B-b-b-b-otato!

A jacket potato is one of the classic comfort foods. Admittedly, it does take quite a while to bake (if you do it properly that is), but it’s very much worth it. There was talk at the Guardian this week about how to get the perfect jacket potato: should you put salt on before putting it in the oven? What temperature should you bake it at? Should you prick the potato before baking?

Nigel Slater is quoted as saying that he reckons there’s a certain element of luck involved in getting a great jacket potato. Although I can’t really see how much luck can be involved in putting a potato in the oven and turning it on. It’s not exactly a soufflé we’re talking about here. Maybe the luck bit applies to the actual potato. Either way, I have to say where my jacket potatoes are concerned, I’ve always been lucky.

Here’s what’s involved:

Wash the potato, dry it, and then coat it in olive oil. Sprinkle coarse salt all over it and then place a metal skewer through it. Because the potato is cooked at a fairly high temperature (approx. 225 degree F), the metal skewer helps ensure the flesh is cooked properly and the skin doesn’t get too crispy before the inside is done. As I said, it does a while to cook (around an hour or so), but the end result is well worth it.

As for toppings, well I’m a bit of a purist and like nothing more than a chunk of hard salted butter and lots of black pepper. If I’m feeling a little extravagant, then I’ll have a handful of grated Cheddar on top – but nothing else.

The best part of this meal is the crispy, slightly charred potato skin, which by the time you’re ready to eat it is shiny with melted butter. Again, as with baking the potato, you have to wait a while to get to this part, but it’s a different wait altogether.

I know that some people cook their jacket potatoes in the microwave for a few minutes before placing them in the oven to crisp up the skins. This isn’t a bad way to go (much better than using the microwave for the entire cooking process), but having tried this method, I can guarantee you nothing beats baking the potato in the oven and not letting it anywhere near the microwave. Be warned, however, if you’ve never tried the oven method for the entire jacket potato baking process, once you do, there’s no turning back. You will be forever committed to spending at least an hour whenever you want to eat a jacket potato. But your life be improved considerably – or at least your dinner will!