Hot Potato

November 1, 2010 6:22 PM

I'm having a "build-your-own baked potato" bar at a party tomorrow night, and I'm not sure how to get all the potatoes baked in time for the party.

I need to bake 15 large potatoes, and I've only got one oven. I found a recipe that says I can cook 4 potatoes at about 350 for 90 minutes or so, and for extra potatoes I need to add 15 minutes per potato to the cooking time. Does this sound right? Any other suggestions as to ways to get this done? Do I need to raise the temperature as well?

I'm worried that cooking them for 5 or 6 hours will make them too tough and mealy.

I can start them as early as noon, and I plan for us to eat about 6:30.

posted by Mimzy to Food & Drink (25 answers total)

Do you have a microwave oven? You could give them a head start in there to cut down on the baking time.
posted by contessa at 6:25 PM on November 1, 2010

Do you have a microwave?
posted by Houstonian at 6:25 PM on November 1, 2010

Make friends with your neighbors?
posted by aniola at 6:28 PM on November 1, 2010

Response by poster: I do have a microwave -- how long do you think I should zap them before sticking them in the oven?
posted by Mimzy at 6:30 PM on November 1, 2010

microwave, then wrap in foil.

you can also boil, dry, and put them in a 450 degree oven for a few minutes to crisp the outsides a little.
posted by nadawi at 6:30 PM on November 1, 2010

The microwave is a good option. If you want to go classic, you shouldn't need to add that much time per potato, as long as your oven is large enough to hold all the potatoes without them touching. Alton Brown's recipe says with more than 4 potatoes you may need to extend the time by up to 15 minutes. Total, not per potato.

For extra crispy skin, rub the potatoes down with cooking oil and sprinkle with kosher salt. Place them straight on the rack; don't bother with a pan.

90 minutes may be a bit long anyway. I'd check them after an hour.
posted by jedicus at 6:31 PM on November 1, 2010 [2 favorites]

you don't have to put them in the oven at all.
posted by nadawi at 6:31 PM on November 1, 2010

I've baked a single potato at 350 for about two hours and it came out... well, it was easily the best baked potato I've ever had. Ever since then, I've baked 'em for at least an hour - sometimes longer. I got the idea at this blog.

The skin gets a little crispy and, when I don't oil it, a touch tough (as in: I need a knife to cut it up not just a fork) but the inside turns into this creamy, hot, wow.... *sigh* I'll have to buy a potato tomorrow!
posted by LOLAttorney2009 at 6:33 PM on November 1, 2010 [3 favorites]

....yeah. Don't listen to the microwave people. It will ruin a perfectly good potato skin. Don't wrap them in foil. Wash them (all 15 of them), dry them, prick them several times with a fork, rub the skins with olive oil, sprinkle with kosher salt, and put in them in the oven (not touching, if possible) at 400 for about 2 hours. Eat. Potato heaven. It's not rocket science, it's baked potatoes.
posted by jferg at 6:40 PM on November 1, 2010 [13 favorites]

I quite often make a dozen potatoes or more in a single oven. I usually put them in at 400 for about an hour, then turn down the oven to 350 for 20 minutes or so until the potatoes are nice and soft. It will be fine. You can do this.
posted by Addlepated at 6:57 PM on November 1, 2010

Just start testing them for doneness after 40 minutes or so to account for oven temperature variations.
posted by Addlepated at 6:58 PM on November 1, 2010

When I worked for Wendy's we would throw 30 or more potatoes in the oven at one time. It works. Addlepated's method is just fine.
posted by bolognius maximus at 7:03 PM on November 1, 2010 [1 favorite]

Yeah, Addlepated's method is the best. We routinely made 12 potatoes at a time for our six-people family and you just give it about an hour and a half at 375.
posted by saveyoursanity at 7:13 PM on November 1, 2010

Microwaved potatoes are more mealy than baked potatoes. The baking makes the flesh really creamy and smooth as opposed to sort of gritty and rough. Really and truly. Go with jferg's method.
posted by cooker girl at 7:25 PM on November 1, 2010

I have not tried this, but you can cook them in a crock pot.

Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker Cookbook recommends scrubbing the potatoes, pricking them with a fork several times, then rubbing with oil or butter. They say you can 4 to 10 at a time. For cooking times, on high 3-5 hours or low 6-9. More potatoes means a longer cooking time.
posted by annsunny at 7:46 PM on November 1, 2010

If you want to speed up the cooking process, insert a METAL fork into each potato when you put them in the oven. The forks will heat up and cook the center of the potatoes much faster.

Then when you take the potatoes out, DON'T TOUCH THE FORKS BAREHANDED. They're really hot. Like, super hot. Like you-will-need-medical-attention hot.
posted by BitterOldPunk at 8:11 PM on November 1, 2010

you can bake them all at the same time - howtobakeapotato.com! this method makes the best baked potatoes I've ever had.
posted by 5_13_23_42_69_666 at 8:15 PM on November 1, 2010

Adding more potatoes should really make only a very minimal difference in your cooking times. I'm baffled by the fact that your recipe suggests 15 minutes extra per potato. It's not like a roast that gets bigger in circumference as it gets heavier -- they're potatoes. I mean, sure, you'll lose a little of the direct heat if you've got potatoes on more than one rack, but not that much. And your oven is more than capable of maintaining temperature with a couple of extra potatoes in it.
posted by jacquilynne at 8:27 PM on November 1, 2010 [1 favorite]

Scrub them, wipe on some oil, sprinkle on a little salt, throw them all in. Put a meat thermometer in one, pull them out when it hits 210. 450 degrees gives a very crisply skin, 350 a bit creamer flesh. It takes about 1 1/2 hours.
posted by Marky at 10:12 PM on November 1, 2010

I've cooked over 50 potatos at once in an oven. We have an annual party out at our camp called the Gas Blast. All the beer you can drink and a steak dinner. All of the potatos got rolled in oil and salted, wrapped in foil and just thrown into an oven for 2 hours or so. The oven was FULL but it was just preheated and then filled with the pommes and then left while people tended to the steaks. It worked fine.
posted by koolkat at 2:39 AM on November 2, 2010

annsunny, crockpot 'taters are delicious. You don't get the crispy skin, true, but the results are moist and yummy.
posted by MonkeyToes at 4:39 AM on November 2, 2010

I found a recipe that says I can cook 4 potatoes at about 350 for 90 minutes or so, and for extra potatoes I need to add 15 minutes per potato to the cooking time.

Unless it's a toaster-oven, that would be a recipe to ignore.
posted by jon1270 at 5:19 AM on November 2, 2010

I will definitely have to try them, then, MonkeyToes. I love potatoes!
posted by annsunny at 10:29 AM on November 2, 2010

It is very difficult to overcook a baked potato. This is on par with boiling water. So don't sweat whether the time is right. I wouldn't do the whole "15 minutes per potato" thing, that sounds ridiculous (if you had 30 potatoes, you'd cook for 8 hours?!). But just put them all in, and give it a few hours, and then check with a fork. If you're not sure if they're done, give them another 30 minutes and check again. It will be fun.
posted by kingjoeshmoe at 11:06 AM on November 2, 2010

Microwave! (as seen on a potato thread a couple days ago) This is my favorite fast dinner, but I have done it for DIY dinner parties to great happiness.

You can do the whole cooking bit in the microwave, if you want, and it does great last-minute work on melting cheese and other dealies.
posted by whatzit at 11:12 AM on November 2, 2010