grilling potatoes


 
R

Reed

New member
Hello everyone,
quick question about cooking potatoes on the grill, when doing news or baby yukons or other smaller potatoes should you cook them raw or should I parboil or nuke them first? I plan on halving them and grilling them to get marks and then finishing them in a CI skillet, just not too sure about the beginning.
Any help would be greatly appreciated
 
I dice the up, add a couple of cloves of garlic and plenty of butter, s&p. I put it all in a foil pouch, seal well and cook opposite the fire for 45 min to an hour turning the pouch every 20 min.
 
I got one of those Weber perforated grill pans for Christmas a couple of years ago. Have been roasting potatoes and veggies on it all summer. The tricky part is cutting them in sizes according to density so that they all finish cooking at the same time, but I've been enjoying potatoes, sweet potatoes, bell peppers, garlic, onion, carrots, squash, and etc.. Cut them up, toss with some olive oil and salt, set the grill for indirect cooking with coals banked on either side of pan, then roast them for 45 min. to 1 hour. Turn and toss the veggies every 15 minutes or so.

Today I'm going to cut the sweet potatoes up into long, relatively thin wedges and roast them that way. Gonna call them 'fries' and see if the kids buy it.
 
Indirect for big bakers for me takes about an hour. For halves or smallies usually 1/2 hr or so.
Add a little smoke-wood ( I like Alder or Sassafras) @ the get-go for the taters as that adds a whole different flavor.

Tim
 
I really like the new potatoes about and inch or so across. I cut them in half. If I have to use bigger potatoes I will cut them into quarters. I like to use the Weber foil pan, lay in the taters with slices of onion and seasonings such as garlic powder, chili powder salt & pepper, some butter and oil. I also like Italian seasoning but not with chili. It's one or the other. I use oil to prevent the burning but butter gives the flavor. If you use only butter you run the risk of burning. I will make a foil lid, seal it tight and then cook indirect for 30-45 minutes. They're great this way.
 
pre-cooking is not required.
olive oil (or the like) is, sliced or whole.
low heat direct or high heat indirect will work.

try slicing the potato in half, use a very thin pat of BUTTER (not margerine) on each sliced end cut face down on cast iron skillet.
direct over medium heat for 45 minutes (give or take).

grilling potatoes is a piece of cake.
 
I much prefer parboiling, thick slicing them and then oiling and salting right before grilling directly on the grate over medium to high heat. That gives me the best results for both grill marks and a slight crust. Don't let the oil soak in. Works with both Yukon Golds and Russets. Red potatoes, not so much.

I do grill the very small baby potatoes in a grill basket sometimes with other veggies such as carrots, but you really need to keep on them and move them around, especially over charcoal.
 
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I generally par boil the potatoes especially if they are big. I ad some spices and a little evo to them in a cast iron skillet and cook the par boiled sliced potatoes about a half hour

Mike
 
I have tried every method here and they all work. Bobby Flay teaches the par boil, slice thick, oil, salt and pepper, then grill direct over medium to high heat method. It is easily the fastest way to grill potatoes. Bobby suggests that his method works really well with Yukon Golds.
 
I don't par boil potatoes. If you like crispy skins you can wrap a whole russet potato in aluminum foil and place it directly in the coals. It takes about 40 minutes or so to bake, and I turn them once or twice. When they're done you can top them with whatever you like.

New potatos I grill indirect and brush them a few times with olive oil, salt, pepper, and italian seasoning. When they come off the grill they get a generous portion of butter.
 
Kinda like Jim said. Cube the Taters and toss with olive oil,salt and pepper. Cook over medium heat for 20-30 minutes until done.
 
Last night I peeled and sliced a sweet potato into wide strips, about 1/4 inch thick. I microwaved them under a cover for about 3 minutes and let them steam under there while my chicken was cooking.

Applied olive oil and salt. Grilled for a few minutes, and they were good to go. They say lime and cilantro make a good dressing for these, but I was out of cilantro. They were fine without.
 
It's all good. I like everyone's suggestions here but I am set in my ways and I like, no love, garlic. Too lazy to do much more than dice a potato and peel some garlic cloves.
 
Agree with Jim Lampe. Yukes sliced in half, EVOO'd, and grilled indirect are a favorite side dish when we cook steaks. Like Q'ing a pork butt, potatoes on the grill are hard to mess up.
 
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I have a method I use to get great grilled taters that will never fall apart after parboiling....... Add two tablespoons of white distilled vinegar per quart of water that you are boiling them in! This firms up the pectins on a molecular level and they stay nice and together and never get mushy or split off a skewer. I boil depending on the size and till a fork can barely, barely puncture them easily, but I'd guess around 6 mins is long enough at a hard boil, maybe more or less, but keeping an eye on them and feeling is the best thing to do.

I've had good luck with this helping to keep from burning them on the outside before they get done on the inside. Give this method a try, I use it for french fries too and they are the most crispy things in the world after a double fry. BTW, this is McDonalds exact method for making their fries in their factories before freezing and we all know how perfect and soft, crispy they are. ;)

P.S. - After you parboil them you can stash them in the freezer and skewer them after they thaw out a good bit. This helps to break down the inside even more from the ice shards formed in there. When they are cooked they end up even more fluffy and awesome than the non-frozen ones.
 
My personal favorites

1. Cross hatched iron skillet potatoes - Yukon

2. Crash Hots - reds

3. Twice baked - russets
 
I nuke em first. Scoop out the insides and mix in ranch dressing cheddar cheese, bacon and sour cream like for twice baked and them place them on the grate away from coals. Add a piece of hickory to the coals to get some good smoky flavor.
 
I have grilled tons of potatoes but the best way I've found is Cook's Illustrated's garlic rosemary potatoes. Out of this world amazing, every single time. Best potatoes I've ever eaten, I can't believe I made them. Here's a link to the recipe - you have to be a member to access it I guess.

http://www.cooksillustrated.com/recipes/login.asp?docid=8523

I got it out their "Anniversary Best Recipes" magazine. I don't have the recipe in front of me but you cut the potatoes in half, put some kind of olive oil/kosher salt on the potatoes, poke the heck out of them, microwave them on wooden skewers for 8 minutes (4 each side), baste them with the garlic rosemary (or leave it reserved in a bowl for after, I can't remember), grill them quickly and oh. Oh. They are so good. Perfect.

I recommend everyone give it a try, especially if you enjoy garlic/rosemary/potatoes.

Good luck -

Laura
 
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