I am a potato-aholic.
But I come by it honestly, considering I am from Idaho…
(You do know that Idaho potatoes are the best in the nation, right?)
I love potatoes in any form: homemade hash browns, baked, boiled, fried, mashed, roasted, french fries, scalloped, you name it!
On the rare occasions we do eat out, one of my favorite steakhouses serves the most incredible baked potatoes.
The skins are crispy and covered in delicious coarse salt. The butter and sour cream literally ooze out the sides. I think I may actually look forward to the potatoes more than the steak.
And I finally figured out how to recreate these crispy beauties at home.
Ok, ok, I know that some of you already know this trick, but for some reason it took me a while to figure it out.
The secret?
Ditch the foil.
Here’s how I do it—->
Steakhouse Baked Potato Recipe
You’ll need:
- Large baking potatoes- washed and scrubbed
- Olive oil or melted butter
- Sea Salt (I use this one)
- Freshly ground black pepper
Prick your potatoes with a knife or fork (this is so they won’t explode. It’s kinda important.)
Brush them with a thin coating of olive oil or melted butter, then generously sprinkle with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Place them directly on to your oven rack. (You may want to place a tray underneath to catch any drips. Or not. Is it any wonder my oven is such a mess?)
I usually bake mine at 350 degrees for around an hour, but the cooking temperature/time is very flexible. I like to throw these in the oven when I’m cooking something else, like my Cheesy Meatloaf.
You’ll know that they are done when the skins become crispy and start to pull away from the flesh of the potato. Ooh boy.
Pull them out and drown them in butter, sour cream, bacon bits, chives, cheese, onions…… oh my. I’m tempted to go bake one right now. And it’s 9:30 p.m.
PrintSteakhouse-Style Spuds
Ingredients
- Large baking potatoes- washed and scrubbed
- Olive oil
- Sea Salt (I use this one)
- Freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F
- Prick potatoes with a knife or fork
- Brush them with a thin coating of olive oil
- Generously sprinkle with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Place directly onto oven rack
- Bake for around an hour
- They’re done when the skins become crispy and start to pull away from the flesh of the potato
- Pull them out and drown them in butter, sour cream, bacon bits, chives, cheese, onions……
Notes
*You may want to place a tray underneath to catch drips
This method saves foil and the time it takes you to wrap up the potatoes.
Try pairing this steakhouse baked potato recipe with:
Awesome!! I am definitely going to do this over the weekend!!!
That sounds really good! I might try that minus drowning in butter, sour cream and cheese:)
I’m from Idaho, too! And one of the Real tricks is – using an Idaho potato. After I left home, and lived in California and Colorado, I couldn’t figure out why I’d all of a sudden lost my knack for cooking a great baked potato, until I saw a TV program about why Idaho potatoes are so extraordinarily good. Apparently it has a lot to do with the volcanic soil they’re grown in – only place in the world with that particular type of soil. I had been using the wrong potato. Idaho spuds really Are the Best! You can Taste the difference.
Hello from another Idahoan!!
Howdy! Idaho folks all over the place!! 🙂
I didn’t know you were from Idaho Alice! Cool! Yes, Idaho potatoes truly do make all the difference in the world. Growing up, sometimes we would end up with Washington ones from the grocery store (go figure…). There was no comparison!
We just recently got a large toaster oven with a rotisserie in it, and I found that you can “bake” potatoes under the rotisserie as long as you keep them close enough to the edge that it doesn’t block the chicken. At least, you can do it in the back (the sides retain the heat and cook the potatoes, but in the front of the oven, too much heat is lost). Only thing is, I forgot to prick them first. *lol* Still turned out great! (I smeared mine with herbed butter, and rolled them around in the chicken drippings when I pulled the bird out to check the temp).
Great idea! I’ve never had a rotisserie, but they look pretty cool. Gotta love doubling up on things!
Ooooohhhhh my goodness. I know what I’m making tomorrow. 😀
For real–it’s that simple? I’ll certainly stop wasting foil then! 😀
Yuppers- honestly and truly, it’s that simple! 😉
I’m definitely going to give this a try.
Aluminum foil is a big -gripe for me!
I don’t like using it…it is wasteful, but I always thought necessary…??? for some reason!
glad you posted this, I love baked potatoes,Pat
I hear ya Pat! I really try to reduce my foil use whenever possible!
Mmmmmmm mmmm MMMM! These are the the perfect way to bake potatoes. We use a bacon grease instead of olive oil, good stuff. 🙂
Ah! Bacon grease! What a wonderful idea, why didn’t I think of that? I will definitely be trying that next time. Bacon grease makes everything better!
Are you sitting down?? You can do these in a crockpot too! I found a recipe for them that calls for a large bag of kosher salt BUT it can be reused up to 10 times. I can’t wait to make them, and since it’s getting warmer and I don’t want to heat up the kitchen, this is the perfect way to do it! The recipe can be found on about . com, it’s called Salt Baked Potatoes. Makes my mouth water just thinking about it…nom nom nom….
No Kidding?!? Now I’m intrigued. Will have to check that out for sure!
Using the foil “steams” your potatoes, not bakes them, that’s why the texture is so soft and mushy. I’ve never done it in a crock pot before, but I would have to wonder if it would do more of a “steaming” than a nice crispy baking job.
Good point Sarah, I guess I would think the crockpot would steam it, too. Guess we’ll have to experiment!
In a hurry? “Bake” the potatoes in the microwave, then rub with olive oil and sea salt and crisp them up in a 400 degree oven, about 10-15 minutes!
this is almost exactly how i do mine ……i use this recipe when precooking mine for twice baked potatoes …. only difference is i bake on foil lined cookie sheet and rub with veg oil salt and pepper
Have yet to met a potato I don’t like. Looking in the mirror I beleive they like me back just as much! LOL! Sounds like a fast recipe I’ll be trying real soon. Planted about 50 hills of potatoes and am waiting for that first harvest!
I can’t wait for our harvest either! Spuds are one of my favorite things to grow.
Thanks for sharing through FB! I’m trying it out tonight, and it is 9:30! 😀 Real butter, sour cream, cheese, & bacon bits are standing ready…I’m so hungry!
Hey- it’s never too late for a baked potato! 🙂
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