Jacket Potato Recipe

G-Money

Might sound like a stupid question but I want to start cooking jacket potatoes and basically..

a: I don't know how to cook them correctly
b: I don't know what type of potatoes to use

Can someone point me in the right direction?

Faith

Do you mean baked potatoes? Jacket potatoes are just potatoes with the skin on in my understanding.

G-Money

Faith wrote: »

Do you mean baked potatoes? Jacket potatoes are just potatoes with the skin on in my understanding.

I think they are the same thing as far as I know. I could be wrong though.

reallyrose

One could probably write volumes on how to bake a potato.
I quite like this blog articles (it's not mine! )
http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/wordofmouth/2010/nov/04/how-cook-perfect-jacket-potato

I like to rub a bit of salt on the outside, stab them with a fork a bit and then cook til they are soft in the middle.
Usually takes about an hour with the size of potatoes I use (size of my two fists maybe?)

G-Money

I bought some potatoes this evening, no idea if they are good for baking or not, but they were the biggest size I could see in the smallest bag.

Do you wrap them in tinfoil or anything?

I'm trying to get my cholesterol down and this is one of the things that was suggest I could eat.

Julybreeze

I find Maris Piper potatoes are the best and yes wrap them in tin foil.

reallyrose

G-Money wrote: »

I bought some potatoes this evening, no idea if they are good for baking or not, but they were the biggest size I could see in the smallest bag.

Do you wrap them in tinfoil or anything?

I'm trying to get my cholesterol down and this is one of the things that was suggest I could eat.

I find that wrapping them in foil makes the skin too tough for me. I like to eat the skin last.

teddyboo

I find easiest way is to pierce a couple of times with a fork, put in the microwave for 5 mins (if its only one potato) then when its just little soft rub it with little olive oil n little salt then throw in a really hot oven for 15mins. I use roosters.

Mellor

G-Money wrote: »

I think they are the same thing as far as I know. I could be wrong though.

No they aren't. Faith was pretty much spot on.

Baked = Potatoe that has been baked (strangely enough), although in modern time microwaved appears to count too
Jacket = potato in its skin, but normally boiled, but could refer to baked too

G-Money

Ok, well I'm talking about a jacket potato, cooked in it's skin, in the oven.

I assume it's ok to eat the skin afterwards or is it bad for you?

Faith

The skin is the healthiest part of a potato. It's where all the fibre is.

Dizzyblonde

The skin is actually good for you.

If you want crisp skin, wash and dry the potatoes and rub them all over with olive oil, then salt. I bake them at 200C for an hour to an hour and a quarter depending on the size. Then I cut them in half (it's important to cut them open within minutes or they lose the flouriness) and put them back into the oven for a few minutes with a filling on top. Salsa and cheese is good. You can also scoop out the potato, mix it with a filling you like and pop it back into the oven.

A quick cheaty way is to wrap the potatoes in kitchen paper and cook in the microwave, turing over after 5 minutes. Have the oven heating and when they're soft pop them into the hot oven for 15 minutes to crisp the skin.

Don't forget to prick the skin all over about 6 times with a fork so the potato won't explode in the oven (it's happened to me).

huskerdu

G-Money wrote: »

Ok, well I'm talking about a jacket potato, cooked in it's skin, in the oven.

I assume it's ok to eat the skin afterwards or is it bad for you?

Any large potatoes will do, but roosters ( the ones with red skin) are good
for baking.

Rub a bit of oil on the skin, stab the potato with a knife and put in an
oven at 200 degrees for about an hour.

Check after 45 minutes. If the oven is very hot or the spuds are small, an
hour will be too much. You can tell if they are cooked, if a knife goes through easily.

If the skin looks too crispy, but they are not soft through turn the heat down.

The skin is lovely and full of fibre.
Loads of butter is fab, but if you want to cut down on fat intake, low fat yogurt is nice too.

G-Money

Yeah, adding cheese and butter sounds lovely but is definitely off the cards for the time being. I don't care if it's plain, I just want to cook it properly.

So no tinfoil? Just bung it in the oven and that's it? I'd like the skin slightly chewy and crispy but not overly so.

huskerdu

G-Money wrote: »

Yeah, adding cheese and butter sounds lovely but is definitely off the cards for the time being. I don't care if it's plain, I just want to cook it properly.

So no tinfoil? Just bung it in the oven and that's it? I'd like the skin slightly chewy and crispy but not overly so.

Absolutely, it is that easy.

The first time you do it, you will have to keep an eye on them and once you know how long they take in your oven, you just bung them in and leave them.

They are very suitable for using the timer on an oven if you want them done when you get home from work.

rgiller

Microwave is the way to go here. Pierce potato with a fork several times then put into microwave for 5-8 minutes on high setting (longer time for bigger potato).

G-Money

Tried them over the weekend. An hour in a fan assisted oven at 200C with a few fork marks in the top of it and rubbing the entire potato in about 2 teaspoons of olive oil beforehand seems to do the trick.

Thanks!

tipptom

I usually give them 6 mins in the micro and put them in the oven with a drizzle of oil on the bottom of the roasting tin and give them a roll every 15 mins.i only do this when there is a roast on though as its a long time to run an oven for just a baked potato imo.i know spud u like used always do them in foil but it never really worked for me.

the beer revolu

rgiller wrote: »

Microwave is the way to go here. Pierce potato with a fork several times then put into microwave for 5-8 minutes on high setting (longer time for bigger potato).

A microwaved potato is nothing like a baked potato.