How I Grill Potatoes
Many take pride in their grilling skills. They point to their ribs or their steaks as evidence of their prowess. I do well with these items, but where I take particular pride is in my ability to grill a perfect potato. The proper attention can elevate this ‘aristocrat in burlap’ to its proper relevance on the final plate. Follow these tips to craft perfect potatoes every time:
- Parboil. Cook the potatoes in salted water until they are fork tender—but shy of when they would be finished for the plate.
- Cut. Depending on the size, into 1/2, 1/4, or 1/8. The cut surfaces respond well to the heat of the fire and yield a tasty, caramelized result when finished properly.
- Season and butter. Spices I typically use are: salt, pepper, ground chile pepper, garlic powder, paprika, and perhaps a touch of ginger (on occasion). Sometimes I will add dried rosemary to the mix (run through the spice grinder into a fine powder).
- Real charcoal burns hotter. I think it makes a difference. Spread the coals across only 1/2 the grill area, so that you have the option of cooking by either direct or indirect heat.
- Hot, hot, hot! I put the potatoes over direct heat while the fire is still at its hottest. This requires careful attention to multiple aspects of the process:
- The potatoes must not be dripping butter, else they’ll cause flare-ups. Tilt the pan and use tongs to pull potatoes from the side of the pan where the butter isn’t pooled.
- Add the potatoes in an organized manner. They’ll need to be turned quickly, because the fire is so hot, and if you don’t know what order they’ve been added to the grill, it’s easy to let a potato burn.
- Crouching down next to the grill and approaching from a lower angle helps minimize the heat you expose your hands to as you work over these marvelously hot coals.
- Don’t try to cook all of them at once. Working in small batches allows you to give each piece its deserved attention. When each piece develops an attractive, crispy, golden brown appearance on all of its surfaces, move it over to the indirect side of the grill to stay warm. It’s cool to stack them atop each other as they finish.
- Don’t brush them with the remaining butter over the flame. Instead, when they’ve cooked, return them to the pan with the remaining melted butter and carefully toss them with a heat-resistant spatula to coat them. They will absorb the remaining butter. I will often drizzle them with a bit of extra virgin olive oil at this stage as well.
Potatoes cooked according to this method are fantastic. On occasion, you’ll allow a piece or two to get a bit darker than would be ideal—that’s okay. Just try to evaluate why it happened (usually because you didn’t follow a set pattern in adding potatoes to the grill so you missed turning it–or it is over a hot spot, and you must turn potatoes in that section of the grill sooner than potatoes in other portions of the grill).
Other suggested vegetable accompaniments: grill-roasted peppers and grill-roasted garlic.
Suggested use for leftovers: they make mean home fries!