# Stab potatoes before baking them?



## Greg Who Cooks

When baking a potato in your oven, do you recommend stabbing them a few times with a fork, or just put 'em in the oven?

I think the theory is that the holes allow steam to escape and makes the cooked potato more flaky. Right?

Also, I've found mostly the exact temperature isn't critical. Lower temp cook longer or higher temp cooks more quickly. What's the best temperature to bake your potato at? And what is the usual cook time?

I have a convection oven. One site suggests 375 degrees for 50-55 minutes.

I expect the pinch test tells you it's done. When you feel the skin give as you pinch it it's ready.

By the way my favorite part is the skin. Are there any ways to make the skin come out better?


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## roadfix

I stab them in several places with a steak knife, oil them, salt them, and put them directly on oven rack.    
I do a toothpick test to see if they're done.


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## Kaneohegirlinaz

Greg, the main reason you want to prick the skin of a Potato before baking whole is so that they don't burst.  It allows steam to escape.
I do my bakers at 375 degrees fahrenheit for about an hour, and yes, I give them all a good squeeze to see if they are soft.
As to making that glorious skin even better, I personally like twice baked skins with simply a sprinkle of cheese ... cheese, well and bacon, make everything better, don't you think?


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## caseydog

*Oh, yeah*. I can tell you from first hand experience that you want some vent holes in your baking potato. For years, I never did it, and never had a problem. _*But then it happened. *_Potato guts all over the inside of my oven. 

Now, I use my thermometer probe to poke about six or so holes, then put the probe in to measure the internal temp of my potato. I find 210 degrees internal temp to be just right. 

I cook at 350, myself, but I can't see 375 being any better or worse. It just takes a little longer at 350.

CD


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## Dawgluver

I'm a stabber/forker.  Unstabbed potatoes can explode.


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## Andy M.

Wash, stab with a knife, nuke for 3 minutes and bake on the rack @400ºF until done-about 30-45 minutes.  Stab with a knife to test for doneness.


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## Greg Who Cooks

Roadfix, I've always stabbed with a fork because my mom did it. It's just today, appreciating what a valuable cooking advice on our forum, that I could ask a plethora of experts and maybe learn something new. -- Today I deviated from my usual practice and oiled with EVOO and salted. I guess a toothpic or a squeeze are probably equivalent methods of testing for doneness.

Kaneohe, I too picked 375 (after a bit of Googling) and considering I have a convection oven. Oh BTW convection is so much better than standard that it just blows my mind!  -- I too love twice baked potatoes and have a recipe on my website for a few variations.

Casey, LOL I've never had a potato blow up in maybe 50 years!  Your thermometer probe sounds like a viable alternative to a fork. As far as 350 vs 375, I think the significance of convection or standard oven has more importance.



Dawgluver said:


> I'm a stabber/forker. Unstabbed potatoes can explode.


OMG DL you are so tempting me into making a funny reply but I don't want you mad at me! 

But SRSLY after 50 years of cooking I've never seen a potato explode when cooked in a conventional oven.

I think we can all agree that forking would be required if you intend to microwave a potato. Either fork it or get ready to have your potato detonate!


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## blissful

When you take potatoes out of the ground they have more water in them, explode more often. I've had them explode in the oven, microwave and during boiling. If you wait until they've been stored a few months, they have given off some of their excess water, they are safer. So I stab them, always. October potatoes in the US, may explode, May potatoes probably not.


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## Cooking Goddess

I've always poked my potato into submission before baking it. I used to have this devise decades ago that was basically two "U"s screwed together in the middle of the base. You would open it to a plus sign, then shove a potato on each arm. The idea was that by putting a rod of metal (about the same diameter as a standard leave-in-the-meat thermometer) through the center of the potato you reduced the cooking time. I got rid of that in a move since I never thought to use it until it was too late. 



Greg Who Cooks said:


> ...But SRSLY after 50 years of cooking I've never seen a potato explode when cooked in a conventional oven...


