Is Your Baked Potato Recipe Missing This ONE Simple Trick?
Salt-Brined, Onion-Stuffed Baked Potatoes
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Introduction
The Best Baked Potatoes You've Ever Had, With Crispy Salted Skin
What's up BBQ fans! Today we're doing something other than meat. Shocking, I know. We're making baked potatoes on the Yoder YS640s, the way I've been doing it for about 25 years, with a couple of twists I've picked up along the way.
The Setup
Potatoes: plain Idaho potatoes from a prepackaged bag. Pick ones that are similar in size so they're done around the same time.
Pellets: Bear Mountain Hickory. Past 275°F, you don't get a ton of smoke flavor, so at this temperature I go with a heavier wood. Honestly, potatoes don't take on much smoke unless you smoke them for a very long time. We're just making damn good baked potatoes.
Temp: 400°F.
Cut the Slots
With a sharp knife, cut two wedge-shaped slots into the top of each potato, three on bigger ones. Keep them narrow but deep, about halfway down. Don't go deeper, or you'll split the potato. Save the pieces you cut out for fries.
The Trick: A Salt Water Bath
Stir a heavy tablespoon of Diamond Crystal kosher salt into a big bowl of water and soak the potatoes about 10 to 15 minutes while the grill comes up to temp. As they dry, that salty water coats the skin, and salt on potato skin is phenomenal.
Don't dry them with a paper towel. You'll wipe off all the salt. Give them a good shake instead.
Dry Them on the Grill
Set the potatoes on the top rack, staggered so the air flowing toward the stack can move across them. After about 3 minutes, flip them with tongs so the bottoms dry too. The whole step takes 5 to 7 minutes. You'll see the skin change back to a dry color. You want them dry so the oil sticks.
Stuff With Onion
This is the twist. Cut a red onion in half, then into wedges sized to fit the slots, a little shorter than the potato so they don't stick way out. Peel off a layer if a wedge is too thick. Remember, the potatoes shrink a little as they cook. If you don't like onion, skip it and just do the salt water trick.
Then:
Olive oil all over, bottoms included
A generous coating of Jacobsen garlic and black pepper infused salt, or regular salt
The Cook
Group them together on the top rack with plenty of room, about 8 inches from the stack. That's a hot spot, and you don't want the outside to get too crispy before the inside is cooked.
About 1 hour on the top rack
Then move them to the bottom, directly over the firebox, to crisp up the skin and finish them
About 1 hour 25 minutes total
How do you know they're done? Most people squeeze them. We put some work into these, so temp them. You want 205 to 210°F for that light, fluffy inside. I made bacon while they cooked, because bacon makes everything better.
On a kamado or gas grill, cook them indirect for the first while, then finish with about 20 minutes over direct heat. You'll get even crispier skin that way.
Loading It Up
Hold the hot potato in a cotton glove, and cut it in half with a serrated knife, onions included. Tuck the onions back in so you get a little in every bite.
Cheese first. There's nothing worse than a restaurant loading ice-cold cheese onto a baked potato. I let the cheese sit out about 30 minutes so it melts and adds flavor, not texture.
Pats of butter on top, then be patient and let the potato's heat melt everything in.
Bacon bits, sour cream and green onions, or chives. Chop it all together a bit.
Taste Test
That, my friends, is an amazing baked potato. Crispy, salty skin you'll want to eat, not that papery texture. The bottom was extra crispy from the firebox, and you get a little onion in every bite. As mom and dad always said, eat the skin.
Final Thoughts
If you try this, I'd bet it's one of the best baked potatoes you've ever had. Soak them in salt water, don't towel them off, stuff the slots with onion and temp them to 205 to 210°F.
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Thanks For Watching
Whether you're a seasoned pitmaster or a novice, these tips will enhance your cooking skills and leave your family and friends raving about your delicious, smoky creations. Don't forget to subscribe to my YouTube channel for more step-by-step videos, and let's together become the barbecue heroes we were meant to be!
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