Salt-Baked Potatoes with Roasted Garlic and Rosemary Butter

From America's Test Kitchen Season 12: Backyard Chicken Dinner

Baked potatoes are simple and satisfying, but let’s be honest: sometimes they could use a flavor boost. And then there’s the texture issue—instead of light and fluffy, they turn out dense and crumbly. The process of salt-baking potatoes promises solutions to these problems, producing a well-seasoned, moist, and fluffy potato. After a promising initial test, we set out to test the most important variables—temperature, pan size, and amount of salt. Using a hot 500-degree oven and uncovering the potatoes toward the end of cooking ensured dry skin. A 13 by 9-inch baking dish provided plenty of space so we didn’t crowd the potatoes, and 21/2 cups of salt allowed us to thoroughly cover the bottom of the pan.