Might I suggest, then, that you continue to bake your potato without putting vent holes in it? Then you can report back if you end up with tater guts in the oven. Just to make it clear, I will not be available to come cross-country to clean out the oven.


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## Addie

I have two cooking forks from Vermont Country Store. They are about a liitle smaller that your table fork. It has three pointed tines that are needle sharp with a three riveted wooden handle. I use them all the time to stab potatoes. They have served me well. Originally they were called Granny Forks. They have a Granny Knife for paring veggies and other kitchen duties. 

I wash, dry, oil and stab the heck out of the potatoes. Having it explode in the oven is just more cleaning that I don't want to have to do. That Granny fork goes real deep into the flesh of the tater. Or any veggie that I may cook with the skin on.


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## Greg Who Cooks

Take potatoes out of the ground? Don't they have people who do that?

Closest I've gotten is sticking a few toothpicks into a potato and submersing the bottom in water, and I have a nice potato vine in my kitchen until I have to destroy it.

CG you are going to have to wait at least 50 more years before I have a potato explode. If they have Internet connections in the life beyond, and if they eat food there, I'll let you know in another 50 years.

As it turned out I poked my potato with a fork, oiled and salted it, baked in my convection oven 375 for about 50-55 minutes and it came out fine.

I had salted and oiled it and the skin was good. I cut it in half and saved the other half for twice baked potatoes.


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## Kayelle

Well, I bet I do something nobody else does.

SC taught me to slice off just a sliver of potato from each end before baking. His late wife did potato's that way and she was right although neither of us knows why exactly, and he never asked her. Thanks Sally. I think they have all the venting they require for a good baked potato. 

My own take is I then nuke them for three minutes and finish them in the toaster oven at 375 for 20 min. I hold one in my hand with a hot pad and beat it up with the handle of a table knife being careful not to break the skin. It's fun.  
The method makes for a great fluffy baked spud!


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## caseydog

Greg Who Cooks said:


> But SRSLY after 50 years of cooking I've never seen a potato explode when cooked in a conventional oven.
> 
> I think we can all agree that forking would be required if you intend to microwave a potato. Either fork it or get ready to have your potato detonate!



I always knew to poke holes in a potato if I was going to nuke it. I never thought that applied to baking in the oven. Man, was I wrong about that. 

Boom! (not very loud, but I could hear it)

"What was that?" 

OMG!!! 

CD


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## Greg Who Cooks

The only way I nuke potatoes is when I cut them up into chunks, nuke them, then use the fully cooked product as feed stock for other recipes. For example, saute the chunks in garlic butter with salt and pepper to season. Or trend into a mashed potato some variation. Mash, add cream etc. and the cooked potato provides the substrate.

BTW I always prefer "rustic" potatoes and always include the skin. According to Internet sources most of the vitamins are in the skin. Without the skin all you have left is potato starch--not a good item to add to your diet except in controlled amounts.

Starches metabolize into blood sugar (glucose) in the stomach and can exacerbate blood sugar problems such as diabetes or pre-diabetic conditions. This is why it is healthy to limit intake of raw starches such as flour (bread), rice, potatoes, pasta, etc.


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## Greg Who Cooks

caseydog said:


> I always knew to poke holes in a potato if I was going to nuke it. I never thought that applied to baking in the oven. Man, was I wrong about that.
> 
> Boom! (not very loud, but I could hear it)
> 
> "What was that?"
> 
> OMG!!!
> 
> CD


I've been cooking potatoes in my oven for 50+ years and never yet had one explode. YMMV

I was never stupid enough to try this in a microwave oven. It seems obvious that the huge heat created by focusing microwaves on a potato would release lots of gaseous water (steam) and could build up enough pressure to cause the potato to explode.

But again I've never seen that in a conventional oven. If I live another 50 years I'll let you know... In 50 years I might become the oldest person alive. I'm guessing that is not in my future.


