Worth the second step, these Two Step Perfect Baked Potatoes have tender middles and crispy skin, just the way it should be!

Every Memorial Day we head to the local military cemetery (wherever we are living at the time) to honor those who have given their lives to the country. While not “fun,” it’s what this holiday is about, and how we as a family choose to recognize it.

Don’t get me wrong, a 3 day weekend is a great way to take a break from the daily grind, flip some burgers, and hit the lake/beach/coast/mountains/<insert your favorite way to unwind here>. But in light of our current state, it’s especially important to honor the fallen, especially seeing as many older war veterans have now lost their final battle during the pandemic. 

In truth, I hadn’t really planned on cooking today. We had some leftover GF pizza and soosh in the fridge, so I knew we’d have something to nosh on. But in considering my favorite vet (the one I married), I decided to make some baked potatoes – his absolute favorite food of all time. 

In full transparency, there are more than 2 steps in this process but there are specifically 2 cooking steps. So if wrapping your taters in foil AND turning your oven on AND salting them feels like a lot, definitely don’t try my empanadas. 

Now, I don’t want to call him particular (k, I just did), but he likes what he likes. And what he likes is a big, tender middle baked potato with crispy skin and flaky sea salt. I’ve tried a few meh methods but tonight had an idea that I knew couldn’t go wrong. <famous last words>

And actually they were perfect. My husband actually yelped and then got even more excited when he discovered he’d have leftovers for tomorrow. I don’t want to brag and say I won the best wife on this day, but I maybe did. 

Two Step Perfect Baked Potatoes

Print Recipe

• Author: Jennifer Robins

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 5 Russet potatoes (or 1 or 12, I’m not your boss)
• Foil
• Spray ghee or avocado oil
• Flaky sea salt

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Instructions

Yes this is more than 2 steps. You can do this.

1. Preheat oven to 425F
2. Puncture potatoes with knife or fork a few times
3. Wrap clean potatoes in foil
4. Bake directly on the oven rack for 40 minutes
5. Carefully remove and open foil
6. Slice open potatoes and lay as many as will fit face down/skin up in your air fryer
7. Spray with ghee or avocado oil and sprinkle with flaky salt
8. Cook in your air fryer for 8 minutes at 400F
9. Skins will be perfectly crisped and browned, insides will be tender and delicious