WE all think we know how to make the perfect jacket potato, right? Well, according to This Morning’s chef, Phil Vickery , there’s a very simple and clever way to reduce the cooking time of a jacket potato. During an episode of the daytime show, the chef spoke about having jacket potatoes for dinner regularly as a child. He shared his top tips for ensuring crispy skin, plus how to reduce the cooking time - so you'll need to listen up.
His hack swears by using teaspoons - yes, you read that correctly. Phil explained: “You can microwave them and finish them in the oven for a crispy skin. “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.
“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.
” Phillip Schofield, the presenter at the time, then asked: “Is that because the spoon gets so hot the heat goes down the spoon [handle] and into the centre of the potato?” To this, the food whizz replied: “Yes. You can use ready-made jacket potato spikes and you put them on all four and into the oven, or you can use a skew.
