Raise your hand if you like creamy baked potatoes – then keep reading, because you’re about to learn the secret to perfectly fluffy and delicious baked potatoes! Salt-baking is an age-old cooking technique which creates the perfect environment to gently cook anything from meats and fish, and now – potatoes.  

So, how does salt-baking yield perfect potatoes?

Essentially, the function of a salt-bake crust is to insulate whatever it is covering. Traditional baking methods allow all of the moisture to escape out of your potatoes, leaving you with a dried out and gummy result, rather than a soft, buttery and fluffy potato. The salt crust essentially forms a second ‘oven’ around your potatoes, allowing them to gently cook in their own moisture and stay deliciously soft as a result. 

You can use this method to prepare potatoes for salads, to accompany a roast dinner, to mash, or just to enjoy on their own as an indulgent snack. 

Won’t the potatoes be incredibly salty?

If you’re wondering how salty your potatoes are going to bake up, the answer is not at all! This method, when properly executed, simply insulates whatever is inside and does not overly affect the flavour. To keep the salt levels where they should be, avoid piercing the skin of your potatoes before covering them, and while removing them from the salt bake. 

So, how do I make the salt crust?

It’s incredibly easy to make the salt crust mixture – simply combine 4-5 cups of table or kosher salt with enough liquid to achieve a gritty, wet sand-like consistency. You can use eggs, water or aquafaba, and it’s even recyclable for up to a week after you bake your potatoes! Simply crush up the baked salt mixture with a meat mallet or rolling pin, and rehydrate with the same liquid you used to make the bake initially. 

If you try this recipe, let us know how it goes! Leave a comment, rate it, and don’t forget to tag your photo #theculinarycartel on Instagram so we can see what you come up with. You can also view the video here. Happy cooking!