29 January 2023 , 09:00
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There's nothing like curling up with a hot, buttery jacket potato on a miserably cold January evening, particularly if you've stirred in your all-time favourite topping. It's important to get your tatty just right, so that it's satisfyingly crispy on the outside, and delightfully fluffy within.
The cost of living crisis has unfortunately meant many of us cutting back on how much we use our ovens, and for a number of people, letting a potato bake for a good hour and a half just simply wouldn't be feasible.
With this in mind, TV chef Phil Vickery has shared his top tip for taking 20 minutes off the total cooking time, and it really couldn't be simpler.
The cost of living crisis has meant many of us cutting back on our oven use (ITV)During a recent appearance on This Morning, Vickery advised viewers that they could reduce their cooking time significantly simply by grabbing an ordinary spoon from their kitchen drawer.
Demonstrating his clever hack, Vickery said: "A couple of things to remember, yes they do take a bit of energy - and Alice [Beer, consumer journalist] has already told me off for cooking them twice. [However] you can microwave them and finish them in the oven for a crispy skin.
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"When you fill them and put them back in the oven, you don’t have to have the oven on, you can finish them under the grill to cut the energy down.
"Now, the thing to say also is - always, always, always use a sharp knife and score the potato around the outside [before you cook it] because they will explode otherwise."
Vickery advises finishing potatoes off under the grill to bring energy costs down (Ken McKay/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)He continued: "Sometimes if you start potatoes in a cooler oven and [the temperature] gets hotter, it bakes the skin so tight they will expand and explode. Not all the time, but it does happen, so I always [score] them.
"I also put a teaspoon in the potato - not when cooking in the microwave - but [cooking the potato in] a conventional oven, it cuts the cooking time down by at least about 20 minutes."
When quizzed by host Phillip Scofield, Vickery estimated this hack would take 15 to 20 minutes off the total cooking time, meaning your potato would be ready in '35 to 40 minutes as opposed to an hour'. Vickery went on to add that this trick could be tried with any root vegetables you pop in the oven.
If you want to speed up the process even further, the Waitrose website advises: "For fast jacket potatoes, start them in the microwave, then finish in the oven to guarantee that all-important crisp skin."
You can therefore have a perfect potato ready in approximately just 20 minutes by blasting it in the microwave first, before trying out Vickery's tried and trusted oven technique.
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