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## caseydog

Greg Who Cooks said:


> The only way I nuke potatoes is when I cut them up into chunks, nuke them, then use the fully cooked product as feed stock for other recipes. For example, saute the chunks in garlic butter with salt and pepper to season. Or trend into a mashed potato some variation. Mash, add cream etc. and the cooked potato provides the substrate.
> 
> BTW I always prefer "rustic" potatoes and always include the skin. According to Internet sources most of the vitamins are in the skin. Without the skin all you have left is potato starch--not a good item to add to your diet except in controlled amounts.
> 
> Starches metabolize into blood sugar (glucose) in the stomach and can exacerbate blood sugar problems such as diabetes or pre-diabetic conditions. This is why it is healthy to limit intake of raw starches such as flour (bread), rice, potatoes, pasta, etc.



My mashed potatoes are always made with skins on. I also don't do a silky-smooth mash. I like some texture. 

CD


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## caseydog

Greg Who Cooks said:


> I've been cooking potatoes in my oven for 50+ years and never yet had one explode. YMMV
> 
> I was never stupid enough to try this in a microwave oven. It seems obvious that the huge heat created by focusing microwaves on a potato would release lots of gaseous water (steam) and could build up enough pressure to cause the potato to explode.
> 
> But again I've never seen that in a conventional oven. If I live another 50 years I'll let you know... In 50 years I might become the oldest person alive. I'm guessing that is not in my future.



I baked potatoes for 20-plus years without poking holes in them, and without an explosion. Go figure. 

CD


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## Greg Who Cooks

caseydog said:


> My mashed potatoes are always made with skins on. I also don't do a silky-smooth mash. I like some texture.
> 
> CD


Way!!! To me the skins are the best part of the potato (and have the most vitamins and nutrients too).

The rest of the potato is just starch.

I know if my mashed potatoes turn out silky smooth I ruined them. I always stop mashing when they are lumpy.

If I don't do that I might as well buy instant mashed potatoes and nuke them. NOT!!!


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## Greg Who Cooks

caseydog said:


> I baked potatoes for 20-plus years without poking holes in them, and without an explosion. Go figure.


I've done it both ways and still living an explosion free life.

I'm pretty sure poking holes is required only when nuking.


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## Greg Who Cooks

By the way, my deviation today involved rubbing with EVOO and salting before cooking. The skin was great! I'll always EVOO/salt in the future.


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## Addie

caseydog said:


> My mashed potatoes are always made with skins on. I also don't do a silky-smooth mash. I like some texture.
> 
> CD



Even when I make mashed taters, I leave some lumps in them. It just seems like more fun to eat them that way.


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## Greg Who Cooks

The flavor is in the skin! If you scoop the potato without the skin you are eating pure potato starch.

Nutritionally that is equivalent to eating pure sugar except most sugar is a mixture of glucose and sucrose IIRC.

They all still get metabolized in your stomach and go directly into your blood stream, and end up flooding your blood with sugar. Your pancreas releases insulin if it can, which sends a signal to your cells to convert the sugar flood into fat and store it in your cells.

This is why it is bad to eat large amounts of starches including sugar. They turn directly into fat to be stored in your body's cells.


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## Cheryl J

My fave way:

Preheat oven to 400F.  Stab scrubbed potato once or twice. Bake for an hour.  When cool enough to handle but still hot, slice lengthwise halfway through, pinch ends together to puff up the 'tater and loosen it up. 

Add butter, salt, and pepper.  Smoosh it in with a fork. Add a dollop of sour cream, and a sprinkling of chopped chives or scallions.  Eat and enjoy.


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## Addie

Cheryl J said:


> My fave way:
> 
> Preheat oven to 400F.  Stab scrubbed potato once or twice. Bake for an hour.  When cool enough to handle but still hot, slice lengthwise halfway through, pinch ends together to puff up the 'tater and loosen it up.
> 
> Add butter, salt, and pepper.  Smoosh it in with a fork. Add a dollop of sour cream, and a sprinkling of chopped chives or scallions.  Eat and enjoy.



I like sour cream as a chip dip, as a salad dressing and a lot of other ways. But for some unknown reason to me, not on a baked tater. 

Sometimes if I didn't use up the whole container of sour cream, I would use it up in mashed taters. Kids loved it!


