How To Make a Baked Potato – crunchy, crisp skin with a light and fluffy interior – add plenty of butter for the perfect jacket potato!
Have you ever been served a jacket potato from the microwave?
Nothing more disappointing than when you order one for lunch, and it arrives at your table all pale and wrinkled, with a shiny, almost plastic interior. Blurgh.
The second worst crime against jacket potatoes is when it’s made perfectly, then wrapped in foil and left to keep warm. Sure, it’s a tastier than the microwave version, but yet again, we’re missing that all-important crunch.
Wrapping in foil and leaving in the oven might be a good compromise when you’re serving lots of people over the course of a few hours, but you simply can’t beat a proper baked potato, served straight from the oven with lot of butter and sprinkling of salt and pepper.
You don’t even need to serve anything with it when it tastes that good! Although I am partial to some crispy bacon and shredded cheese…..
This is the best way I’ve found to make the perfect crispy jacket spud. I’ve included two methods – one using the oven only, the other using both the microwave and oven – which speeds things up when you’re in a hurry, but still ensures that magical crunch.
How To Make a Baked Potato
INGREDIENTS
TO SERVE INGREDIENTS
- Salted butter
- Freshly ground salt & pepper
OVEN DIRECTIONS
- Preheat the oven to 425°F.
- Make sure your potatoes are dry, then prick them several times with a fork and brush on the olive oil.
- Sprinkle on the salt and place them directly on the oven rack. Cook for 60-70 minutes until the outside is crispy and the inside is soft when you stick a fork in.
- Slice the potatoes open and add a teaspoon or two of salted butter. Fluff the insides with a fork, so the butter mixes in, then sprinkle with salt and pepper. Add a little more butter if you like before serving.
MICROWAVE AND OVEN DIRECTIONS
- Preheat the oven to 425°F.
- Prick the potatoes several times with a fork, then microwave on high for 5 minutes per potato (8-10 minutes for two at the same time) until softened.
- Brush with oil, sprinkle with salt and finish in oven for 20 minutes.
- Slice the potatoes open and add a teaspoon or two of salted butter. Fluff the insides with a fork, so the butter mixes in, then sprinkle with salt and pepper. Add a little more butter if you like before serving.
