How could i/is it possible to keep jacket potatoe...

[cazian14]

We are having a party in a community hall next saturday,and along with the rest of the food we are making id like to make jacket potatoes (a cheaper way to fill them all up),the venue has a fridge we can use so the pasta salad/potato salad/rice salad/meats and cheeses will stay chilled but how would i be able if possible to keep the jacket spuds warm for a couple of hours,)im making everything myself to keep costs down,and its much nicer as you know) i could cook them before we leave for the venue,wrap in foil but any ideas on what to put them in to keep them warm/hot without going to buy something special that ill never use ever again, would a 'cool bag' lined with foil work maybe? has anyone tried it,or am i mad in thinking its possible?-does anyone have any tips for me please?

[meritaten]

doesnt the community hall have an oven??????????? most of the ones I have been in have, but if not then I am not sure how you could keep them hot unless you buy a big cool chest and sort of warm it up before putting the potatoes (foil wrapped) inside. then wrap foil round the outside and wrap the whole lot in a blanket! would a couple of those handwarmers put in help, I wonder? not sure I have been much help here..........I wonder how caterers do it?

[polkadot]

Do you have a slow cooker? I use the "warm" function on mine to keep spuds warm-although granted at home. But Im sure if you warmed up the SC at home whilst cooking the spuds-pack them in SC and put the lid on, then move them a little beforehand so had half an hour at the hall on "warm" (individually foil wrapped) they will still be hot.

[cazian14]

No, there isnt an oven and i have been thinking for ages now,the only thing i have come up with is, a cool bag type thing,lined with foil then the potatoes covered seperatly in foil inside then foil on the top, but i dont know if it will work ot not

[sarahsarah]

At a party I went to last year they managed to borrow about 4 slow cookers, They had small jacket potatoes in 2 and chilli and rice in the others. Worked well!

[cazian14]

Polkadot,i do have a slowcooker but its a small one so wouldnt be much use at all really. I may just have been defeated by potatoes here lol

[jinky67]

I think the foil and cool bag idea is the best one, cover them with a tea towel or something as well

[cazian14]

jinky, i have thought about trying it to see if it works, but then i dont wanna be left with more jacket spuds than i could eat in a few months id get sick of seeing them- ooh what do they freeze like lol. I just may have to try it tomorrow and set the clock to see how long they stay a nice ediable temp for.
Thanks for all the replied so far, it was starting to send me mad thinking about it.

[jinky67]

Originally Posted by cazian14

jinky, i have thought about trying it to see if it works, but then i dont wanna be left with more jacket spuds than i could eat in a few months id get sick of seeing them- ooh what do they freeze like lol. I just may have to try it tomorrow and set the clock to see how long they stay a nice ediable temp for.
Thanks for all the replied so far, it was starting to send me mad thinking about it.

if you are left with too many, scoop out the insides and mash then freeze

and the skins can then be recooked and filled with whatever you have lying around, or deep fried for potato skins with dip

[polkadot]

Just asked DH if he had any ideas. He suggested a bain marie type set up once you get there. He agrees that the foil wrap will keep them good whilst you transport them. But then says if you have some plastic mixing bowls and a tray-Fill one bowl with boiling water, rest the tray on top of this, pack the spuds onto the tray (still in foil) and cover with another bowl.

As for your question re freezing-they do freeze very well (we batch cook) -leave them to cool to touch,place in ziploc bag and freeze. When you want to eat them, make sure you reheat them to piping hot.

[M.E.]

Several years ago we did the same as you.
Home-cooked jacket potatoes, individually wrapped in foil straight from the oven.
We used a cool box (actually 3 as we had 100 potatoes!)
A cool bag would also work, especially if lined with clean towels for further insulation.
The potatoes were put into the cool boxes at 5.30pm and we had our potatoes with serve yourself fillings (in slow cookers) at 8.30pm -9.00pm.
They were absolutely fine, still warm/hot.

A cardboard/plastic box filled with clean towels (which could be pre-warmed in a tumble dryer) would also work.

[cornishlady]

Originally Posted by M.E.

Several years ago we did the same as you.
Home-cooked jacket potatoes, individually wrapped in foil straight from the oven.
We used a cool box (actually 3 as we had 100 potatoes!)
A cool bag would also work, especially if lined with clean towels for further insulation.
The potatoes were put into the cool boxes at 5.30pm and we had our potatoes with serve yourself fillings (in slow cookers) at 8.30pm -9.00pm.
They were absolutely fine, still warm/hot.

A cardboard/plastic box filled with clean towels (which could be pre-warmed in a tumble dryer) would also work.

i think this would be one of the best ways maybe put a hotwater bottle wrapped in a towel in the coolbox remember the potatoes will insulate each other in the box hth

[paulwf]

Could you take a microwave along so that they can be zapped for a minute to make them piping hot? If you wrap them together and fill up a cool box (would think this would be better than a cool bag) I would imagine they would stay reasonably warm and just need a very quick reheat.

[maman]

Plenty of good ideas. Just in case, jackets freeze beautifully.

[Hellyboo]

I think in a bain marie type thing they'd go a bit sweaty maybe? Taking a microwave is a good idea - I used to work in a bistro and we'd batch cook our jackets then zap them - you still get a crispy skin and no-one knew the difference! If not, any insulated box/bag with the pots wrapped in foil will at least keep them warm I would have thought. HTH

[cazian14]

Thanks for all the posts guys, well the party is on saturday and im gonna do the cool bag/foil too see if it works,if not ill bring them backhome and freeze them! ill let you all know how it went