How To Bake Potatoes Without Heat

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I’ve mentioned before that I eat based on the Paleo Diet/Lifestyle. White potatoes are a not an option for me, as they contain saponins. Sweet potatoes do not. Sweet potatoes also grow like wildfire in my poor sandy soil, and love heat, another thing I have plenty of. So today, I’m going to show you how to bake sweet potatoes without heat. This method also works with white potatoes for you non believers 🙂

One of the best part of a baked potato, sweet or white, is a crispy skin. The way I’ve found to get that is to oil the potato and then wrap it with aluminum foil. So start with that.

Sweet potatoes
Get some sweet potatoes

 

And some oil. I opted for Coconut oil
And some oil. I opted for Coconut oil

 

Oil them `taters
Oil them `taters

 

Place on a sheet of foil, then add salt, pepper, and any other spices you want.
Place on a sheet of foil, then add salt, pepper, and any other spices you want.

 

Repeat for each individual `tater
Repeat for each individual `tater

 

Now for the no-heat part. Baking potatoes requires an oven…at 350-ish, for an hour. That heats up a kitchen a lot. And since it is in the mid 90’s here on a regular basis in the summer, its really not an option… and apparently, asking your neighbor to bake them for you doesn’t work well either…it seems its just as hot in their yard as it is here.

So how do you bake potatoes without heat?

 

Honestly, you don’t. But you can localize the heat to a very small area, and eliminate the excess heat given off by the oven. You do this with a crock pot.

Simply place the foil-wrapped `taters in the crock pot, put the lid on, and either cook it on high for 3-4 hours, or on low for 6-8. For this demo, I opted for the quick method, so I could have my baked sweet potatoes for lunch. By setting this up in the morning before work, you can determine if you want the baked taters ready for lunch or dinner.

Not only does it create less heat, it also uses less energy, saving you money. According to the char below (sourced from here), the energy usage of the crock pot is about 1/4 of what is used by the electric oven doing the same cooking. Only the gas oven rivals the efficiency of the crock pot for this cooking method, but the gas oven still heats up the kitchen.

Appliance Temperature Time Energy Cost
Electric Oven 350 1 hour 2.0 kWh $.16
Electric Convection Oven 325 45 minutes 1.39 kWh $.11
Gas Oven 350 1 hour .112 therm $.07
Electric Crockpot 200 7 hour .7 kWh $.06

 

Now I mentioned crispy skin. Due to the lid being on the crock pot, the skins are rather moist. I intend to try out opening the lid a bit for the last hour or so to try to dry the skins a bit more. But other than that, the end result is a fantastic baked potato, and doesn’t make the kitchen as hot as a Death Valley sauna.

Yes I like a little sweet potato with my butter....
Yes I like a little sweet potato with my butter….

 

I like to make 6-8 at a time, and throw the left over `taters in the fridge to be eaten later. Simply reheat for 45 seconds in the microwave, then smother with butter. And bacon. And then MORE bacon. Mmmmmmmmm….

In fact, as soon as I submit this article, I’m going to go eat one for breakfast…with my butter 😛

 

Peace,
db

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7 comments:

  1. I try to get steph to use the crock pot more…Have to get her to try this!! I like it because it always makes such large meals.

    Not sure if the skin will ever be crispy though.

  2. You do put the crock pot outside in a covered location don’t you? Keeps even that small amount of heat out of the kitchen.
    Have you ever tried them in a sun oven? We’ve done lots of foods, even coffee, but never a potato.

    1. I did not….I was happy with not having the oven on….

      And I’ve made a sun oven before, just never had good results…probably from my design 🙂 I know RidgeRunner has a commercial one, and he uses it often, with great results.

  3. Love it! My mom grew up having sweet potatoes for breakfast. Ive been having computer issues and havent been able to check your blogs for at least a month. I’m sitting here now with a brand new Samsung Note and loving it and being able to read your posts again.

    1. Expect fewer posts in the future. I’ve been getting complaints of TOO much to read 🙁

      As to the sweet potatoes, I love having cooked ones in the fridge for quick snacks…and they also make decent road food for me when I don’t have time (or money) to sop somewhere. Plus they are more healthy than most of the fast food available…

  4. Whomever is complaining of too much to read…..well, I personally look forward to your writings. Look forward to more…

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