If you rub a little
olive oil on the skin, and then roll it in
salt (rock or flaked salt, ideally) before you bake it, the
skin becomes extremely
crunchy-
delicious. (Just wash and dry the potato well before oiling it.)
Stab it a few times with a
knife or a
skewer, then
bake your big fat
potato in a hot
oven for at least an hour, till the inside becomes
fluffy and
powdery. The best way to open it up is to wrap it in a tea towel and give it a good
thump with your
fist so that it bursts its skin. Then, go ahead and mix in your high-fat treats. Yum.
New potatoes do not bake well. You need a good
floury (rather than
waxy)
spud with a decent thick skin.
Microwaved jacket potatoes are not nice. The skin stays thin and weedy. Bake yer tatties. Oh, and if a cafe or a pub is trying to sell you a jacket potato, it's almost certainly microwaved. They'd brag about it if it was really baked.