4 Levels of Baked Potato: Amateur to Food Scientist | Epicurious

Hello, I'm Onika and I'm a level one chef. I'm Gabrielle and I'm a level two chef. I'm Frank. I am an instructor at the Institute of Color Education and have been a chef for 24 years. So today I'm making a

baked

potato

stuffed with cheesy cheese sauce but I put turkey meat in it. It's a whole main dish on a

baked

potato

. It's a meal, it's not a side dish. This is the main baked potato chicken today. actually I'm going to make a baked sweet potato the ingredients I'm preparing are Israeli inspired today I'm making a baked potato with all the ingredients that a croque monsieur usually has a crook monster is a classic French sandwich with ham and gruyere cheese and a rich creamy béchamel that you put under the broiler and it's all nice and bubbly and delicious, so I thought I'd put that in a really delicious baked potato.

The first thing I'm going to do is prepare my potato for baking. potato, you should have a rustic potato, that's fine, traditionally we use idaho or russet potato, they are nice and fluffy on the inside, they tend to be a little grainy for me, so I chose a German butter ball, they have the best attributes of the russet and kind of yukon where you have some of that dryness and that sponginess and a little bit of wax and I think when you combine the two you get a really delicious baked potato. In fact, I'm going to make a baked sweet potato.

I love the taste of sweetness because it will be combined with some really fun spices, sweet potatoes and yams. They seem to be synonymous here in the US. I'm going to wash my potatoes in a little bit of water and use a sponge to do it. it goes in there great, you really want to clean it off because we're eating the skin. I think skin is like a nice little nutritional boost. I guess our potatoes are clean now, so we're going to dry them a little. What makes a really good baked potato is how you prepare the skin, so what I do with my potatoes, take the olive oil, make sure you really get in there, give it a little love, hey, how do you feel?

What's about to heat up? You're about to go down to your DM and I'm going to make a flavored salt that will give it a nice salty crust and give us a light taste of time. I'm using kosher salt, it's kind of flaky. grain and I am going to use fresh thyme, do not use dried thyme because this fresh thyme has more floral characteristics, it has a better flavor and will read better once we bake our potatoes, we want the salt to turn a little green and we want it to have fragrance It smells amazing a baked potato without salt it's not worth eating it's like French fries without seasoning let's go without salt it's just a wet and mushy potato I'm just going to take these potatoes and put them on my tray and I'm just going to lightly rub them with a little bit of that oil of extra virgin olive so that the salt sticks and I'm going to let it fall, look, it's like snowing on the potato, yes, it's a lot of salt but first of all, we're simply putting it on the outside.

Secondly, when we open them, some of the salt will fall out and I am totally comfortable with that, this is just to start my taste, which is why some people poke holes. on the potato, I'm actually going to stab them with a fork and this will basically help let out the steam that's building up inside the skin. I don't think it's necessary to make it look a little ugly and if you're going to put the potato in the oven dry with nothing on top, not wrapped in aluminum foil, you should prick them because what happens is that the skin gets very tight and the inside starts to expand and then they explode for this potato, I have things in the Outside I have oil, it will get crispy, it won't be too tight and it won't explode.

I'm going to go ahead and wrap each one in aluminum foil and I actually like to keep it a little looser at the top so it's easy to access. to my sweet potato to go in and see if it's tender now that my potatoes are done I'm going to put them in the oven at 425 for about 50 minutes we're going to take them and put them in a high oven at about 400 degrees and then we're going to turn it down to 350 and the reason I put it on high and then on low is I want to start browning the outside I want the skin to get a little crispy okay so these are going to go in the oven at 400 degrees for about 40 to 50 minutes I'll be back while my potatoes are baking it's time to start working on my ingredients first I'm going to start with my pickled bread, onion, don't start chopping remember to put your weight into it, you have to show the

food

who's boss just add this in my bowl, spread out some of the little petals, if you work fast your eyes will water and mine are starting to.

I will achieve it. be strong for my baked potato and then we'll put in some shallots, they have a really nice onion flavor with just a hint of garlic and we'll throw them right into the pan with our butter. I'm going to put a little salt on it right now just to get the shallots to start cooking a little bit of pepper and now my red pepper, you really don't need much, this is all I'm going to use. I'm going to go ahead and zest my lemon, the zest is where the oil is in the lemon, so it's going to have a much more concentrated lemon flavor and then I'm going to squeeze out all this juice.

Now I'm going to add my lemon juice to my red onion. and then this will end up reserved for my yogurt, later I'll add salt and sumac. Sumac has a very nice floral, woody, earthy flavor, so I'll go ahead and let my onions pickle. for about the same time as my potatoes in the oven, so 40 to 50 minutes and they'll be done and while that's happening, I'm going to cut my speck now, if you've never had speck, it's a ham. lightly smoked, it's absolutely delicious, so our shallots are cooking. I take the sprig of thyme. I'm going to remove the stem before filling our potatoes.

