Crispy Loaded Potato Skins
Yukon Gold potatoes get boiled then smashed in bacon grease on a sheet pan, seasoned liberally and topped with cheese and baked until crisp on bottom and cheese is almost burnt. The crispy potatoes get topped with more cheese, sour cream, cooked bacon bits and chives.
Ingredients
- 15 medium yukon gold potatoes
- 1 lb bacon cooked, crumbled
- reserved bacon fat
- 2 c shredded cheddar or colby jack cheese
- 1 c sour cream
- 1 bunch chives chopped
- kosher salt
- black pepper
- onion powder
- garlic powder
Instructions
- Dice and cook bacon on the stovetop over medium heat. Once crispy, remove and place on paper towels. Strain and reserve the bacon fat.
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees
- Add small to medium sized Yukon Gold potatoes to boiling water. Once the water re-reaches a boil, set a timer for 14 minutes.
- Strain the potatoes.
- To a half size sheet pan pour the reserved bacon fat in 2 teaspoon size pours all over the sheet pan. You'll need 15 evenly spaced out pools.
- Smash each potato with the bottom of a glass over each of the pools of bacon fat.
- Drizzle each potato with a little more bacon fat on top.
- Season the potatoes liberally with garlic powder, onion powder, kosher salt and black pepper.
- Top each potato with a handful of shredded cheese. Try not to get the cheese on the pan itself.
- Bake on the bottom rack of the oven for 28 minutes.
- Check the bottoms of the potatoes. If the ones on the outside are brown and crispy rearrange to the middle of the pan. Move the ones from the middle to the outside where heat concentrates so they brown as well. Put back in for 5 minutes on the bottom rack.
- Once all the potatoes are beautifully brown on bottom and have an almost-burnt cheese top remove from the oven and top with more cheese.
- Put back in the oven just until the cheese melts.
- Top with sour cream, cooked bacon crumbles and chopped chives. Taste to see if the potatoes need a sprinkle of salt. Serve immediately.
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