Foil wraps will not decrease baking time, but will result in a soggy potato interior with wet skin. You wash them, put them on a baking sheet, prick them with a fork, oil them if you want to (but you don't have to) and bake them. Completely wrap the potatoes in foil and place them on top of a baking pan. For super easy mashed potatoes, bake the potatoes in the crock as usual, (with about a 1/4 c. of hot water) remove the foil, and then mash the steaming hot potatoes right in the crock with milk and butter. I have a friend who works for the State of CT Health Department who advises that aside from buffet restaurants, which seem to be the worst of offenders in routine food safety, foil-wrapped baked potatoes are a prime source of violation. Rinse, Scrub & Poke. Baked potatoes that have been wrapped in foil have been linked to cases of botulism. If they happen to get too done, they will not explode all over my oven. In fact, you should always bake potatoes without foil! If you wrap them in foil, the air will not make the potatoes crispy. But even if you have all the time in the world, cooking potatoes in foil is more expensive than not using foil. For most of us, it's second nature to poke a few holes in the skin of a potato before baking it. 1 1. This gives it a different taste and texture. Microwave: remove baked potatoes from tin foil and place on a plate. Scrub the potatoes under cool water with a vegetable brush to remove any dirt or soil on the skins. https://www.allrecipes.com/article/how-to-bake-sweet-potatoes Bake at 400° F for about one hour, or until tender. The potatoes are washed, air dried and wrapped in foil with no oil or dairy coating. I then like to sprinkle with a little kosher salt and wrap each in foil. Same with a microwave. Potatoes have the potential to explode if you don’t poke holes in them. It’s a matter of preference on whether or not you wrap them in foil. You can, however, grill them wrapped in foil. The skin traps steam inside the potato. The fork pricks will help steam escape the potato as it bakes. Although potatoes are often baked wrapped in foil, you don't have to use foil to get delicious results. Something you will need to keep in mind with these is that there is a little bit of extra preparation to be aware of before you add them to your potatoes. Once baked, if not serving immediately, you can use a hot mitt to grab the potato and 1) set on a square of foil, 2) slice a slit in the potato so it’s ready for your guests, 3) wrap it in the foil to help seal in the dry heat of the oven, and 4) I like to gently roll the wrapped potatoes (with the oven mitt) to help ‘fluff’ them. Cooking baked potatoes in a microwave is actually a method of steaming. Side note…we don’t ever wrap our potatoes in foil because we like skin crispy. Just like foil, oil acts as a barrier and the steam won’t be able to release the same. NEVER BAKE POTATOES IN FOIL. Watch: Funeral Potatoes. 1 decade ago. (No, I’m not serious. Bake in a preheated 350-degree oven for 45 to 60 minutes. The purpose in using foil to bake them is to heat them faster, keep the flavor inside, and prevent them from drying out and burning. And while some people argue that foil helps the potato cook faster because the aluminum conducts heat, others contend that it actually takes longer to bake a potato in foil unless you heat the foil before wrapping the potato. You don't have to put foil on baked potatoes. Wash the potatoes thoroughly before baking, since they are served with the skin on. Its a personal choice. Please remember to poke holes in the potatoes before baking them. As a potato bakes, steam escapes. Potatoes baked in foil actually steam the potatoes and their skin. Then they are shipped (at temperatures of 45 – 50°F) across the country and may not be cooked for a week. Some recipies call for both. If you plan to cook the potatoes in the oven then foil is not necessary. The next step in baking potatoes perfectly is to wrap them in foil. However, if you are cooking your potatoes in a fire or even on the BBQ foil is advised. ETA: Some people rub the skins with butter or oil before baking. I see some baked russet potato recipies that call for coating the potato in oil before baking, while others say to coat the potato in foil. According to conventional wisdom, a few quick jabs to a potato with a fork allows steam to escape as it cooks. Just pop the potatoes on a baking tray with a little oil to stop them from sticking. You do not need to wrap them in foil too tightly, but the foil should fit snugly around them and should cover them completely. 