Those microwavable jacket potatoes ....

[FleetwoodRaincoat]

that you can buy that take about 5 mins in a microwave. I've never had them, as I've always thought it's laziness to do so, but now and again I fancy a jacket spud and don't want to wait ages.

So, how do I recreate these at home? Googling seems to suggest that you can freeze a jacket spud once cooked, but then presumably it takes longer to defrost then cook it than 5 minutes?

Just wondered if anyone knows how this works, before I set to work cooking and freezing and defrosting in the name of research ...

You can just get a normal potato, stab with fork and microwave 5-10 mins from raw depending on size and it will be done

Microwave a normal spud, then finish in the oven.

When the grandchildren are coming I buy McCain/Bannisters frozen jacket potatoes - they're so useful and have a 'baked' taste. Five minutes or so in the microwave.

When you have the oven on for other things, put a few jacket potatoes in. Microwave them first if the oven won't be on that long. You want them to come out of the oven properly brown and well cooked.

Keep them in the fridge and reheat in the microwave when you want one. They taste oven cooked, but only take 2 mins to reheat. If you have an air fryer pop them in there to finish- even better.

@picklemewalnuts that's just the sort of info I was after. Presumably they'll keep for a few days in the fridge. So potentially I could could cook them, freeze them, then leave to defrost in the fridge the night before, then microwave for 2 mins when I get in?

What I'm looking for is that baked taste - microwaving them is horrible, the skin is all soft. Microwave plus oven is not a bad compromise but still takes half an hour.

They microwave from frozen.

normal no potatoes will do just that.
no need to buy an overpriced 'ready' meal.

I always microwave my potatoes for about 7mins and then pop in the oven to crisp up. Takes about 27minutes total. So more than 5 but less than normal and tastes the same.

You can microwave and then under oven grill to speed up. 5-10 mins in microwave, 5 mins or less under grill

Definitely works! I keep them up to a week- but I have them most days at the moment.

They are also great cut up and air fried as chip/breakfast potatoes. Again I take the chill off in the microwave for a couple of minutes before air frying.