Tips & tricks
With these tips, you can make the most delicious baked potatoes
Do you think baked potatoes are boring and floury, making the entire inside of your mouth stick together? They don’t have to be! At least, not if you follow the tips from the English. Fluffy on the inside, crispy on the outside; potato heaven is within easy reach…
We’re having to miss my British in-laws for a long time in these circumstances, and everyone is upset about it. Tickets have been cancelled, plans postponed, but fortunately there’s one thing we can fix ourselves: my very properly English mother-in-law’s jacket potatoes. When we were there in January, I was somewhat surprised that she started prepping those potatoes and threw them in the oven long before we were due to set off for a walk in the park and a cup of tea out and about. And that is immediately one of the essential tips for getting fluffy baked potatoes instead of dull, sticky ones.
How to make the best baked potatoes
- Preheat the oven to 190° C.
- Make sure your large (washed) potatoes are thoroughly dry, and rub them with a tiny bit of oil.
- Don’t prick them—cut them. Put that fork away. Using a sharp knife, first cut a cross into the potatoes.
- Place them directly on a rack (not on a baking sheet) in the oven, in the top quarter of the oven. If necessary, place a baking sheet under the rack to catch any dripping oil.
- Take your time. Really! Go for a walk, read, or pass the time in another English fashion by making a Pimm’s Cup, for example. And get some toppings ready for later.
- After an hour and a half, take a quick look through your oven window.
- Another fifteen minutes later, take the rack out of the oven, carefully cut the crosses a little deeper to let the steam escape, and return the potatoes to the oven for another ten minutes.
- Then take them out, stuff in a knob of delicious butter, and sprinkle them with plenty of salt.
- Vary the toppings! Sour cream, spring onions, chives, cheddar, bacon, tuna salad—they’re all delicious.
Also read:
- 5 tips for truly crispy sweet potato fries
- Why you should eat extra fries right now (this is serious)
- Kumpir: the Turkish version of the baked potato
