How do I cook a jacket potato with crispy skin?
Dry skin, salt and direct oven heat — and why foil and the microwave both give you a soft, steamed skin.
- Difficulty
- beginner
- Time
- 1 hr 30 min
- Read
- 2 min
Short answer
Prick the potato, rub it with oil and salt, and bake directly on the oven shelf at 200°C for about an hour. Never wrap it in foil — that steams the skin soft, which is the opposite of what you want.
The whole appeal of a jacket potato is the contrast between a crisp salty skin and a fluffy interior. Everything that traps moisture against the skin — foil, a microwave, a covered dish — destroys that contrast.
What you'll need
- Floury baking potatoes
- Oil
- Salt
- Skewer (optional)
Step by step
- Choose large floury potatoes.Maris Piper, King Edward, or anything sold as a baking potato. Waxy potatoes give a dense, damp interior.
- Wash and dry them thoroughly.Genuinely dry. Any surface moisture steams rather than crisps.
- Prick several times with a fork.It lets steam escape. Unpricked potatoes occasionally burst in the oven, which is a mess.
- Rub with oil and plenty of salt.This is what makes the skin worth eating. Salt draws moisture out of the skin surface and seasons it.
- Bake directly on the oven shelf at 200°C.Direct contact with hot air on all sides. A tray underneath catches drips if you want, but do not sit the potato on it.
- Do not wrap in foil.Foil traps steam against the skin, so it comes out soft and pale. This is the single most common mistake.
- Bake for 60-90 minutes depending on size.A skewer should slide in with no resistance. Under-baked jacket potato is dense and waxy rather than fluffy.
- Cut open immediately and fluff with a fork.Letting the steam out straight away keeps the interior light. A rested unopened potato goes dense.
Tips
- If you are short of time, microwave for five to eight minutes and then finish in a hot oven for twenty. You lose a little skin quality but save most of the time.
- Rubbing the skin with oil twice — once at the start and once at the halfway point — gives a noticeably better skin.
- Bake several at once and keep the extras. A cooked potato reheats well and makes an excellent base for leftovers.
Common mistakes
- Wrapping in foil — It steams the potato and leaves the skin soft and pale. Foil is for keeping things warm, not for baking them.
- Cooking entirely in the microwave — You get a cooked potato with no crisp skin and often a rubbery texture. Microwave then oven is the compromise.
- Under-baking — The interior stays dense and slightly waxy rather than fluffy. A skewer should meet no resistance at all.
Questions people ask
Should you wrap a jacket potato in foil?
No. Foil traps steam against the skin so it comes out soft and pale. Bake it uncovered, directly on the oven shelf, for a crisp skin.
How long does a jacket potato take?
60-90 minutes at 200°C depending on size. It is done when a skewer slides into the centre with no resistance at all.