Hey Tom, or anyone else, I am incharge of twice baked patatoes for a Friday nite dinner. Any helpful ideas? I like the idea of bacon fat brushed on the shell. Should I do that after I smoke them?
thanks
David

Here is an approach from Chez,graciously posted on Ray Basso's forum.

He is an exchef and restaurant owner.

....but I made some kicked-up twice baked potatoes that were equally awesome, and thought I'd share the recipe. The logistics worked out great...because I was able to make the potatoes earlier in the afternoon...then when the rib roast reached (my) target temp of 130*...we pulled it out of the smoker - wrapped & let sit for 30 minutes...we put the twice-baked potatoes in the smoker....& re-heated 'em. Timing worked great...in the 30 minutes we let the roast *rest*, the taters heated up nicely.
6 nice big 70 ct. Idaho Russets, scrubbed clean & dried
5-6 slices of bacon, cut into 1/2 inch pieces & fried crisp...bacon grease reserved
2 ears fresh corn on cob, boiled in salt water & kernels cut from cob
2 whole mild green chilis (canned), drained well & diced
Fresh chives, 2-3 Tbsp chopped
Sour cream, 2 Tbsp
Real butter, 1/2 stick room temp
About 1/4 cup milk
Shredded white cheddar (sharp), about 2 cups
Kosher salt
White pepper
Tony Cachere's Cajun Seasoning
Mice in place:
Scrub potatoes & set aside to dry. Fry the bacon pieces, drain pieces on paper towel & reserve the bacon grease. Dry potatoes well, poke each potato 2-3 times with a fork...then rub them with the reserved bacon grease...sprinkle with Kosher salt & Tony's...bake unwrapped in 400* oven for approx 1 hour.
While the potatoes are baking, boil the corn for a couple minutes, then cut kernels from the cob. Chop the fresh chives. Shred the cheese (keep refridgerated). Dice the chilis. When potatoes are done, carefully cut about 1/4 of the top off & scoop out the insides...leaving about 1/2 inch shell so the tater has some *structural integrity*...sprinkle the inside of the hollowed-out shells with a lil' Tonys.
Working quickly, while the scooped out potatoes are still hot, mash with a hand potato masher...adding a lil' milk, sour cream, butter, salt & white pepper to taste. Don't make them too soupy...you want them nice & thick. Fold in the fresh corn kernals, diced chilis, bacon pieces & fresh chives. At this point, you want to let the potato mixture cool before folding in the shredded cheese...if the potatoes are still hot when you fold in the cheese...the mixture becomes *heavy* and loses it nice fluffy texture. Once mixture has cooled, and cheese has been folded in...begin filling the shells. Pile it high.
To reheat (twice bake)...drizzle a lil' melted butter over them & bake in 350* smoker or oven (uncovered) for about 30 minutes. Sprinkle with a few more fresh chopped chives just before serving.

Juggy D. beerman,also a fine comp cook,shared the next.

Now on with the twice baked potato recipe..........

Microwave five pounds of russet potatoes so that they are not quite baked. I will divide the bag of spuds so that they cook in three batches. Do not completely "bake" the potatoes so that they will still have a hard shell that is about 1/8-1/4" deep. Once the potatoes are starting to cool, cut them in half and then spoon out the soft interior of each half potato into a bowl.

Once all the potatoes have been reduced to shells, add 1/2 cup chopped bits of cherry smoked bacon, 1/2 cup chopped bits of green onions and 1 cup of "Hidden Valley" Ranch Dressing. Add salt to taste. Mash the potatoes but leave them somewhat lumpy. Refill the potato shells with the mixture in the bowl and place the filled shells on a greased cookie sheet.

Arrange the shells on the cookie sheet so they are packed as tightly as possible. Top the potatoes with grated cheese of your choice. Bake at 325 for 30 minutes or until the cheese has melted.

Beers to you,

Juggy D Beerman


Smokin' may wish to move this to the recipe section,once you have found it.

WOW thats GREAT!!!
Thank you
tom

Yessir

Tom,I did a variation of the above twice baked potatoes. they were a BIG Hit!!! I would do them again!
THANK YOU!!!!!
David

Glad you enjoyed.

They have been prize winners in the veg categories.

The Chez one, sounds yummy