Restaurant-Quality Baked Potatoes
Wonder why restaurant and steakhouse baked potatoes taste so good? It’s all in how they bake them! Here, you’ll learn the secret for how to make a restaurant-quality baked potato in your own kitchen!
Steakhouse baked potatoes taste different ..they’re fluffier on the inside, have more flavor and hold up better for all the fixin’s..butter, sour cream, cheese and chives. There’s no reason you can’t get this same texture and flavor at home!
Years ago, there was a famous steakhouse in the small town of Ponder, Texas. There was a waiting line every Friday and Saturday night and, if you wanted a baked potato, you had to: 1) make reservations and 2) order at least two hours in advance. Yep.
Why? They baked their potatoes the old fashioned way. No microwaves back then.
How to make the best steakhouse baked potato
If you’re looking for a foolproof way to make a restaurant-quality baked potato at home, look no further! These fluffy baked spuds pair beautifully with steak, prime rib, pork tenderoin or beef tenderloin!
The secret is two-fold: you need to start with a really hot oven (around 400ºF at least) and you need a good russet potato. These oven baked spuds come out crispy and flavorful on the outside and light and fluffy on the inside.
- Rinse spuds and clean with a brush; use a paring knife and cut about 8 slits all around it. This prevents it from exploding in the oven.
- Lightly oil and sprinkle the russet potato generously with kosher salt. (The best way to do this is to hold it over the kitchen sink:)
- Place the salted spuds directly on the middle oven rack. Do not use foil.
- Bake for 1 hour
How to tell when your baked potato is done
Determine doneness by gently squeezing it using a dishtowel to protect your hands; if you can easily squeeze the spud, it’s done.
As a general rule, (and this also depends upon your oven)–4 baked potatoes take about 1-hour at 400ºF; if you’re cooking more, you may have to bake them a little longer.
Tips
- If you’re baking several potatoes, try to get them all about the same size so they’ll bake in about the same amount of time
- Set out the butter and sour cream when you put them in the oven; this ensures the butter is warm and the sour cream isn’t too cold.
- Spray and salt the spuds over the kitchen sink…less mess to clean up.
Variations
Top your steakhouse baked potato with the traditional condiments, or try topping it with homemade chili!
Craving Italian? Put a little warm marinara and some homemade meatballs on it!
Put a Texas spin on your best baked potato with shredded brisket, barbeque sauce and onions!
Steakhouse baked potatoes taste so much better than microwaved – try it and let me know what you think!
Related recipes
- Fried Potato Cakes
- Southern Potato Salad
- Perfect Beef Tenderloin
- Irish Cottage Pie (Shepherd’s Pie with Beef)
- Creamy Blue Cheese Potato Salad
- Buffalo Tater Tots
If you make this recipe, please scroll down and leave a comment and rating! I love to hear from you! Thank you!
Steakhouse Baked Potatoes
Equipment
- Oven
Ingredients
- 1 potato large, Russet or Idaho
- spray oil
- kosher salt
- condiments of choice ,butter, sour cream, cheese, etc.
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400ºF; place baking rack in middle
- Rinse and scrub potatoes with a brush; pat dry1 potato
- Use a sharp paring knife and cut about 8 slits into spud (about two slits for side); don't cut all the way through, just about an inch into the potato
- Lightly spray oil over potato; season generously with kosher saltspray oil, kosher salt
- Place (unwrapped) directly on middle rack of oven for at least 1-hour
- Potato is done when you squeeze it and it "gives"
- Wrap in foil until ready to add condimentscondiments of choice