I'm going to take our pot and just heat it up. I'm not really going to cook the speck, I don't want it to be crispy and this is going to be the base of our stuffing here's my turkey meat, you hear? Go ahead, turkey meat, next I'm going to make my chickpeas, I can tell. that baked potatoes are synonymous with bacon and meat and everything else, hey, I get it, it tastes good, but this will make it feel good. Meat is not necessary in this baked potato, I just think it adds a lot of flavor, so in my Baked Potato Meat is necessary.

First I'm going to chop my garlic. Only one tooth is fine. You don't need much. I love garlic. I'm a big garlic person. There is no vampire that comes close to me or anyone else. human I guess I'm looking for that nice brown color now my oil is infused with garlic so I like to go ahead and add my chili flakes to let the chili also impart into the oil to make this sauce spicy when you bite into it , bite back I'm going to take a little bit of my red pepper flakes a little bit of black pepper I'm going to add my chickpeas perfect in va my smoked paprika my cumin and my turmeric so I'm going to put my onions here to top it off I'm just going to do a little bit of Creole seasoning I think they're ready cuz I'm noticing some of the crunch I'm going to take my lovely garlic pieces give them a little stir and then they'll be ready yeah girl look at that so my meat is ready potatoes out of the oven and now I want to get the inside of these potatoes out, so what I want to do is make that indentation right in the middle and you can see how nice and yellow they are on the inside, so I'm going to take my spoon and I'm going to take out a tablespoon big and nice pulp so that the potatoes are emptied, let's add our ham mixture and mash it a little.

We're going to add a little fresh cream just to bring it together. Creme fraiche is just cultured cream, so it's like a mix between cream and yogurt, so that's our filling. I'm going to apply a lot of black pepper, so now I'm going to start on my cheese sauce. Cheese is great with a baked potato, but unfortunately I can't eat cheese. If you don't like dairy, you can't eat it. I get it, but you have to put something in there that will give the potato a little bit of moisture, so my other topping is going to be my Greek yogurt.

I'm going to go ahead and add my Greek yogurt with my little rubber spatula so nice little bit of salt my lemon zest just a little bit of lemon juice I would recommend putting this in the refrigerator for about half an hour just to let it that zest spills into the rest of the Greek yogurt. I'm just opening a can of rotel, which is diced tomatoes and green chiles, so we're going to let that simmer and now we're going to prepare our dressing for this, which is a bechamel sauce. Béchamel usually starts with butter, but you can use pretty much any fat you want, I'm just using a little unsalted butter while the butter melts.

I'm going to take this clove of garlic and I'm not going to cut it. I'm just going to hit it with my hand because I'm going to strain my béchamel I'm going to put this in I don't want it to brown I just want a nice subtle garlic flavor our butter is melted our garlic is in there I'm just going to get some flour to all use once you start to smell like baking bread, that's when you know it's ready to put in the milk, so my milk is at room temperature or cold and I'm going to whisk it until it starts to thicken.

I'm going to keep beating until I get to like it. over a very light simmer and then I'll turn it down and let it cook for about 10 minutes. I almost forgot, let's season with salt and black pepper. Let's season well. The best

food

has been cooking for about five to seven minutes. You can see that. it's gotten nice and thick and now what we're going to do is strain it, so when I push it in I'm just trying to get most of the lumps out and that's our bechamel sauce, the last of my toppings for my baked sweet potato.

They are toasted sesame seeds, so this is the color you are looking for. It's a little more golden. You can't believe the difference in flavor that roasting gives sesame seeds. Are we ready to refill? Okay, so open it up and put it in there. right, because this is almost like a little individual meal right now, okay, this is the one that's broken, but we'll make it look good as a chef. People think we never make mistakes and I thank the editors for that, but for the most part. We make mistakes, things sometimes fall apart, and you do the best you can with what you have now.

I broke this potato, but after serving it you'll never know. Before I put everything on top of my potatoes, I want to grate them. cheese, so I'm going to grate the extra sharp cheddar cheese and you have to get in there, but for me I'm using too many muscle groups for this, I have to use my shoulder, my arm, there's a lot of work involved, so I like I get a tray, I put the grater on its side, get a piece of cheese that fits in my hand and push. I'm basically using my body weight to push the cheese through the grater.

It's easier, faster, so I hope everyone grates. your cheese so from now on there will be a test, okay, so we'll take this cheddar cheese and throw it in the rotel. I'm going to put some of this sour cream on now. velveeta. I do not do it. I don't know what velveeta really is elvita is probably my mortal enemy no you would think so because I'm a chef I hate velveeta I grew up eating American cheese velveeta velveeta I love them I think they're great but it tastes delicious thank you then you guys are going to make this and you're going to like that girl , onika, boy, she was onto something, my potatoes are ready, so now let's put it together, I just make a simple slice, so we'll open it up, it's pretty. right, yeah, I'll even pinch the edges a little bit just to really emphasize that it's a container.