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## Greg Who Cooks

That's pretty traditional Cheryl but there is a reason why tradition is good.

I had wished I had sour cream and chives (or green onions) tonight for dinner but alas I had neither.

You mentioned an important procedure: I agree that it is important to scrub your potatoes before cooking. Not only did they grow in the ground (and who knows where or what hygiene the field workers were subject too, but the idea that other shoppers also handled them--no way would I eat a potato that I didn't scrub.

I have a fondness for green onions yet I consider them one of the highest risk vegetables I eat, and worse, they are usually served raw! Tell me the truth, did you ever accidentally drop a bunch of green onions on the floor while you were seeking a better bunch? I bet you did exactly what I've done: pick it up and put it back. Even if you don't do this, the next produce department employee who passes by will do the same. Ech!

I always scrub my potatoes. I use the same Dobie pad I wash my dishes with, except without soap.


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## Greg Who Cooks

Addie said:


> I like sour cream as a chip dip, as a salad dressing and a lot of other ways. But for some unknown reason to me, not on a baked tater.
> 
> Sometimes if I didn't use up the whole container of sour cream, I would use it up in mashed taters. Kids loved it!


Oh yeah! Sour cream is almost _de rigueur_ in twice baked potatoes. IMO your only alternative is pure cream.

But it is a tradition to serve baked potatoes with sour cream and chives, in US restaurants everywhere (in US).

Going for the twice baked, you will of course use some type of cheese too!


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## Cheryl J

Greg Who Cooks said:


> *That's pretty traditional Cheryl but there is a reason why tradition is good.*
> 
> I had wished I had sour cream and chives (or green onions) tonight for dinner but alas I had neither.
> 
> You mentioned an important procedure: *I agree that it is important to scrub your potatoes before cooking. Not only did they grow in the ground (and who knows where or what hygiene the field workers were subject too, but the idea that other shoppers also handled them--no way would I eat a potato that I didn't scrub.*
> 
> I have a fondness for green onions yet I consider them one of the highest risk vegetables I eat, and worse, they are usually served raw! *Tell me the truth, did you ever accidentally drop a bunch of green onions on the floor while you were seeking a better bunch? I bet you did exactly what I've done: pick it up and put it back. Even if you don't do this, the next produce department employee who passes by will do the same. Ech!*
> 
> I always scrub my potatoes. *I use the same Dobie pad I wash my dishes with, except without soap.*



Thanks for the cleanliness lesson Greg, but I'm not sure where you're going with all this.  I thought we were just talking about baked potatoes, whether to poke them or not, and other alternatives.


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## Greg Who Cooks

Cheryl, I was agreeing with you. This is a forum. We write posts. Topics drift.

I gather you were offended by my post. Sorry.

When I start a topic I'm always enthusiastic to see it evolve and mutate into new interesting subjects. As the OP I am not interested in requiring responses to be relevant to my OP. I like topics that go wherever they want to go.


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## Cheryl J

No harm, no foul. My apologies, Greg. Sometimes I get caught up in the simplicity of the original question/post and post accordingly. Take care.


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## caseydog

Greg Who Cooks said:


> I'm pretty sure poking holes is required only when nuking.



I should have taken a picture of the carnage. I know I didn't imagine it. And, what have you got to lose by poking a few holes in your potato before you bake it? 

I hope it never happens to you, but I will be saying "I told you so." if it does.  

CD


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## CakePoet

I hate the flavour of the skin, it isnt pleasant . How ever I use my  potatoes after flavour, yes the stuff inside can have a flavour . My favourite is a very buttery , slightly sweet potatoe.


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## rodentraiser

Greg Who Cooks said:


> I've done it both ways and still living an explosion free life.
> 
> I'm pretty sure poking holes is required only when nuking.



HA! I used to stab my potatoes to the point of death and I still had one explode in the oven. Now I kill the suckers and I make sure that fork goes in deep. Trust me, you'll only clean an oven out once when a potato explodes, and after that you *will* stab them. All the time. 

