Step 1

Get out and measure your ingredients.

Step 2

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Prepare a rimmed baking sheet with tinfoil coated in cooking spray. Wash and dry potatoes. Use a fork to poke several holes all over the potato to allow steam to escape while baking.

Step 3

Cut a slice off of the fattest end of the potato so that you can stand each potato up on a flat surface easily, without wobbling.

Step 4

Cover or coat with olive oil and

Step 5

Sprinkle with salt and some pepper. Stand potatoes up. Bake for 50 minutes or until potatoes are fork tender.

Step 6

In the meantime, using a small bowl, whisk together sour cream, 2 tablespoons of barbecue sauce (or more or less to taste) and hot sauce (if using) until well combined.

Step 7

Once blended, chill in the refrigerator until serving. We prefer to purchase a sour cream based flavored dip and add barbecue sauce or just skip this step and just use store bought. It is totally up to you. Prepare and refrigerate until needed.

Step 8

Remove potatoes from the oven when done and allow them to cool until you are able to handle them, usually 5-10 minutes. Do not turn your oven off yet. Slice top off each potato.

Step 9

Using a spoon or melon baller carefully scoop out the pulp inside the potato, as deep and as close as you can to the inside edge.

Step 10

Place pulp in a medium sized mixing bowl with 1/4 cup butter. The butter will melt as the scoops of potato pulp land on it in the mixing bowl. If the potato breaks a little while scraping the inside that is ok. The bacon will keep the potato secure.

Step 11

Add cooked, crisp and crumbled bacon.

Step 12

Add diced onions, sour cream, meat and cheeses to the potato pulp.

Step 13

Blend, ideally with a handheld mixer, until contents are smooth. Taste the potato mixture as you go and adjust amounts and ingredients to taste.

Step 14

Dump contents into a re-sealable bag.

Step 15

Press potato mixture into one corner.

Step 16

Cut corner off with scissors, about a 1 inch long cut. Try not to make the hole too big. Squeeze contents back inside the potato. Try to fill the potato up with as much of the potato mixture as possible.

Step 17

Potatoes will pile up on top and overflow and that is ok.

Step 18

Wrap each raw slice of bacon around the potato, starting at the bottom, using toothpicks to secure the start and end of each piece as it overlaps.

Step 19

Shove toothpicks in your potato about 1/2 inch deep.

Step 20

You should be using 2-3 slices of bacon per potato.

Step 21

Return potatoes to prepared sheet and bake for 20 minutes.

Step 22

Using a brush add barbecue sauce to each bacon slice, on the sides of the potato. Be generous with the barbecue sauce. Bake for 10 minutes in the oven or until bacon is cooked. Baste the potatoes again with the barbecue sauce while baking. You will be glad you did later!

Step 23

Preheat the broiler on high. Press shredded cheese on top of each potato and place potatoes back in the oven to bake or broil until cheese is brown and melted, a few minutes.

Step 24

Remove potatoes from oven and drizzle sour cream mixture on top and even drip down the sides if desired! Top with green onions.

Step 25

Serve immediately. Enjoy every bite!