Easily Upgrade Potato Skins With Bacon, But Not In The Way You'd Expect

Football watch parties, backyard barbecues, and at-home date nights are about to get even more exciting with an easy upgrade for your potato skins (as if they weren't crave-worthy enough already). A fun and satisfying year-round snack, potato skins are inexpensive, easy to make, and allow for plenty of tasty experimentation (even when swapping the main ingredient for a fall twist). Though the origins of this now classic appetizer are controversial, their widespread appeal for homemade game-day fare has been on the rise since TGI Friday's popularized them in the 80s, and later released a frozen version. Commonly topped with a quartet of crumbled bacon, melted cheddar cheese, dolloped sour cream, and fresh-chopped chives, it's all the flavor of a loaded baked potato sans the fluff. Now, you can level up these flavor bombs with the swipe of your basting brush, coating them in richly flavored bacon drippings.

Lightly slathering anything (including the outside of your potato skins) in this undeniably decadent and tasty fat is just one of many ways to upgrade your recipes and add another dimension of mouthwatering umami to this popular app. Bonus — it also turns those skins extra crispy. While olive oil or butter might achieve a similar effect, when flavor is the focus, it behooves you to up your celebratory snack game to impart even more savory bacon-laden goodness. Trust us, this hack is so little effort with so much pay-off that your guests will be "bacon" you for more.

The best type of potatoes to use for potato skins is russets. The dryness of their skins ensures maximum crispiness, while their thickness provides stability for toppings. Size is just a preference. Large potatoes take longer, but yield six to eight slender skins. Medium russets are quicker and can simply be cut in half for a more bowl-like experience, perfect for cradling toppers. To make them, first wash your potatoes meticulously under cold water, giving them a once-over with a clean vegetable brush. Then, dry thoroughly, poke holes in them with a fork, and bake until fork-tender and the skin is crisp (about 45 to 60 minutes).

Once baked, slice the potatoes in half, spoon out the soft insides, taking care to leave a thin layer (¼ inch) of potato along the skin to provide body, texture, and flavor. (Be sure to repurpose the scooped potato in something like mashed potatoes with salt and vinegar). Now, the bacon grease is unleashed. Use any reserve bacon fat you have on hand, or freshly fry up some bacon to use for topping, setting the grease aside. Simply lay the potato strips, skin-side up, on a baking sheet and brush lightly with rendered bacon fat before baking for roughly 10 minutes or until fully crisp. Remove from the oven and add any toppings, such as the aforementioned crumbled bacon and cheddar cheese, and bake for another five to seven minutes. Finally, add cool toppings like sour cream, cream cheese, Greek yogurt, and/or chives and serve.