Buzz
My ex-husband wasn’t very skilled in the kitchen, but he was always eager to learn. I’ll never forget one warm December evening (we were living in Florida) when he called out from another room: 'Hey, sweetie, I’ve got a couple of questions.' 'What’s up?' I replied. 'Well, first, how do you bake a potato? And, is it normal for a Christmas tree to have this many spiders?'
This is a part of The Grown-Up Kitchen, Skillet’s series crafted to address your fundamental cooking queries and fill in any gaps in your culinary knowledge as a home cook.
To his defense, he didn’t celebrate Christmas as a child, so he couldn’t have anticipated the thousands of baby spiders coming from our very first Christmas tree together as a married couple. But still, at 29 years old, he really should’ve known how to bake a potato.
When it comes to side dishes, sometimes only a baked potato will do. They’re not difficult to prepare, but a perfectly crispy, fluffy potato requires two key ingredients: fat and patience. Sure, you can use a microwave to cook the insides, but you’ll miss out on that deliciously crispy, salt-covered skin—and I can’t think of any reason why anyone would want to skip that.
The secret to cooking with patience is to rethink 'waiting for food' as 'me time.'
The smallest baked potato will take at least 45 minutes in the oven, and that’s perfectly fine. I’m sure there’s something you can do that’ll occupy at least 45 minutes of your time. Aside from relaxing and letting the oven do its thing, I have a few more tips for making the perfect baked potato, whether it’s meant to complement a steak or be topped with chili or something similar.
Choose a real potato
I don’t bother with small potatoes. If you plan to load it up (which I assume you do), a tiny potato just won’t cut it. While a larger potato may take a bit longer to cook than a small one, you're only adding about 10 extra minutes, and trust me, those 10 minutes are worth the extra potato.
Cover it in fat and sprinkle it with salt
Crispy Skin Club members know that fat is essential. If you’re someone who ‘doesn’t eat the skin,’ it’s probably because you haven’t been coating it with enough fat. Vegetable or olive oil is fine, but duck fat, chicken schmaltz, and bacon grease add a smoky depth that screams 'steakhouse.' After that, cover it with salt. At least one teaspoon per potato.
Relax and take it easy
The secret to cooking with patience is turning 'waiting for food' into 'me time.' You don’t have to hover over the potato while it bakes—go have a cocktail in the tub, stalk someone online, or sous vide a steak. Use this time to prep your toppings, like frying some bacon, grating cheese, and chopping chives. (And don’t forget to set out some butter to soften.)
With these principles in mind, you’re now ready to bake your potato. Here’s what you’ll need:
1 large Russet potato
1 tablespoon of duck fat, chicken schmaltz, bacon grease, or olive oil
1 teaspoon of table salt
Your favorite potato toppings
Preheat your oven to 425℉ and give your potato a good wash under cold running water. Dry it off completely, then puncture it with a fork several times (I usually do about eight pokes). Next, coat it thoroughly with your fat of choice, then generously salt it. Place the potato directly on the middle rack of the oven and bake for at least 45 minutes, flipping it once or twice throughout. Most potatoes will take about an hour, and you’ll know it’s done when the skin is crispy and the inside is soft when you test it with a fork. Once done, take the potato out of the oven, let it cool for five minutes, then cut it open with a sharp knife and fill it with your favorite toppings.
