A meal isn’t a meal without potatoes, and grilled potatoes have oodles of flavor that’ll make your meal most spectacular! Grilled spuds should be considered one of the four major food groups!
I grew up eating potatoes – boiled potatoes, fried potatoes, baked potatoes, French fried potatoes, potatoes au gratin, and even potato pancakes a time or two. Only thing I missed out on in my youth was grilled potatoes. My dad only fired up his charcoal grill a few times a year, and just cooked burgers (his were AWESOME!) or hot dogs, and with those we’d have either fries or potato chips.
I didn’t try potatoes cooked on the grill until I was “grown up” (I don’t think I’ll ever REALLY be grown up!) Grilled potato wedges were served at a barbecue party, and with that, my eyes were opened. I realized then that when potatoes and grills collided, incredible things could happen.
I Love Grilled Potatoes!
If I’m cooking up a storm on one of my grills, I usually reserve a space to place one of my potato recipes. Sometimes I grill up potato wedges, usually using russet potatoes. Other times I split a few large Yukon golds in half, rub them with butter and grill them cut side down. I give ’em a twist halfway through so they show nice looking crosshatched grill marks.
When I have time, I grill my twice baked potatoes, that are super cheesey. I’ve even made a grill-cooked pan of au gratin potatoes a time or two. The potato grilling possibilities are nearly endless.
If the main meal is cooked indoors, I’ll pull out one of my kitchen grills. Contact grills cook the bottom and top at the same time, so cooking time is shortened. My open electric grill and the old ribbed cast iron stove top grill work well too. To speed up the cooking, I cover the potatoes with a lid of some sort to concentrate the heat.
Grilling Potatoes
Whether it’s potato slices browned nicely in your electric contact grill, or grilled baked potatoes cooked over charcoal, knowing about the characteristics of different varieties can be helpful. Some potatoes, like Russets, have a higher starch content than waxy varieties. Because of this, they are more crumbly and dry when cooked. This makes them great for soaking up butter and sour cream and sauces – perfect for baked potatoes, twice baked potatoes and grilled potato skins.
Waxy varieties, like Pontiac reds and Yukon golds have a more creamy, almost oily texture. They’re great for potato wedges or grilled foil wrapped potato slices. And they’re good for your grilled potato salad recipe, too. One of my favorite simple potato recipes is grilled smashed spuds. I grab a dozen or so Yukon golds, grill them until tender, then smash ’em with the bottom of my beer glass. They’re dipped in dill infused melted butter, then quickly browned over direct heat. MMmmm, so good!
For more details about cooking potatoes on grills, visit my page how to grill potatoes that describes various ways to grill spuds, and grilling potatoes for the low down on grilling whole potatoes.
More Potato Recipes and Tips
Crispy Smashed Potatoes – If you’ve never had smashed potatoes before, you just gotta try them! Small spuds are cooked until tender, then smashed and oiled before being grilled to a brown and crispy goodness. Serve with seasoned sour cream.
Rosemary Infused Potatoes – This potato recipe is flavored nicely with a bit of rosemary infused butter. Makes a great side dish for any meal.
Grilled Dill Potatoes – New potatoes are wrapped in foil with butter and dill and grilled until steamy hot and tender. Be sure to use fresh dill for the best flavor.
Grilled Potato Salad – Made with firm, grill baked red potatoes, this dish is fresh and creamy. Top with chopped chives or fresh parsley.
New Potato Salad – New potatoes have a fresh, clean flavor, and cook on the grill nicely. For this recipe, new potatoes are grilled, halved, and tossed with a creamy dressing.
Grilled New Potatoes – New potatoes are the first potatoes of the season. The small, immature potatoes have great flavor and texture, tender skin, and can be used in a variety of recipes.
Grilled Potato Recipes – Check out this page to find an assortment of recipes for the grill. You’ll find some interesting ways to cook potatoes here.