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Lately I've gotten into baking Red Potatoes with butter and spices and I've found I enjoy them when they are nice and tender.

What's the best temperature for baking red potatoes for tenderness?

How long should they be baked for?

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It depends greatly on how hungry I am. :-)

350F for about an 60-90 minutes, depending on how many are in there.

425F for about 40-60 if I'm hungry and impatient.

Microwave on high for a few minutes (few holes poked in it with a fork) if I'm really hungry and really impatient.

They're done when a fork goes in easily.

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    For roasted red potatoes, quartered at 450F on baking sheet, 20 minutes with one cut side down, flip onto other cut side, 15 minutes more. cookloose.com/index.php/Recipes/OvenRoastedRedPotatoes – Doug Johnson-Cookloose Jan 14 '11 at 16:04
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    @Doug That sounds like a good roasting recipe -- but the question is about baking. – slim Jan 14 '11 at 16:48
  • @slim Pretty sure that 'baking' and 'roasting' are essentially the same thing..., although 'roasting' often implies a different texture and browning in the end... – MarsJarsGuitars-n-Chars Jan 14 '11 at 18:42
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    @talon8 @Eric: In the UK roasting potatoes means potatoes chopped in to large pieces with fat. Baking means straight in the oven in their skins whole. Very different. – Orbling Jan 15 '11 at 1:20
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    Exactly as @Orbling says. Roasting involves sitting in fat/oil; baking does not. – slim Jan 17 '11 at 13:49
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For pretty much any potatoes, of what I'd call baking size (about the size of a fist), an hour at 180C is good, and another 20 minutes doesn't hurt.

A metal skewer through the middle ensures that the middle is done, and you also know it's cooked when the skewer slips out easily.

For a lovely jacket, wet the skin and grind some sea salt onto it before putting it in the oven.

Some people like to wrap them in foil. This makes for a less floury flesh texture, and a less crispy skin, neither of which are my preference.

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I like to roast them in a roasting pan with a lid with olive oil over the top and salt and pepper. I add several cloves of garlic tossed in for an infused roasted garlic taste. I bake it at 375 for about an hour or until tender. I also do exactly the same thing but quarter or half them, put them into a pot with a tight fitting lid and add aprox. a half inch of chicken broth or water. Put the lid on, bring the taters to a boil, then turn it down with the lid on and simmer until fork tender in about 20 minutes. Drain and serve. I like to use a collapsible steamer in the bottom of the pan to keep the potatoes from getting mushy or water logged. They just seem to steam better. Don't let the pan boil dry.

HINT FOR PEELING GARLIC: Take the head of garlic or the cloves and with a knife cut across the top or bottom of the head or individual clove, just enough to make an opening in the skin. You can also smash it under a chefs knife to break the skin. Place the whole thing or the clove into the microwave and microwave just a few seconds UNTIL you hear it pop. when you remove the garlic it will be hot so be careful, it will also just slip right out of the papery skin.

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  • The only problem with using a lid is that you're going to be steaming the potatoes slightly. Which is fine, but you won't get a nice brown crust on the upper edges. – Martha F. Jan 16 '11 at 16:11

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