Here's Why Your Perfect Baked Potato Keeps Failing

Baked potatoes done right are luscious and fluffy on the inside, with a perfectly crispy, savory skin on the outside, and they beautifully complement any choice of protein. But while making the perfect baked potato can seem like a simple task, there are a few reasons why yours might keep coming out gritty, soggy, or flavorless.

For example, as Chowhound recipe creator Miriam Hahn demonstrates, some people start on the wrong foot by setting the oven temperature too low when they go to preheat it, and that "means your potato's going to take that much longer to bake and will dry out in that extra time." She indicates that the correct temperature to set your oven on is 400 degrees Fahrenheit, and if you have a convection setting, all the better, as it will get the hot air circulating around the potato, and it could cook it a little bit faster.

While there are many different kinds of potatoes, such as the Yukon gold and reds, Hahn points out that they have a "waxy finish" and won't bake up as fluffy as the old standby russet (which is also the best type of potato for making french fries). And achieving fluffy russet potato perfection requires a bit of prep work, starting with cleaning its skin. While some people might just give their potato a light rinse, it's a good idea to get out a clean scrub brush and actually brush all around the potato as you hold it under running water to remove any grit from the surface (followed by a thorough drying).

Most people know to poke holes in their potato before baking, but then only spear it with a fork a few times before stopping. Hahn says, "We're actually going to poke it eight to 10 times around the whole circumference of the potato"; these extra holes all over the potato help release steam evenly and allow it to cook evenly, too.

Also, people might just put the potato into the oven to bake without seasoning it at all, but they are doing their taste buds a grave disservice. In order to get the crispiest skin, Hahn recommends slathering the potato in an oil with a high smoke point, then generously seasoning it all over with salt and pepper. The oil not only helps crisp the skin — it gives the salt and pepper something to hold onto.

Finally, many of us saw our elders wrapping baked potatoes in aluminum foil before putting them in the oven, but as Hahn explains, that actually achieves the opposite of what we want: crisp skin. So let your potatoes go into the oven naked, and while you're at it, don't put them on a baking tray.

No really — just set your potatoes directly on the oven rack (if it's not already, move the rack so that it sits in the middle). This allows the hot air to reach every square inch of surface area instead of missing the bottom section, where the potatoes would normally sit on a tray. So not only does your potato get cooked evenly, all around, but all of the skin gets nice and crispy, too.