BBQ Potato Recipes - Preparation & Grilling Tips

Potatoes are so versatile and tasty. They're a perfect accompaniment to a meal cooked on the grill. Check out these BBQ potato recipes, which are some of our favorites because they're quick, easy, and delicious. They go great with BBQ beef, pork, ribs, even salmon.

Barbecue potatoes don't need a lot of preparation or work. You can throw them on the grill while the main part of your meal is cooking, so that they're ready when you are. Here are a few tips on grilling potatoes:

• Potatoes can be grilled whole, sliced, cut into chunks or any other shapes you want. The thinner the piece, the faster it will cook (and the more carefully you will need to watch them to prevent them from burning).

• When slicing potatoes, aim for slices approximately 1/4" thick. This is thick enough so that they won't burn too easily, and thin enough that they'll cook relatively quickly.

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  Potatoes can be placed directly on the grill, or wrapped in foil. Wrapping in foil helps the potatoes to cook evenly as well as protects them from the direct heat of the grill. A grilling basket works great too -- and makes it easy to toss the potatoes once in a while to prevent burning. Learn how to bake a potato in the BBQ ... it's tasty, easy, and popular exactly for those reasons.

• For potatoes wrapped in foil: coat with good-quality oil and any herb mixture you like. If you're wrapping pieces, you can toss them in the oil & herb mixture before wrapping them. Put an extra bit of oil on the foil packet before placing the potato on top. Try to layer the potato pieces only one deep within the foil packet to help them cook faster. When turning the potatoes, carefully turn the entire foil packet.
  
  Be careful when opening foil packets - hot steam will escape!

• Turn potatoes once in a while. This is more important if you're grilling thinner pieces that burn more easily.

• If you're cooking on high heat, place the potatoes away from the hottest areas to help prevent them from burning. Along the edges of the grill or on an upper rack are good places.

• Cheese and potatoes go together great... but because cheese burns easily, add shredded cheese just a few minutes before the potatoes are done.

• Potatoes are done when the center is soft and you can easily pierce through it with a fork. Medium-sized whole potatoes take about 45 minutes to an hour to cook on medium-high heat. Foil packets of thinner potato slices or chunks will cook faster, typically around 20-30 minutes.

• In a rush? Boil the potatoes first. Bring a pot of water to a boil, put in the potatoes. Medium-sized whole potatoes take about 15 minutes to cook; mini and new potatoes, slices and chunks take less, depending on the thickness. Try not to boil them too long or they will become mushy and hard to handle.
  
  Drain the potatoes well when they're done and let dry for a few minutes. Then you can lightly coat them with olive oil and throw them on the grill - they will cook much faster. This is also handy if you want to get some prep work out of the way first - you can boil the potatoes, season them, wrap them in foil if you like, and then later that evening you can put them on the grill whenever you're ready for them.

• Get a good pair of BBQ gloves so that you can handle the grilled potatoes without fear!

There are loads of BBQ potato recipes available... check out our favorite recipes for barbecue potatoes - easy herb and seasoning mixtures and toppings for a great BBQ side dish!