7. Don’t believe anyone that tells you otherwise. You should NEVER microwave a foil wrapped potato. Preheat oven to 400ºF and let cook for 15-20 minutes, or until potatoes are warm. Advertisement. Do you need to poke holes in potatoes before baking? Pair it with extra protein, healthy fats and fiber for a quick weeknight meal you can feel good about. Seriously, easiest recipe ever. I didn’t even poke holes in the potatoes. Anonymous. Potatoes require some preparation before you bake them, regardless of the baking method. Potatoes are packed with moisture. You can also wrap the sweet potatoes in foil and grill them for 35-40 minutes, or until they’re soft. In addition, you wouldn’t need to wrap a potato in foil if you are boiling it. Plus microwaving 1st allows cooking time in the oven to be cut in half. What are you favorite baked potato toppings? Foil holds in the moisture and steams the potato. Luckily, all you have to do is let your potato see some oxygen. Some will wrap them in aluminum foil while others roast them on a bed of salt. Why don’t you brush the oil on the potato before baking it? Microwave on high for 1 minute and 30 seconds to 2 minutes or until hot. What effect do each of these components, oil and foil, have on the potato? Since these root vegetables are grown underground you will want to make sure you rinse and scrub them thoroughly before baking, especially if you plan to eat the skin.. Second best is to use a heat-proof cabinet. One method is to wrap the taters in foil, and the other is to wash the spuds and just toss them in the slow cooker. By adding the oil after the potato is cooked, and then baking it for 10 more minutes, you end up with the most delicious skin that is crisp but not burnt. The bad news is that when you wrap your potato in aluminum foil to bake, the potato is now in a low-oxygen environment. Whether or not you need to wrap your potato in foil will depend on how you intend to cook them. Piercing allows steam to escape as the potato bakes. Foil-wrapped baked potatoes are really steamed, with soggy skins. Wrapping a baked potato in foil after it has been baked will allow you to hold up to 45 minutes, but the best method for holding a baked potato is in a bread warming drawer. A steamy, potato-ey explosion is not something anybody wants in their oven at dinner time. Clostridium spores can survive the baking process and the foil wrap seals the potato preventing oxygen from being present. Scrub the skins with a vegetable brush under cool water to remove the soil then pat dry with a paper towel. Just clean and salt the sweet potatoes, pierce the skin, and wrap in foil before placing in the pot. You will typically soak them in water for about 10 minutes, or as per the instructions on the packaging of the wraps. Before we dive into how to cook sweet potatoes in the oven, we will first need to get them ready. But among the most contested steps in the method of baking a potato, few come close to the age old pricking of a potato's skin with a fork before baking it. The best part is you don’t need any water or any other liquid for baking. In this environment, and at the right temperature, spores on the potato can germinate and grow - producing their deadly toxin. The traditional way to bake potatoes wrapped in foil is on the oven rack at 425 F. Clean and pat dry your potatoes, and then prick your potatoes with a fork before you wrap it with foil. Even a baked potato in the air fryer needs to have the skin poked. YES, you can bake potatoes without foil. As a matter of fact, potatoes wrapped if foil don't actually bake; they steam. For one, you will always want to soak the wraps first so that the wood does not catch on fire and burn your food. Baked Potato Toppings. Another option is to bake the sweet potatoes in the slow cooker, if you need the oven for other things. Depending on the size of the potatoes will depend on how long you bake them. If all you want is a cooked potato, a steamed potato, then you may as well microwave it. If you want to cook them with some meat, simply put the meat in the bottom of the slow cooker then place the foil-wrapped potatoes on top. Several of our Idaho potato shippers are asked to wash and wrap baking potatoes in foil for restaurants like Wendy’s and other steakhouses. Preparation Is Key. The bad news is that when you wrap your potato in aluminium foil to bake, the potato is now in a low-oxygen environment. 6. Don’t do that.) Oven: if you keep your baked potatoes wrapped in the foil, you can reheat them right in the oven. I like to bake my potatoes in the microwave 1st, so that I can save time cooking. This will prevent any olive oil that might leak out of the foil from dripping in the oven. YES! As you can tell from this series, there are many ways to prepare baked potatoes. Prick potatoes with a fork before baking to shorten the baking time and to keep them from bursting. Blech. I chose the Crock Pot Baked Potatoes without foil, mostly to save time and the few pennies in foil. Simply wrap them in foil, put in the slow cooker, and cook. Wrap & Bake. Everyone knows that you don't wrap potatoes in aluminum foil before baking them (foxnews.com) 102 More: Facepalm , California , United States Forest Service , Fire , Cal Fire , Flame , Combustion , Firefighter , warm temperatures If you do wrap it and bake it, my advice would be to unwrap it as soon as possible when done. We learned early on that not doing so could result in scary consequences. The skin generally has more fiber than just the flesh and will give you a boost of extra nutrition. (Believe me if that happens- it is a big mess to clean up). Step 2 Pierce each potato four to five times with the tines of the fork. Making a baked potato in foil is quick and easy. (Cream cheese is a nice enhancement as well) You can keep the mashed potatoes on the warm setting until you are ready to serve them. 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