a quick question about 'jacket' potatoes

[caperplips]

I am curious about something. Whenever I read a 'what's for dinner' thread I always see jacket potato mentioned.

I am not from the UK and have a few questions about this. By jacket potato does this mean baked in the oven?

When I was growing up a jacket potato was one boiled or steamed in it's skin, usually only in summer with new potatoes. And potatoes cooked in their skins in the oven were called baked potato.

We would only ever have had baked potatoes as a side dish with something like casserole / stew. It would NEVER have been served as the main component, especially not for dinner.

So if you serve them for dinner do you literally just have that? I sort of can't imagine just serving a baked potato on the plate for dinner so my upbringing is ingrained into me!

I love them with lots of real butter and salt and would have them with a stewy type dinner.

How do you eat them?

Yes jacket potatoes are baked potatoes!

We love them for dinner. Have them with salad, chicken, coleslaw, tuna, cheese, chilli con carne - endless possibilities!

We are having jacket potatoes (oven baked) for tea tonight with homemade chilli from my freezer.... yum! Can’t bloody wait!

By jacket potato does this mean baked in the oven?

"Jacket" refers to the skin being on, like the potato is wearing a jacket. They taste better when done in the oven but many people microwave them to save time. Or you can microwave them and finish them off in the oven to make them crispier.

To serve, we usually cut them in half and put butter and/cheese on, then serve with salad.

I have jacket (baked) potatoes this evening with chilli and cheese.

Sometimes it’s with cheese and beans, my favourite is coleslaw and beans. Always with a filling never on its own for dinner, maybe for lunch though.

Notthebloody I must try them with chilli, that sounds delicious!

Miss I would not think of putting any of those options with a baked potato! Do you serve 1 per person?

Bakes potato and jacket potato is the same thing for me. I serve it with a choice of baked beans, grated cheese, coleslaw, houmous for my fussy brood.

Yep as per PP.

I do ours in the microwave & finish in the oven. Baked Beans are a fave in our house. Great comfort food, quite quick to prepare & minimal washing up.

We do sometimes have smaller ones as a side dish with something like a gammon steak, with just butter or a blob of sour cream & chive dip or as you suggest with a stew.

Yes , one per person- although they tend to be big 200-300g each and also the floury kind of potato rather than a small waxy one.

I'm in scotland and they're usually called baked potatoes here, you don't hear them called jacket potatoes often at all.

We usually have them with tuna mayo and salad.

Yeah 1 pp if they're the big ones. heaped with toppings too! We sometimes have 2 if they're smaller than my fist for example

I usually have mine with either baked beans or Coleslaw or cheese on top, nothing on the side.

My colleague was horrified when I said we were having jacket potatoes for dinner as he classes them as a side dish. I think they're great when I have brain rot doing the meal plan and online shop. Cheap, quick, tasty and reasonably healthy. We top them with chilli or bolognese left overs from the freezer, cheese and beans or tuna mayo.

We have it as a side dish, usually with quiche and salad

growing up we always called them baked potatoes.

Might have them with salad and cold meat, otherwise on their own with whatever filling you fancy. They're pretty big, mo way would they be a side!

Yes jacket potatoes= baked potatoes

Oven baked are best, but people do cook them in the microwave. Although taste 100 times better in the oven

Have them with chilli, coleslaw, beans & sausages, tuna mayo and always a side salad

Yep, jackets for tea here tonight with beans and cheese or coleslaw and cheese. Or beans coleslaw and cheese if the fancy takes you

I usually scrub a large potato, dry it then rub garlic salt over it, then bake it in the oven on about 190 for 2 hours. For lunch I might have it with a big salad, but for supper it would be as an accompaniment as you say to a stew, or chilli or something like that. Sometimes I scrape out the insides when they're cooked and mix them with spring onions and cheese, sometimes pancetta, then bake them for about another 15 mins.

Ah, cheese and coleslaw on a jacket potato, forgot about that one! Really fancy one now :)

I love a jacket with tuna and salad for lunch. Fond memories of student days when jacket & beans was a staple!

Thank you all, this has been enlightening!
I have to say I have never had (nor imagine I ever will!) beans and cheese together and especially not with potato!

I also can't imagine topping a hot baked potato with coleslaw - surely the coleslaw gets all warm??

And I absolutely can't imagine beans, cheese and coleslaw all together on hot potato!!

I have in the past taken out the middles of the potatoes, mashed it with butter and seasoning and spring onion and cheese and put it back in and back into the oven to crisp up and served that with honey roast ham (the small M&S bake in oven joints) and steamed cabbage. It's delicious but a faff and takes forever

DD and I are having them tonight too, with beans and cheese. I always rub them in olive oil, salt and pepper before I put them in the oven.

@caperplips you've not lived!

We have them cooking in the oven right now. For me it will be the main part of my dinner, with veggies and a small amount of cheese.
DS and DH will have them as a side, roast chicken and veggies.

I’m so excited for you op, the joy of a jacket potato is something special! I’m more a butter and cheese keep it simple girl myself.

I love jacket/baked spuds - probably one of my favourite meals.

Cottage cheese used to be my favourite topping, so the idea of hot toppings used to seem strange to me. I know love chilli on one, or stew works well too.

I am also quite partial to a plain one, with just butter and salt with a nice salad.