Why Baked Potatoes Explode In The Oven And How To Prevent It

When we think of mistakes people make with baked potatoes, often we think of simple, surface-level problems, like the choice of potato itself (stick to russet potatoes) or the toppings you add to it afterward (whether it's lightly buttered or fully loaded with bacon bits and cheese is up to you). However, problems with a baked potato aren't always on the surface. If a potato isn't baked correctly, there's always a small chance that deep beneath the potato's surface, something is brewing that can explode. It sounds ridiculous, but exploding potatoes are very real and very messy.

It's not guaranteed to happen, but much like how sausages can scream and explode in the microwave, your potato can explode in the oven if you don't first poke some holes in it. It comes down to pressure building up inside the potato: A potato's skin is a sturdy thing, but steam will build up inside of the potato as you cook it. On those occasions when enough steam builds up, the skin might burst and the potato's insides will adorn the inside of your oven. Poking a few holes into your potato with either a fork or a small paring knife creates a safe vent for steam to release.

Ideally, you should be poking your potatoes about five to 10 times in different spots to properly let the steam out while it bake. You don't need to make deep holes — just pierce the skin. Do it right before you start cooking, too, as you don't want a potato with holes sitting out and getting discolored by exposure to oxygen. There are folks who avoid poking holes in the potatoes because the steam exiting the potato can sometimes make the potato a little more dry. However, understand that you're taking a risk if you do this, so consider poking holes unless you're really struggling with dry spuds. If your baked potatoes feel too dry, you might be setting the oven too low and baking the potato for too long, which can cause any baked potato to fail.

It's worth noting that a genuine exploding potato is a rare occurrence, and plenty of times, people who've tried to blow up potatoes on purpose couldn't pull it off ("There was supposed to be an Earth-shattering kaboom," as Marvin the Martian would say). However, it's likely to happen at least once if you bake enough potatoes without pricking them. By all accounts, when it does happen, the results are a big enough mess that most people take care to poke vents in their potatoes going forward. Just in case.