Making these was our seven year old's idea the other day. Apparently Aunt Gail served them at a sleepover once and he woke up determined we were going to make them for dinner. I'm glad I let him talk me into it, they were really good and pretty easy, too, even though they take a few steps.
Double Cheesy Potato Boats
Ingredients
- Organic potatoes (1-2 per person)
- Cooking oil of choice (use enough for deep-frying)
- 1 TBSP of cream cheese for each potato half
- Shredded cheese
- Salt
- Pepper
- Dried Oregano
- Garlic Powder
- Optional: cooked bacon bits, ham bits, diced chives, salsa, sour cream, homemade ranch dressing, etc.
Instructions
- First wash however many potatoes you'll need for your family (1-2 potatoes/per person), wrap them in foil and bake until done. They're done when a fork goes in easily – about 45 minutes on 350*.
- Once they've cooled a bit, cut them in half length-wise and run a butter knife around the edge and then scoop out the middle (see pictures below recipe).
- Next deep fry them in your healthy cooking oil of choice. You could use expeller pressed coconut oil (unscented/no flavor and it has a higher smoke point than virgin coconut oil), lard, or my favorite is beef tallow – I buy it in a 5 gallon bucket and separate it into gallon-sized containers for the freezer. (Where to buy no-flavor coconut oil, and where to buy beef tallow – you may need to do a search for the big bucket.) As I've said before, if the thought of using these oils and calling them good-for-you has you confused or in shock, please read more here about healthy fats and why we need them!
- Remove from the grease and set them on a paper towel.
Now fill the inside with whatever you'd like. Here's what I did:
- About 1 Tablespoon cream cheese
- Sprinkle sea salt, pepper, a couple dashes of garlic powder, and a couple dashes of dried oregano
- You could also add small pieces of ham or cooked and crumbled bacon bits
- Sprinkle shredded cheese over the top
- Bake or broil until cheese is melted and flavors have time to mix. I baked them for about 7 minutes at 450*.
- You can use up the extra pieces of the middle of the potato by just dropping them into the deep fry grease and making all different shapes of French fries. I had some squash, too, so I dropped pieces of that in and it was so goooooood! Don't forget plenty of sea salt, which is good for you when it's not highly processed and has the minerals still intact! (Where to buy sea salt.)
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Enjoy!
I really really hate the mess of deep frying. I wonder how these would be if you just baked them, scooped them and then baked them again?
That’s actually a great idea cause I hate the mess, too. I’ll bet if you brush the insides with butter and then broil the tops it might be really good!
Kel
Hey, Kel. I always wash thoroughly my potatoes for baking, rub them in olive oil, and then sprinkle some kosher salt on the skins. Then, I pierce the skins a few times and bake. I never wrap mine in foil, especially if I am going to eat the skins.
When we make them, we don’t fry, but we bake or broil them. They might not be as crispy, nor do they have the good fats, but they still taste great. I also add crisp bacon and chives or green onions. Yum!
Thanks for the recipe!
Sue E.
Please share your secret for splitting up the beef tallow. I also bought a five gallon bucket and found it IMPOSSIBLE to scoop into smaller containers. I became frustrated and fear I may have wasted some very nice, healthy fat.
I had to ask Kent how he did it and then forgot to come back and tell you…
He said he used an ice cream scoop and would run it under hot water often so he could keep scooping out more.
When I do it, I just chunk out pieces with a sharp knife. (Carefully!)
It’s a pain, but it’s not as much of a pain as rendering it myself, and it’s cheaper this way anyway, plus once I do this it lasts me a looooooong time.
Kelly
MMMM, potatoes and cheese and cheese!!! Looks delicious.
I am no good at deep frying so I would have to skip that step.
It’s easy if you have the fryers. Here’s my post on that: https://kellythekitchenkop.com/2008/02/kitchen-gadgets.html
i thought health conscience people avoided al. foil. is it really o.k. to use? is store bought cheese o.k. if that’s all i can find? i can’t find organic cheese anywhere, or raw milk to make my own.
I use both organic and store-bought cheese. Organic and especially raw is best, but it depends on the budget that month and whatever I happened to pick up.
On the foil, I never use it to cover foods that it will touch and dissolve into (that’s not the right word, but you know how if it touches certain leftovers, you find the shiny stuff stuck to the food?), but something like baked potatoes that it just goes around the outside seems ok. I don’t use it much otherwise.
I think foil will erode when it’s in contact with acidic foods like tomato sauce.
I’ve seen these in restaurants, but they were called “Loaded Potato Skins”. Yours are much healthier, by virtue of their ingredients – especially the cooking oil. I’m sure my family would love them, but I hate deep frying. I hate dealing with the cleanup and the leftover oil – which is a shame because I have a lot of tallow in my freezer that I need to find a use for.
It just occurred to me that you could take the insides of the potatoes, mash them up with some butter and sour cream, put them in the fried shells, and top with cheddar. It’s kind of a kicked-up Twice Baked Potato with a shell that won’t get left on the plate. 🙂
You can reuse your cooking oil for a few times, though, you know, so we just keep it in our fryers and when it’s cool, set it back into its storage spot. Easy!
The twice-baked idea sounds good!
Does tallow need to be refrigerated? Mine is in the freezer right now. The only way to store it in the fryer is if it doesn’t need refrigeration.
I keep the tallow I’m not using in the freezer, just as a place to store it and probably help it keep even longer, but the stuff in the fryers is fine that way, too.
Oh Boy!! We have a household of company coming (very beloved family of 9) in a few weeks. This will make a great side dish or a good lunch. Thank you!
Sounds good except why would you use the foil? That makes steamed, not baked, potatoes.
Hmmm, I don’t know, that’s just how I’ve always done my baked potatoes!
I purchased “spud spikes” ( https://www.spudspikes.com/ ) for everyone for their stocking a few years ago. They are GREAT and cook potatoes in half the time. Outside in, inside out. I’m working late tonight, so I may wait and try the potatoes tomorrow…..but I’m going to try to figure out how to do it w/o frying.