The Case For Roasting Potatoes On A Bed Of Salt

If you thought making baked potatoes was a done deal — just cover with foil and pop in the oven — this is something you want to hear. Ditch the foil, check your salt supply, and get ready for a whole new spud perspective. After trying this alternative method for baked potatoes, you may never return to the standard "one and done" approach. We're talking roasting whole potatoes on a bed of salt. 

There's two divine things about this potato-transforming oven trick. First, it's almost as easy as making standard baked potatoes, with only a handful of ingredients involved, and very little extra time in the oven. Second, it could easily be the best roasted-slash-baked potatoes you've ever had. That's because nestling them in a hot-salt culinary sauna steams them to fluffy spud heaven with little fussing or fiddling. 

And about the typical uneven baking while your tummy rumbles with hunger? Gone. Using this method, the moisture that's naturally released when potatoes cook gets captured in the salt bed underneath — evenly permeating the potatoes with salty steam while simultaneously softening and seasoning them. If you love a crispy jacket on your tubers (and who doesn't), there's an easy solution for that, one that takes place in the final 15 to 20 minutes of cooking time. Plenty of potato hacks exist, each valuable in its own way — but roasted salt-bed tubers could fundamentally change your tater game. 

To achieve a tray full of fluffy, salty, crispy-jacket potatoes, you only need two basic ingredients: russet or Yukon Gold potatoes, and a whole lot of salt. But they'll really shine when adding extras to the mix, such as dried herbs, seasonings, or fresh garlic. You can also use them to create a homemade buttery topping for the cooked potatoes. 

Start with lining a long baking dish, about 9x12 inches, with a half-inch layer of course or kosher salt. Then nestle your whole potatoes into the salt. Lightly scatter some extra salt around the sides of the potatoes, lightly sprinkling in some fresh or dried herbs if desired. Experiment with chopped parsley, thyme, rosemary sprigs, or other aromatic earth offerings. Better yet, tuck a whole bulb of garlic into the salt bed, and use it to later make a roasted garlic-infused butter topping. 

Before baking, pierce the potato tops four or five times. This helps more steam escape into the salt bed and prevents bursting. Now it's time to bake the spuds at 450 degrees Fahrenheit. Here's where you have a decision to make. For fully hands-off cooking, roast the potatoes uncovered for about 1.5 hours. Alternatively, cover the entire pan with foil to keep that salty, steamy goodness circulating while the potatoes cook. With this approach, you'll remove the potatoes about 15 minutes early and brush each one with olive oil. Return to oven, uncovered, and finish cooking, all the while crisping the skins to crunchy-jacket perfection.