As to the skins, I would eat potato skins along with the potatoes, but I have yet to find a store that sells potatoes that don't have huge black spots in them. When I shop at Safeway, for instance, if I need 3 large potatoes I get 4, because I know I'll be throwing out at least the amount of 1 potato after I'm through cutting off all the black ends and spots. I was amazed once in a cooking video where the cook peeled a potato and it was totally unblemished after peeling. I've never seen potatoes like that.


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## PrincessFiona60

Yes, I stab my potatoes...in the back and then I talk about them.


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## rodentraiser

I suppose I should add that once I have the potatoes baked and the insides taken out, I deep fat fry the skins, then fill them with bacon and cheese or hamburger and cheese, and maybe some sour cream, onions, etc. Then I eat the skins.


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## tenspeed

I remember that my mother would coat the potatoes with Crisco shortening before baking, and the skins would come out rather crispy.  No idea what time or temperature, and I've never done them that way.

  I've done them in the slow cooker, wrapped in foil.  They come out noticeably different than conventional baking.  Wife prefers conventional baked, so it wasn't a repeat.


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## Rocklobster

We wrap and bake 28 potatoes a day at work..we don't stab them..never had a problem...not saying it can't happen, so better safe than sorry, I guess. We just don't have the time...


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## Andy M.

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Yes, I stab my potatoes...in the back and then I talk about them.



LIKE (couldn't find a button that said that)


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## Just Cooking

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Yes, I stab my potatoes...in the back and then I talk about them.




Mr. Potato Head complained about you on Facebook...


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## Addie

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Yes, I stab my potatoes...in the back and then I talk about them.



 Thank you. You made my day. 

And you can talk about me all you want to. Because when you are talking about me, you are leaving someone else alone.


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## RPCookin

I prick them a half dozen times with a fork.  I'll bake anywhere from 350° F to 450° F, depending on whether I'm cooking them along with something else or alone.  Never nuke them unless I'm reheating one that was left over from a previous meal.


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## blissful

Greg Who Cooks said:


> Take potatoes out of the ground? Don't they have people who do that?



We had a small crop of kennebec potatoes, white skin, creamy middles last year. They are my favorite kind of potato right now. (I'm eating low carb but DH and DS are eating carbs) We kept them in bags in the basement where it is cool. They are just starting to grow from the eyes, so in the next couple weeks we'll put in a row about 8 inches deep, stick some potatoes with eyes in, cover them, then mound up the soil. As we might be getting a frost in the next 6-8 weeks, the potatoes will take that long to find the surface, and when they do, we'll mound up more soil around them. Then we'll be the people that take potatoes out of the ground, again.


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## GotGarlic

Greg Who Cooks said:


> The flavor is in the skin! If you scoop the potato without the skin you are eating pure potato starch.
> 
> Nutritionally that is equivalent to eating pure sugar except most sugar is a mixture of glucose and sucrose IIRC.
> 
> They all still get metabolized in your stomach and go directly into your blood stream, and end up flooding your blood with sugar. Your pancreas releases insulin if it can, which sends a signal to your cells to convert the sugar flood into fat and store it in your cells.
> 
> This is why it is bad to eat large amounts of starches including sugar. They turn directly into fat to be stored in your body's cells.



Nothing gets metabolized in your stomach. That happens in your intestines. Most people don't eat potatoes all by themselves; if you eat them with fats and protein, they slow down absorption of carbohydrates. It's not as bad as you describe and there are nutrients in potato flesh, not just the skin.


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## Addie

GotGarlic said:


> Nothing gets metabolized in your stomach. That happens in your intestines. Most people don't eat potatoes all by themselves; if you eat them with fats and protein, they slow down absorption of carbohydrates. It's not as bad as you describe and there are nutrients in potato flesh, not just the skin.



I have a chart of vegetables and fruits that shows the nutrients in each one. I was surprised at just how nutritious potatoes are.


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## Lance Bushrod

I'm a stabber and the one time I didn't do it my potato exploded. 

Is there anything better than a crispy russet skin dripping with butter and sour cream?


