The Paper Towel Hack That'll Give You A Perfectly Baked Potato In A Flash
Who doesn't love a classic baked potato? While it's often preferable to make your baked potato in the oven, those of us in a hurry might not have the time for it. Luckily, there's a surefire failsafe for the second option. The gist? Wrapping your potato in a wet paper towel before popping it in the microwave. (Okay, sure, it's a hack that has been making the rounds for a while, but still seems to miss a good portion of the potato-nuking public.)
It goes like this: Before the potato goes in the microwave, run a paper towel under the tap until it is thoroughly wet but not falling apart, then wrap it around the potato. The rest of the process, both before and after, is pretty much the same. Wash the potato, puncture it with a fork a few times, then microwave it for about five to six minutes after wrapping it in the wet paper towel. Naturally, times may vary given the strength of the microwave, how big of a potato you have to cook, and how soft you like your finished potato. Then slice it open, let it cool a bit, and serve with whatever toppings you desire (like butter, sour cream, chives, or anything else, really) and enjoy.
A steamed potato?
Dampening the paper towel before wrapping it around the potato ensures that the moisture is evenly distributed around and throughout it as it cooks in the microwave. It serves the same purpose as tinfoil in the oven — essentially trapping moisture, heating it, and converting it into steam, which in turn cooks and softens it. (That being said, you should not put tinfoil, or any metal for that matter, in the microwave.)
But if you think that this technically makes it a steamed potato rather than a baked potato, you're absolutely on the mark. In fact that's also technically what the foil-wrapped baked potato, so common in restaurants, is. It's also why some baked potato aficionados warn against using foil, to say nothing of microwaves and paper towels.
"Wrapping a potato in foil prior to baking traps the potato's natural moisture, steaming instead of baking it," reads a post on the Idaho Potatoes website. "This results [in] a soggy baked potato, not the light fluffy Idaho Baker that most people prefer." The post also claims that foil slows down rather than speeds up the baking time.
But what about the crispy skin?
Be it foil or paper, many recipes suggest simply skipping any wrapping around the potato while it cooks. Rather, they suggest simply putting the potato, oiled and salted in seasoned, directly in the oven on a baking pan. As described above, this results in a fluffier inside, and, also, a crispy skin, which for many diners is a must-have for a baked potato.
Still, getting that crispy skin while making a baked potato with the microwave isn't entirely impossible. After microwaving the potato, coat it with oil and salt, and then pop it into the oven for about ten minutes.
Granted, it might be a bit too much of a hassle to move the potato from the microwave to the oven, but in the long run you still end up saving a lot of time. Making a baked potato in the oven can take anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour. Even with moving the potato from the microwave to the oven, we are still only talking about a total cook time of 15 minutes. And don't forget the damp paper towel.