What do you think of English jacket potatoes?

I've never had them nor made them.

How to Make English Jacket Potatoes | Cup of Jo

They're different from the baked potatoes we make because they have super crispy skin and a fluffy melty inside. SO AMAZINGLY GOOD. They're all over the place in England. Every pub and restaurant we went to devoted a section of the menu to them, along with a choice of toppings: grated cheddar, baked beans, tuna, cole slaw or plain with butter, salt and pepper.

My aunt Janey often made them for our dinners in Cornwall—as a side to roast chicken or sausages—and we all loved them so much, so she agreed to share the basic recipe…

  1. Preheat oven to 200C/400F.

  2. Cut a cross on the potatoes.

  3. Put the potatoes at the top of the oven—straight on the rack, not a baking tray.

  4. Cook 1-2 hours (usually closer to 2).

  5. When they feel crunchy on the outside, pull the rack out, cut the potatoes open again to release the steam, then put them back into the oven. The major important thing is NOT to turn the oven down as they go soggy and lose their crunch.

  6. After ten minutes, serve immediately with shedloads of butter, salt and pepper. Perfect.

Have you ever had these? Do you have them all the time? Is this a no-brainer to you? They're really different from the ones we make in the microwave! Any other toppings you love?

There's a very lively comment section.

  • Barabas [he/him]
    ·
    2 years ago

    Microwaving them for 10 mins in order to finish them in the oven is also fine if you want to save yourself an hour of cooking time. The main thing is that you need to turn them over in the microwave too.

    • inshallah2 [none/use name]
      hexagon
      ·
      2 years ago

      Me too. I put the tweet poll that lead me to the article in a top level comment. I might never stab my potatoes with a fork again.

  • inshallah2 [none/use name]
    hexagon
    ·
    2 years ago

    A related poll

    I had no idea that stabbing them with a fork is a very American thing to do...

    Settle a debate: do you stab your potatoes with a fork before baking them in the oven?

    Tweet

  • Fartbutt420 [he/him]
    ·
    2 years ago

    Can confirm that this makes a good tasting potato. Pesto and mozzarella, bacon with old cheddar, yesterday's chilli - all good options for toppings