To ask how to make a jacket potato?

I don't salt or oil mine, because I like the skins really crunchy.

I prick the skins and poke a skewer through the middle so that it heats up and helps the centre cook from the inside. Straight into the oven and they take 90 minutes at gas mark 5 (180C?). When I take them out, I bash them on the worktop once, it makes the inside fluff up.

ETA: And I don't put them on a baking tray, just straight onto the oven shelves

I microwave for 8/10 mins, sit in foil and poke full of holes, smother in salted butter and 40 mins in oven - perfect 👌

Because I am impatient and want the potato NOW 😂

We're having jacket spuds tomorrow - can't wait, they are a favourite.

You can either stick it in the air fryer for about 45-60 mins or microwave it for 5 mins then crisp it up for 20.

I reckon it costs less to run a microwave for 5 mins than it does to run an air fryer for 25-40.

TBH when I am lazy and CBA with the skin I just microwave them all the way

Also, don't leave them to sit when they come out. Cut them straight away.

The skin is trapping heat and moisture so if you let them sit for more than a few minutes, the skin will start to steam and soften. Opening them up allows the moisture to escape into the air rather than the skin.

Literally grabbing my pearls and fainting! Mon dieu! 🙈🙈🙈

Having always done the light coating of oil thing I've discovered that i get a far crispier skin by sprinkling with water instead. Then the usual prick all over and sprinkle with salt. Yum.

My Dd buys those when she's on a late shift she says there as good as any you csn make.

The idea is to save energy because it then needs less time in the oven if it's already heated through.

It works perfectly fine, but it's not as nice as doing it all in the oven. The skin goes more leathery than crispy and the insides can be hit and miss. But it's perfectly edible.

My tips for the perfect jacket potato are...

• Never wrap it in foil if you want a crispy skin. Foil stops the moisture from escaping and essentially steams the potato.
• Prick the skin and rub with oil and salt.
• Put them on a baking tray in the middle of the oven on about 180 degrees (fan) for 1.5-2 hours.

We have them once a week and this works perfectly every time for us.

I’m glad I’ve found this thread! I love jacket potato’s and one friend said she craved mine since having one 😁

I stab it with a knife a few times, rub olive oil all over it, sprinkle with sea salt and bake in oven (gas 6) for an hour and half- two hours depending on size, the outside will by crispy and inside soft and fluffy.

when you cut the middle, use the knife to fluff the middle up before putting on butter and toppings.

Put raw potatoes with a cross cut into the skin into half an inch of water, no foil, and bake for 2 hours at 160. Let water evaporate. It takes the skins crispy and the insides fluffy.

This. But if you also stick a metal skewer through it, it will cook a bit faster.

No foil, no microwave, no air fryers!

Mmmm jacket pots. Food of the gods!

I buy the McCain micro ones, perfect everytime and easy as hell 🤣

Low and slow here: Stab it all over with a fork or pointy knife, very lightly rub with oiled hands and sprinkle with salt. 150° oven for about 3 hours, turn down to 100° if it cooks quicker than expected.

Microwaving speeds up the cooking of the insides, but you need external heat for texture - both fluffiness and crispiness.

It's hard to cook a jacket potato for too long.

If you can find a fluffy or floury variety of potato that helps - King Edward and Maris Piper are the most accessible ones (but if I can get them I grow Yukon Gold which are outstanding).

My combi microwave makes fantastic jackets, to my surprise.

Microwave for 6/7 minutes oil on the skin once its ready airfry at 180 for 20ish minutes. I used to microwave them then put them in the oven for 30 minutes .

Oh remember to prick them with a fork for the microwave

This is how I do it, you can even use the grill to make it nice and crispy faster if you are in a rush

I microwave mine for 8 minutes then air fry it for about 5 to crisp the skin (basically until it's done though. I've not timed it properly). This is for a relatively small potato though - bigger and I'd microwave it more.

I do a proper (raw) potato to for about an hour and three quarter in a normal oven at 160 degrees. Perfect.👍

This, although I use the airfryer rather than the over. Timings are spot on though for fluffy on the inside & nice and crisp on the outside.

In the oven with a metal skewer stuck through it. No need for oil or foil.

This is it!

Really simple. A light coating of oil. Some sea salt all over. Into the oven at 220. Test it is cooked. Jobs a good un.

This may horrify some, but honestly, having tried a dozen different ways, I have found the best option for me is to buy the McCain frozen jacket potatoes. I just microwave them as per instructions on packet and they've always come out beautifully crispy on outside and fluffy in middle.

Stab it a couple times with a fork and stick it in the oven at 150 for about 1hr 20. No oil or foil or extras