Why Baked Potatoes Taste Better At Restaurants

It seems like no matter what you do as a home cook, some dishes just never turn out as well in your own kitchen as they do when a chef prepares them in a restaurant. When it comes to spuds, for instance, why do they always taste so much better when you're dining out? Is there a way to replicate the eating-out experience and make restaurant-worthy baked potatoes at home?

Food Republic turned to Dennis Littley, chef and recipe expert at Ask Chef Dennis, for some answers. ”A great potato dish is all about technique, texture, and flavor, and restaurants have a few tricks up their sleeves that home cooks can use to take their spuds to the next level," Littley explained. "Baked potatoes, for example, taste better in restaurants because they're usually cooked slowly and evenly, often at a lower temperature for a longer period of time." 

To get well-baked taters, a temp of around 300 degrees Fahrenheit is a good target if you have the time to give them a long bake. This way, the starch will have had enough time to hydrate, explode, and become fork-tender. If you need your spuds to cook faster, you can turn up the heat in your oven — but don't go beyond 450 degrees Fahrenheit. You'll know when they're done by some telltale signs, like fork tenderness and wrinkled skins. You can also check the internal temperature — between 208 and 211 Fahrenheit is the internal sweet spot you want for great texture. ”Cooking with potatoes is all about getting the texture just right and layering flavors in creative ways," Littley shared.

Starting with the wrong spud can affect home-baking success, and it's one of the baked potato mistakes you need to stop making. "The key is to use a starchy potato like a russet," chef Dennis Littley shared. "Rub it with salted oil, and bake it directly on the oven rack for air circulation." Because they're high in starch and also have a lower level of moisture, russets are a popular choice for baking, yielding a crisp exterior and fluffy interior goodness.

The practice of wrapping the vegetables in aluminum foil is another common home cook mistake, and it's something an experienced restaurant chef doesn't do. "Many restaurants also poke holes in the skin but don't wrap the potato in foil, allowing it to crisp up rather than steam," Littley explained. The use of foil doesn't speed up the baking process, but it does trap moisture, resulting in a wet, steamed potato rather than a crispy one. Poking holes in the spuds with a sharp-tined fork, on the other hand, allows moisture and steam to escape during the baking process, aiding in even cooking and helping to create a deliciously crispy skin.

Chef-prepared baked potatoes frequently come to the table looking appetizingly fluffy — a result achieved through another technique restaurants often use. It's one many home chefs may not be familiar with, but they should definitely consider trying it. "For that extra fluffy interior, scooping the potato flesh out and fluffing it with a fork before serving makes all the difference,” chef Dennis Littley instructed.

Slicing off your baked potato tops lengthwise and then scooping out the spuds' interiors with a spoon is one way to achieve this. The scooping leaves a type of baked potato "bowl" within the crispy shell of the skin. Once you've fluffed the guts with a fork in a separate dish, the airy results can be returned to the skin for serving. You can also split the tops of your potatoes with a knife to open them up and then fork-fluff the insides within the skin, scraping the interiors of the potatoes away from the edges to achieve fluffiness.

In terms of finishing off baked potatoes, chef Littley prefers to think outside the box with unique toppings rather than run-of-the-mill adornments. "When it comes to toppings, there's more to life than butter and sour cream," he stated. "Some of the best and most unique baked potato toppings come from unexpected flavor contrasts. A spoonful of whipped goat cheese, a drizzle of garlic-infused olive oil, or even a topping of spiced crispy chickpeas can bring texture and flavor. Slow-cooked short ribs, kimchi, or smoked trout also work well when you want to turn a baked potato into a full meal. If you're going for crunch, toasted breadcrumbs or fried shallots are an easy way to add another dimension.”