Perfectly Baked Russet Potatoes

The other day I was thinking what information was on the internet about baking a potato so I did a Google search that returned 179,000,000 hits. Wow, that's a bunch so it's clear that there some unanswered questions or simply way too many opinions.

This is how I make mine:

Buy a potato that is consistently proportioned

Don't buy potatoes that have exposed eyes or imperfections in the skin that you would not eat

Do not pierce the skin with a fork as some folks recommend

Do not wrap in foil

Set your oven temp to 425 degrees with the rack in the center position

Use a veggie brush and clean the potato under running water

Dry the potato with a paper towel and place in a glass baking dish, I use a Pyrex pie plate

Brush vegetable oil onto the skin of the potato - a Tbsp should do

Sprinkle the skin well with a coarse salt if you have it or use table salt

Insert the probe of a corded digital temperature lengthwise until the tip is in the middle of the potato

Place the dish in the oven and set the alarm on the thermometer to 210 degrees

When the alarm sounds your potato is perfectly cooked. You can eat it right away or reduce the heat in the oven to "warm"

When ready, remove the potato from the oven but don't cut the potato until you are ready to add your condiments

Note: The use of the thermometer is paramount otherwise you are just guessing when it will be perfectly cooked.

Do yourself a huge favor and make sure that the butter and/or sour cream, bacon, cheese (all if using) are at room temp as there is nothing worse than eating a cold baked potato.

The steak was served over this fantastic homemade steak sauce, just click here.