Cheesy Jackets with Smoked Bacon, Goats Cheese, & BBQ Beans

Baked Pots

So, Christmas is over. Part of me is kind of thankful. It was wonderful, full of friends, family & food. The three best things in life, pretty much ;-). Now January is well and truly upon us, and in my world, a little bit of indulgence is still acceptable. I know most posts this time of year are health and detox orientated, ‘New Year, new me’ and all that codswallop – but I reckon January should be a mild extension of the festive season.  Ease yourselves in gently, that’s what I say!

You might also notice these bad boys are served up on my ‘Sophie’s Scran’ solid wood chopping board. Best Christmas present ever, thanks Sis 😀

So here it goes – a simple, easy, super scrummy Saturday night treat. Cheesy Jacket Pots. This serves two hungry, hungover mongrels and takes about 1.5 hours from pot to plate.

Baked Pots

What you need:

  • 3 decent sized floury white potatoes
  • 50g grated cheddar cheese (or any leftover cheese from the Christmas cheese board)
  • 20g goats cheese (just a small amount for topping, no need to measure)
  • 3 rashers of streaky smoked bacon
  • Olive oil (plain, or you can use an infused olive oil such as garlic)
  • Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • Baked beans
  • BBQ sauce (I used The Market Wraps Louisiana BBQ Sauce from Market Wraps, via Flavour Full Stop.)

What to do:

  1. Heat your oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6
  2. Clean your spuds and dry off with a tea towel, then use your hands to rub a layer of oil over them
  3. Season your spuds with some sea salt which should stick to the oil nicely
  4. No need for a baking tray – once the oven is hot, place them directly on the middle shelf of the oven, and bake for about 1 hour 15 minutes. If you’re using really big spuds, they may need a little longer, so add 15 minutes to the cooking time if you think it’s needed.
  5. Whilst they are cooking, griddle your bacon on a hot skillet until it’s crispy, they transfer to some kitchen paper to absorb any excess grease (or don’t, depending on how healthy you’re feeling!)
  6. Grate the cheese and set aside.
  7. To check your spuds are baked, take them out of the oven and examine them to make sure they are a golden brown colour and the skins are nice and crisp. If you insert a knife into the biggest spud and it’s piping hot when you take it out – they should be done.
  8. Turn off the oven, and preheat your grill to a high heat.
  9. Cut each baked spud in half and scoop out the fluffy potato filling into a bowl, then add 2 thirds of the the grated cheese and crispy bacon and mix to combine.
  10. Using a spoon, scoop the mixture back into each jacket potato skin until each skin is full again and all the mixture is used up.
  11. Transfer your loaded skins onto a baking tray and top with a thin layer of of the remaining grated cheese, and top again with a small crumbling of the goats cheese.
  12. Transfer the cheese-topped spuds to the grill and keep an eye on them for about 10 mins – just until the cheese is melted, bubbling and golden.
  13. Serve with BBQ baked beans (I added a few lashings of Market Wraps Louisiana BBQ Sauce to some Heinz Baked beans, but you could use a sauce of your choice) and a little rocket salad.

Baked Pots (1)

Enjoy, Scranners! -x-

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