The Spoon Hack That Will Cut Time For Baked Potatoes

A baked potato, whether prepared simply with butter or loaded with all the fixings, is perhaps one of the tastiest side dishes and a staple on nearly every steakhouse menu. The crisp outer potato skin combined with a soft, fluffy interior is irresistible. But when it comes to making baked potatoes at home, it can be a lengthy endeavor. The standard cooking time for a baked potato can range from an hour to 90 minutes.

There are lots of simple tools on the market that are supposed to help the cooking process along. A few companies market extra long aluminum nails that can be inserted into potatoes to transfer the oven's heat to the interior of the spud. There are also metal potato stands with spikes designed to hold several baked potatoes at once while baking in the oven. But you can save yourself the trouble of buying yet another kitchen gadget. One regular metal spoon is all that is required to bake your potatoes faster so you can dig into your tasty meal. 

Chef Phil Vickery demonstrated the spoon trick on the British television program, "This Morning." He simply inserts the stem of an everyday teaspoon into a potato (after it has been scored), making sure that the handle reaches the center of the potato. As the potato bakes in the oven, the spoon conducts the heat to the center, helping accelerate the internal cooking process. Using the teaspoon hack should cut about 15 to 20 minutes from the overall cooking process. 

If you're looking for an even shorter way to get tasty baked potatoes, Vickery suggests starting the potatoes out in the microwave before finishing them off in the oven. He recommends cooking potatoes for about six minutes in the microwave, flipping it over halfway through. Then, season your potato with oil, salt, and pepper, insert your teaspoon, and transfer to the oven to finish cooking for about 20 minutes.