Twice baked potatoes are almost a blank slate which can incorporate any number of ingredients. For me, I love some sort of cooked protein, cheese and onion of some kind plus some seasonings. My pictured photo is based on Americas Test Kitchen recipe for Pepper Jack and bacon but you could easily substitute other ingredients. I like the method for the potato baking and find it works well. I have done some tweaks to the method and the seasoning. I hope it works for you.
Ingredients
- 4 russet potatoes, (7-8 oz each), scrubbed, dried, and rubbed lightly with vegetable oil and Kosher Salt.
- 8 stripes bacon
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
- 4 oz pepper jack cheese, shredded (about 1 cup)
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
- 3 medium scallions, white and green parts sliced thin (about 1/2 cup)
- 1/2 tsp table salt
- 1/4 tsp garlic salt
- 1/2 tsp cajun seasoning
- Ground black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°. Place bacon on a parchment or foil lined cookie sheet and bake 15-25 minutes (depending on thickness) or until bacon is crisp. Watch it carefully in the last 5 minutes. Remove bacon to paper towel-lined plate and reserve bacon grease from sheet pan. When cooled, chop bacon until well crumbled.Adjust oven rack to upper middle position in same 400° oven. Place potatoes on foil-lined baking sheet, drizzle with oil and season with kosher salt until well coated. Bake until skin is crisp and deep brown and skewer easily pierces flesh, about 1 hour. Setting baking sheet aside, transfer potatoes to wire rack and let sit until cool enough to handle, about 10 minutes.Using an oven mitt or folded kitchen towel to handle hot potatoes, cut each potato in half so that blunt sides will rest on work surface. Using a small dinner spoon, scoop flesh from each half into medium bowl, leaving a 1/8-inch to 1/4-inch thickness of flesh in each shell. Arrange shells on lined sheet, brush with reserved bacon grease and return to oven until dry and slightly crisped, about 10 minutes.Mash potato flesh with fork until smooth. Sprinkle with melted butter and mix and fluff until well coated. Stir in remaining ingredients, including all dairy, bacon, shallots, and seasonings until well combined. Taste and adjust seasonings to your liking.Remove shells from oven and increase oven setting to broil. Holding shells steady on pan with oven mitt or towel-protected hand, spoon mixture into crisped shells, mounding slightly at the center, and return to oven. Broil until spotty brown and crisp on top, 10 to 15 minutes. Allow to cool for 10 minutes. Serve warm.NOTESYou can assemble these (short of broiling) a day ahead. If you take them cold from the fridge, consider baking for 8-10 min at 400 to heat the middles before broiling until spotty brown. These freeze well. I flash froze them on a sheet pan for about an hour then wrapped individually and placed in a zipper bag.HAPPY EATING!!
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