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## GotGarlic

Lance Bushrod said:


> I'm a stabber and the one time I didn't do it my potato exploded.
> 
> Is there anything better than a crispy russet skin dripping with butter and sour cream?


Yup. Add some crispy bacon and shredded cheddar cheese


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## PrincessFiona60

Andy M. said:


> LIKE (couldn't find a button that said that)



Thank you, Andy!



Just Cooking said:


> Mr. Potato Head complained about you on Facebook...



ROFL! Fantastic response to my sick sense of humor.


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## PrincessFiona60

Addie said:


> Thank you. You made my day.
> 
> And you can talk about me all you want to. Because when you are talking about me, you are leaving someone else alone.



You're welcome, Addie.


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## PrincessFiona60

GotGarlic said:


> Yup. Add some crispy bacon and shredded cheddar cheese



Now you're talking.


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## Greg Who Cooks

The only way I would ever nuke potatoes is if I needed the cooked potatoes as an ingredient for a subsequent recipe. Perhaps potato salad. My usual use is to cut the potatoes into bite sized pieces, nuke with some water, drain until dry, then saute in garlic butter, salt and pepper to taste, as a side dish.

More often I use mini-potatoes if I'm doing that recipe.

Mainly I cook full size Russets, and from what I learned in this topic, poke with fork, rub with EVOO and salt the potato, then 375F for 50-55 minutes from what I learned in this topic. Noting I use a convection oven.

This results in a nice tasting, crisp skin, the salt was very nice (I hadn't used the EVOO or salt before) and resulted in 2 servings after cutting in half lengthwise.

I saved the other half for twice baked potatoes one day soon.

Thank you everybody for your advice. I have my standard baked potato recipe now!


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## Andy M.

Greg Who Cooks said:


> The only way I would ever nuke potatoes is if I needed the cooked potatoes as an ingredient for a subsequent recipe...



I will nuke a russet for 3 minutes before baking to speed up the process.  The finished result is the same, just takes less time.


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## Greg Who Cooks

Andy M. said:


> I will nuke a russet for 3 minutes before baking to speed up the process.  The finished result is the same, just takes less time.


I'll admit to doing that when I was in a hurry. Fork it, nuke it, put it in the oven. Usually I have plenty of time to just let the oven do its job.


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## CharlieD

Growing up my mom never poked holes. Here my wife told me i do it wrong and I should poke the holes. I don't argue. I poke holes.


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## Dawgluver

My mom and grandma always poked holes in their baked potatoes.


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## Kayelle

Andy M. said:


> *I will nuke a russet for 3 minutes before baking to speed up the process.  The finished result is the same, just takes less time.*



Exactly right Andy. That's just what I said early in this thread, along with cutting a sliver of potato off of each end and you'll never have to poke them all over or have them explode.


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## Katie H

Kayelle said:


> Exactly right Andy. That's just what I said early in this thread, along with cutting a sliver of potato off of each end and you'll never have to poke them all over or have them explode.



I used to be a dipped and dyed oven-baked potatoes person then...I was introduced to a thing called a microwave oven.  That was pretty much the last time I asked my oven to bake a potato.

However, as many potatoes that have been microwave-baked in my cooking career, I have never had one pop/blow up/explode in the microwave.  Perhaps I have been lucky or maybe it's because I usually give a few good knife pokes here and there.  At the moment I'm referring to baking white russet-type potatoes rather than sweet potatoes.

Sweet potatoes are a different critter to me.  Those, I cut a bit off each end/tip, along with the white potato knife attack.  Cutting a bit off each end seems to aid in the cooking process.  Creating a vent, as it were, to allow steam to escape.

The "cutting off" part caused me to rethink my white potato baking method.  Decided to cut a bit off the potato like I do with sweet potatoes the next time I baked potatoes.  Didn't seem to make any difference and tried it several consecutive times.  Still no change.  Came to the conclusion that it works best with sweet potatoes.

Just my feedback.  Now poking a bear....

That's a whole different thing.


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## caseydog

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Yes, I stab my potatoes...in the back and then I talk about them.



LOL.


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