I'm going to have my béchamel. I'll just take a good spoonful and add a yogurt mixture. I'll have some of my cheese sauce. and don't be shy with the gruyere I make a nice pile in the center I like my loaded potatoes to be loaded look at that I'm going to grill them until they're nice and golden brown and then I'm going to go ahead and add my crispy chickpeas with my garlic crunchy, some of my pickled onions, it's just going to add a little bit of brightness. I'm going to sprinkle on some of my toasted sesame seeds and last but not least, just a little bit of parsley. green a little freshness get all that cheese that was left on the bottom I'm just going to make a little bed with that prop our potato up slide that suction cup and what's a baked potato without sour cream and this is my baked potato this is my baked potato and this is my baked potato so now it's the moment of truth let's dig in make sure you get a little bit in every bite.

Wow, I was taking in a city of flavor with that bite. This potato is perfect for any day and any occasion. the perfect little meal this is like love on a plate you should give it to everyone you care about maybe not your cardiologist although this is not the potato you take home to mom you take this potato to miami for the weekend there is no social networks away from your phones you act like you've never done it but you did and you're happier for it baked potatoes are a favorite, they're filling and delicious and so versatile that you can eat them for dinner or as a side dish, let's see how each one of our three creative chefs made their own each chef used a different type of potato onika used a russet which is classic like a baked potato for a baked potato you have to have a rustic potato okay it's a floury potato which means it has a lot of concentrated starch. inside the potato cells, so they are a little less dense when baked, the starchy cells separate, puff up, and create a spongy texturewhich resists Onika dressings well.

Gabby baked a sweet potato that is not a potato botanically, it is a member of the bluebell. family, a healthy pigment called beta-carotene gives them their orange color and they are sweet mainly because the starches are hydrolyzed into maltose, which is sugar but less sweet compared to the white table sugar called sucrose. The sweetening process occurs during baking when the starches absorb moisture and expand. and ends when the enzyme is denatured or cooked at around 170 degrees Fahrenheit. Sweet potatoes are sometimes sweet potatoes. Sweet potatoes are sometimes sweet potatoes. I'm sure Rose probably knows a little more about that.

Sometimes people interchange the term sweet potatoes with sweet potatoes. It's mainly a labeling issue. since the 1930s, when marketing campaigns combined the common orange sweet potato with the orange yam. True yams are native to Africa and are starchier than sweet potatoes and can weigh up to a hundred pounds, not something we usually see in the US retail market, at the end of the day, they are all sweet potatoes. Baked German butterball potatoes, which have an oval shape and a slightly reticulated skin that is a little thinner than a russet. They are buttery and lightly browned by their presence. of carotenoid pigments and have a higher moisture content than Onika's reddish or gabby sweet potato.

These are heirloom potatoes, meaning they have been grown and harvested for a long time, sometimes hundreds of years. I'm going to go ahead and wrap each one in some baking potato foil and the foil traps the moisture and steams the potato instead of dry baking it. You end up with softer skin and a tender interior, but it can also look a little soggy. I never wrap Frank roast his potatoes in a salt crust and you I'm going to say chef frank oh my gosh there's so much salt yes there's a lot of salt this season not only does he season his potatoes but the salt forms a crust and a barrier around the potatoes, as it partially melts during baking, unlike covering a potato with aluminum foil.

Salt has a protective effect because it is hygroscopic, meaning it attracts water, so the potato skin remains dry and does not become soggy. Each chef chose a unique blend of toppings that worked great with their individualized potatoes. Onika used velveeta, I don't know what velveeta. It really is something that velveeta is not a true cheese, but rather a relative of cheese. The US FDA calls it a pasteurized processed cheese food. Velveeta is made with a combination of older leftover cheese scraps mixed with fresh ones and an emulsifier is added to the ground. Mix cheese to join the two, which improves the melting process.

It melts like a dream. It is inexpensive but highly processed and not a pure cheese. Organisms is an old way of preserving non-refrigerated foods, but in Gabby's recipe it's a quick, crunchy addition to her baked potato. She also added sumac. Sumac is a ground berry that is common in Middle Eastern and North African cuisines. It is also earthy and woody. worked great on gabby's pickled onions, after baking frank scooped out the insides of his potatoes and mashed them with fresh seasoning cream and speck a seasoned and cured italian smoked ham, it is higher in fat and denser than the prosciutto, but with a comparable flavor impact, frank then.

A classic bechamel sauce was added. Béchamel is one of those sauces that we use in classic cooking and is basically a cream sauce made from butter, flour and milk. Béchamel is milk or cream seasoned and thickened with a roux. A roux is equal parts fat and flour mixed and added. a hot liquid starch granules swell when heated in a liquid to many times their original size thickening a béchamel sauce is thick and decadent this was a sumptuous addition to Frank's already incredibly delicious baked potato next time you're in the mood of a delicious baked potato for a meal or side dish.

We hope you follow some of these tips from our three amazing chefs.