-side-up on the oven rack, and baked at 400°F for 2 hours. I removed the potatoes to a plate, cut deeper into the cross-shaped cuts, and pressed to open the potatoes up. I returned them to the oven rack for 10 more minutes, then removed them and pushed opposite ends to open the potatoes up more.
Results: The long cook time resulted in a thick skin layer that was very crunchy and hard, similar in texture to a doubled-over kettle chip. The skin teetered on being tough but the overall impression was more crunchy than tough. I did wish that the skin had been seasoned, as it tasted bland. The interior was wonderfully fluffy, though, with a delightful lightness to it.
Method #6: Oven (No Foil)
Rating: 9.5/10
About this method: Here, I followed our oven baked potato recipe’s instructions: I preheated the oven to 425°F, rubbed oil on the potatoes’ skins, seasoned all sides with salt and pepper, pricked the potatoes all over with a fork, and placed them directly on the oven rack. I baked them for 55 minutes.
Results: Unlike with the jacket potato method, these skins were dark, with appealing (and delicious) salt granules dotting the surface. Also different from the jacket method, these skins were alluringly thin and crisp (as opposed to thick and crunchy). The flesh inside was fantastically soft and fluffy — delivering a great baked potato experience.
Method #7: Brined
Rating: 10/10
About this method: This method was just a bit more involved than the other ones. As the oven preheats to 450°F, you dissolve a couple tablespoons of salt into a 1/2-cup of water. You then toss your potatoes in the salt water to coat it on all sides. Then, you arrange the potatoes on a wire rack set into a sheet pan — without piercing them with a fork — and bake them until the centers reach 205°F (45 minutes to 1 hour). At that point you remove the potatoes from the oven and brush a little vegetable oil on the skins, then return them to the oven to bake for 10 more minutes.
Results: My potatoes reached that ideal internal temperature of 205°F after 50 minutes, so with the oil-brushed finishing step, the overall cook time was an hour. The skins were dark, deliciously savory and evenly seasoned, and with a thin, ridiculously crispy texture. The interior of the spuds was the fluffiest of all the methods, and the brine seemed to permeate the insides, giving this potato the best overall flavor, as well as the best texture.
Overall Key Takeaways
If you want crisp skin (and I definitely do), you don’t want to wrap your potatoes in foil or cook them in the microwave; those methods tend to hold in moisture and lead to soggy, soft skins. For skins that are alluringly thin and crisp, baking — unwrapped — at a relatively high temperature works exceptionally well. For crunchier, thicker skins, a longer bake time like with the jacket method is for you. For thinner, crispier skins that are deliciously seasoned, go with the oven-without-foil method or the brined method.
This article originally published on The Kitchn. See it there: I Tried 7 Methods for Baking a Potato and Found the Unexpected Way I’ll Do It Forever (It’s Perfect)
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