Jacket potatoes are a much-loved and satisfying dish, enjoyed at lunch or dinner. Whether you pile them high with cheese and beans or tuna mayo, or keep things simple with butter and salt, they work brilliantly as a standalone meal or a tasty accompaniment.
Although they are straightforward to prepare, achieving that perfect balance between a light, fluffy centre and a wonderfully crisp skin can prove rather difficult.
The real challenge with jacket potatoes lies in getting the skin to crisp up properly without leaving the inside dry and stodgy. In a traditional oven, this typically requires a couple of hours, and even then, the skin can turn out chewy rather than satisfyingly crunchy.
Using a microwave speeds things up considerably, but frequently results in disappointingly soft skin.
Baked potatoes are a staple in my home. Over the years, I have experimented with numerous recipes to perfect them, but I always return to the same method.
I manage to achieve that ideal crunch without any oil by seasoning the skin immediately after it comes out of the microwave, before transferring it to the air fryer to crisp up.
I use fine sea salt for the best results. I place one potato in the microwave for around eight minutes, depending on its size, just until it begins to soften slightly. I then rub a small amount of fine sea salt into the skin and place it in the air fryer for approximately eight minutes until crisp.
The salt works by drawing out surface moisture, encouraging the skin to dry out and crisp up more efficiently. Sea salt is preferable to other varieties because its crystals are considerably coarser, so they will not dissolve as quickly into the potato. In my experience, the finest variety of potato to pick up at the supermarket for a jacket spud is simply a baking potato.
These typically come in packs of four for around 89p, and they are absolutely the ideal choice. As the potato cooks in the air fryer, it develops a satisfying crunch without requiring any butter or oil.
Once cooked, I score an X on the potato and gently squeeze the sides. This helps to loosen the interior, resulting in a fluffy rather than dense texture. I then lightly mash the inside with a fork, add a knob of butter along with my preferred filling, and tuck in.
