How to Bake a Perfect Potato

I love a good baked potato as a side dish for dinner. But there was a time when I really didn’t know what I was doing. And I’ll even admit to cooking a few potatoes in the microwave!

Seems simple, but there is a difference between a really good baked potato that was baked in the oven and one that was “cooked” in the microwave. Today I’m going to share with you how to bake the perfect potato and once you’ve learned how to bake the perfect potato, you can turn that potato into amazing meals!

The first thing you need to do is wash your potatoes. You want them clean.
Then prick the potatoes with a fork. Pricking the potatoes lets the steam inside escape without bursting the potato…all over the inside of your oven.
Next rub the potatoes with oil. I usually use vegetable oil.
Then sprinkle them with a good amount of salt and pepper and wrap the potatoes in aluminum foil.

Place the potatoes in a preheated 425 degree oven and cook for about 45 to 60 minutes or until you can stick a knife into the middle of one of the potatoes with no resistance.
Remove from the oven and keep warm till you’re ready to serve.
Unwrap before serving.
Serve immediately with plenty of butter.