TikTok-famous chef Lois Bethel caused a stir when she revealed the “best way” to cook potatoes without having to wait hours for the oven to work its magic, but not everyone is convinced.
Not everyone was impressed with the jacket hack (Stock Photo) (Getty)
Potatoes make a heart-warming dinner, but they take an awful lot of time to cook in the oven.
With high energy bills hitting cash-strapped Brits hard, many of us are looking for more economical ways to eat our fluffy, light potatoes. Conventional ovens are notoriously expensive, especially if you’re just cooking a single potato, as they need to run on high heat for at least an hour to cook the veggie through. So if you’re in a hurry or want to save on your energy bill, try this 10-minute hack next time you’re in the mood for a buttery potato.
Chef Lois Bethel, whose cooking tips have garnered her more than 850,000 followers, commented on TikTok, “Don’t use the oven to cook baked potatoes. I’ll show you a better way.” The cook first pokes holes in the potato to “allow moisture to escape” and allow the potato to absorb “more butter.” Then, she places the poked potato on a plate and microwaves it for five minutes. “After five minutes, flip it over. [and] “Wait five more minutes,” he added. “If the pot starts to wrinkle, that’s a good sign.”
While many agreed that cooking potatoes in the microwave is a “life-saving” technique when you’re super hungry and can’t stand it, many lamented that it doesn’t give you the crispy skin we all know and love. However, one viewer suggested heating potatoes in the microwave and then crisping them in an air fryer. “I use both because the oven crisps the skin and cooks it more evenly,” said another. “The microwave cuts it in half the time.” A third suggested wrapping the potatoes in foil and “cooking them on the grill,” but this method probably won’t be as quick as the microwave.
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