About a week and a half ago, I found myself itching to go bowling, not so I could make a fool of myself and maybe break 50, but because one of the bowling alleys around here has some really great cheesy bacon potato skins. I realized pretty quickly that going to the bowling alley specifically to eat potato skins was a little absurd, so I decided to figure out a quick recipe to use for a friend’s Christmas party this last weekend.
I did a little browsing on the web to get some ideas on how to get potato skins that were somewhat crispy without being fried, and after a few modifications, I came up with this recipe. It still takes about an hour and a half to make them, but a large chunk of that time is spent waiting for the potatoes to bake. While you could probably do the potatoes a lot faster in the microwave, I’m not sure if they’ll wind up soggier than they would in oven.
Begin by washing the potatoes thoroughly, then arrange them either on the oven rack, or if they’re smaller potatoes, on a cookie sheet. I tend to give them a quick hit of Pam to keep them from sticking to the cookie sheet/rack and pierce them a few times with a knife to let steam escape.
Throw the potatoes in the oven (you can preheat, but it’s probably not necessary) at 400 degrees for about an hour. Smaller potatoes will cook faster, larger ones may need a little more time.
While you’re waiting on the taters, cook the bacon. I prefer the microwave method since cleanup is much easier and it saves me from having to haul out my family-sized griddle. If you’re not familiar with the microwave method, just take a sturdy glass dish (a square Pyrex one works pretty well), line the bottom with a few sheets of paper towel, place about 4 strips of bacon on the paper towel, and cover with a few more sheets of paper towel. Microwave for approximately 1 minute per strip of bacon.
I also took the opportunity to slice up the (optional) green onions while waiting for the potatoes and work on some baby back ribs for the next day (more on that in a separate post).
When your potatoes are done, slice them in half and scoop out most of the potato with a spoon. If you’re going to be making mashed potatoes within a few days, you can add the scooped out part, or just have it separately with a little butter, salt, and pepper.
Crumble your bacon and put some in each shell. I used about a pound of bacon across 17 potatoes. Sprinkle cheese on top (I went with some shredded sharp cheddar) and then salt and pepper to taste.
Throw the skins on a broiler pan and put them under the broiler on high for 2-5 minutes, until the cheese is good and melty. The longer you leave them in, the crispier the skins will be.
Serve with optional sour cream and green onion (I did mine on the side). Enjoy!
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