Here's how to cook jacket potatoes in a microwave. In short,
- clean the potatoes thoroughly and pat them dry with a kitchen towel
- make a few holes in the potatoes to let the heat out when they’re cooking
- place the clean spuds in the microwave and cook them for 8-10 minutes
- when they’re done, add your toppings.
Jacket potatoes are one of those classic dishes that doesn’t need a lot of ingredients. It’s also very enjoyable, except it takes time to make it. But not if you know the right way to microwave it.
You get a crispy exterior if you bake the potatoes in an oven, but in this post, you will find a way to make that happen without compromising on the speed. Let’s get started.
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How To Cook Jacket Potatoes In The Microwave
Typically, medium-sized spuds are used to make this and they are usually about 350 grams each. As long as each potato weighs 250 to 350 grams, you will be fine. You can get potatoes that are labelled as baked potatoes, which makes shopping easy.
But if you don’t have those or are looking at other options, you can get Vivaldi, King Edward or Maris Piper potatoes for this recipe.
Ingredients
- Four large and unskinned potatoes that are about 200 to 250 grams each
- One tablespoon of oil
- Salt to taste
- Lemon-pepper as seasoning
- Toppings of your choice
Here’s an outline of the process.
- Step 1: Wash the skin of the potato and pat it with a dry towel. Then pierce the potato a few times using a fork.
- Step 2: Place the potato in a microwave-safe container and cook it for a few minutes. Turn it over halfway through the process.
- Step 3: Check the middle by poking it with a knife. If it’s soft, it’s done. Otherwise, cook for another two minutes. And finally, slice it, add the toppings of your choice and serve the jacket potato.
Let’s dive into the specifics of the process.
Step 1: Clean And Fork The Potato
You must start by washing the potato and scrubbing its surface with some cold water. This is important because jacket potatoes are eaten with their skins on. So, you must ensure that they are as clean as they can get.
Your next move is to pat the spuds dry with a kitchen towel and pierce them with a fork or a knife in multiple places. This will let some of the heat out of the potato when it is being cooked. Skip this step and you risk a potato explosion in your microwave. You don’t want that. No one does.
Step 2: Cook The Potato
The next step is to get a microwave-safe plate and put the clean potatoes in it. Place it in the microwave and pick the setting that’s meant for jacket potatoes. It’s important to check if your microwave cooks the potatoes on high power because that’s how it is to be done.
The size of the potatoes will determine how long you should cook them. But one 350-gram potato should be cooked for 8 to 10 minutes. Halfway through this duration, you should turn the potato over so that it cooks evenly on all sides.
So, after 4-5 minutes, flip it and let it cook for another 4-5 minutes. When the microwave dings, you should poke the middle of the potato to see if it’s fully cooked. If the fork or knife goes through softly, your job here is done.
Otherwise, you should let it cook for another couple of minutes and check it again.
Step 3: Serve The Jacket Potato
And finally, you should slice the potato open with a good knife and add toppings. It will be hot so wait a few minutes before you eat it.
Cooking Two Potatoes At A Time
A lot of people wonder if they can cook two potatoes at a time and the answer is yes. You want to make sure that both of them are roughly the same size so that they can get done at the same time as well.
And when you’re cooking more than one potato, you don’t want to put two large potatoes in the microwave. Remember that the point of this recipe is to save time and two large potatoes will take a long time.
Typically, two small potatoes aren’t recommended either because they won’t be enough. But that’s your call.
How To Make Them Crispy
Now, when you make jacket potatoes in a microwave, the outer part won’t be crispy. If you want that, you will need to put them in an oven that’s preheated at 200-220 degrees C at Gas Mark 7 and cook them for 10 to 15 minutes.
You can also brush the spuds with some oil and sprinkle a little bit of salt before you put them in the microwave if you want a crispy outside. Then you must place a kitchen towel on the microwave-safe container and place the potatoes on it. Take another sheet of kitchen roll and put it on top of the potatoes.
The rest of the process is the same.
Some Topping Ideas
This dish doesn’t need a lot more than some butter to make it yummy. But you can add other toppings like chilli or Bolognese, baked beans or grated cheese. Just remember to cook it in the microwave for another minute if you add cheese. And add some crispy bacon on top if you like.
A little bit of sour cream with some salt and pepper on top makes it amazing. And if you can find some herbs to add to it, well, nothing like it. Pesto and grated Parmesan is a lesser-known but interesting topping combination. Add a little bit of miso on top and it becomes a whole other thing.
And you can serve it with an omelette or a hot sauce of your choice.
How To Cook Jacket Potatoes In The Microwave: Final Thoughts
A lot of people will tell you that it’s not the “best way” to make this dish because you don’t get a crispy exterior. But now you know how to fix that, microwaving is—without a doubt—the fastest way.
