Let's clear one thing up right now - my father makes the world's best baked potatoes. His involve about 300 spices, and being slowly smoked on a BBQ for an entire day. They're delicious and perfection, but I don't have time to make those.
So I make these!
This method seems to be attributed to Alton Brown, but I have made it "my own".
World's Second Best Baked Potatoes
Russets, or other favorite baking potatoes (preferably organic because potatoes are loaded with chemicals!)
1/4-1/3 cup of olive oil
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tblsp kosher salt (reduce considerably if using table salt. Kosher salt is dirt cheap and worth the investment)
1) Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
2) Scrub the outside of your potatoes, and dry off with a kitchen towel.
3) In a bowl, add your olive oil, salt, and garlic.
4) Put two spuds in the bowl and swirl it around until the entire potato is covered in the oil/salt/garlic mixture. Repeat with other spuds.
5) Put a piece of foil on the bottom rack of your oven (we wrap my homemade sandwich bread in foil for the freezer. When we unwrap it, we save the foil for uses like this), and put the potatoes directly on the top rack.
6) Bake for 60-90 minutes depending on how many spuds you have. 4 ish spuds will need 60, and anything above that will need 90 ish. The dripping olive oil on the foil will make a funky smell in your kitchen, so please be prepared for that!
These spuds are so delicious fresh from the oven (well, cooled a bit), and covered with your favorite toppings. I make these the night before we have "baked potato bar" for dinner, so that all I have to do is zap them for about 75 seconds, and dinner is ready! If you prefer things with "lower sodium", still use the kosher salt, but brush off the spud before eating the skin.
These are also a fabulous medium to get more bacon in to my mouth.
I tend to get a bit more creative each time I make these - sometimes adding lemon pepper, or parsley, or rosemary. The baked potato is a blank canvas for your preferences. Pair with a nice salad or grilled veggie, and baked potatoes are now a perfect week night meal!
Labels: Lazy Lady Cookbook, Main dishes, side dishes
