Grilling / broiling the potato after it comes out of the microwave is quicker than baking it and achieves the same crispy outside.
If you really prefer them baked though, you can speed this up by inserting a large metal skewer into the potato while it's in the oven
Tough question - there are a lot of non-scientific ways to measure small/medium/large potatoes and nobody seems to agree on exactly what weight each is. However, there are a few ways I identify large vs medium at home.
In my experience, a large potato is about the size you would get in a restaurant (I know, not very specific). That is, when I cook at home, the potatoes I purchase tend to be medium - round (not oval) and about the size of a tennis ball or baseball. When I'm at a restaurant their potatoes are noticeably larger, and generally more oval shaped it seems (closer to a sweet potato in shape and size), which makes them great for stuffing like for a loaded baked potato. Luckily most of the recipes I have at home that involve potatoes don't require precise measurement, so I just stick with my eyeball measurements and don't even bother weighing them.
I found a source online that says this:
According to Shape magazine, eatbetteramerica.com and prevention, a medium potato is the size of a computer mouse, so somewhat bigger than that.
And I think I can get behind that answer. I'd say your average computer mouse (like, one you would get with a new PC, not a fancy third-party mouse) is about the size of an average medium potato. Another way to eyeball: I'm a 30 year old male with hands that are neither very large or very small. The medium potatoes in this bag are about the size of a loose fist for me. So a large potato would be bigger than either of those things.
As for measurements, I have a bag of medium potatoes and it says they're 5.3 oz (150g) a piece. I weighed one and it was closer to 6.5oz (185g). Based on that I'd say a large potato would be anything over 8oz (225g), pushing as high as 12oz (340g).
I found a way to search online for this info: calories. By searching for "large potato calories" I was able to find pages with weights and measures:
So, in short, it seems like I would consider these good numbers:
- Medium potato: 2 to 3" in diameter, 5-8oz (140-225g)
- Large potato: 3 to 4.25" in diameter, 8-12oz (225-340g)
Below is a picture of the medium potato from my bag, compared to some common household/kitchen items. The gift card is the size of a normal credit card, and the knife is a common steak knife from my utensil drawer. Apparently a medium potato is almost exactly the size of a 1 cup measure!
Best Answer
While I have not tried doing this myself, I would imagine cutting an x into one side of the potato should give you an opening through which to skewer the potato, without dragging foil into the potato itself.