Grilled, Loaded Twice-Baked Potatoes

Baked potatoes are a simple pleasure that's hard to refuse. But when they're twice-baked? Even better. To achieve primo results, it's not just the filling that needs to shine. After all, potato skins have best-part potential.

These twice-baked potatoes—prepped in the oven and finished on the grill—get piled high with fillings: extra-sharp cheddar, peppered bacon, and chives.

Despite conventional wisdom (sorry, Mom), you need to skip butter or oil during the initial baking stage to achieve a thick, chewy exterior. Otherwise, you'll get a rubbery, unappealing vessel that's easily discarded.

When making these bountiful boats, I tried three approaches. First, I baked them twice in the oven. With the second batch, after an initial oven bake, I finished them off on the grill. The grill method achieved a superior result, one with smoky, almost brittle potato skins topped with clouds of extra-flavorful filling.

Of course, you can cut down on time considerably by following the America's Test Kitchen approach to potato skins: microwave the potatoes for several minutes, make the filling and top the potatoes, and then bake or grill them. In my experience, these were good in a pinch (and certainly quicker), but the potato skins didn't achieve the same level of crispness.