Elevate your BBQs with Potatoes this summer

Fire up the BBQ and bring on the potatoes for extra sizzle and flavour this summer. From loaded jacket potatoes and creamy potato salads to vegetarian kebabs and mini Hasselbacks grilled to perfection there are plenty of delicious BBQ potato options for you.   

Not sure where to begin? Read below and get a taste of sizzling BBQ potato recipes and simply delicious summer potato salads.  

Cooking jacket potatoes on the BBQ

A staple on the bbq are tasty, fluffy jacket potatoes.  There are two options for cooking jackets on your gas or charcoal BBQ grill – direct or indirect cooking.  Direct cooking produces quicker results, or if you like the slow and low method, opt for indirect cooking. 

1. Prepare the bbq: preheat a gas bbq to 190°C – 204°C or a charcoal BBQ until the coals are grey in colour
   
2. Wash and scrub the potatoes under cold running water 
3. Pat dry and pierce all over with a fork or sharp knife, rub with oil and season 
4. Tightly wrap in two layers of foil and place directly onto the grey coals, cover with the lid and cook for 30 minutes for small potatoes (or 60 minutes for larger potatoes, as a guide). They will be tender in the middle when cooked (or gently squeeze the potato – if soft, it’s done, or insert a temperature thermometer in the centre of the potato.  It should read 98 °C 
5. For the gas BBQ position directly onto the BBQ grill, cover with the lid and cook for 1 hour, keeping an eye on the temperature of the BBQ too 
6. Carefully open the foil parcels and serve with a topping of your choice (butter, sour cream, chives, cheese, bacon bits to name a few) or as a side dish

Tips:

• If you are pinched for time, parboil the potatoes first. Boil them in a pan of boiling water for 6-8 minutes, depending on the size of the potato, pat dry, season, wrap in foil and cook as required on the BBQ
• For quicker cooking jackets, cut each potato in half, wrap in foil and cook for half the time
• To cook a large quantity of potatoes thread medium potatoes onto 2 long metal skewers, brush with oil and season. Pop onto a prepared BBQ towards the edge of the grill (for indirect cooking). Cover with the BBQ lid and cook for 30-40 minutes.

BBQ potato recipes

Take a look at some of our favourite BBQ potato and potato salad recipes below or browse our full summer BBQ collection for tasty recipe ideas.  For top meat cooking tips, including how to grill the perfect beef, lamb or pork steak, take a look at the BBQ pages of our friends over at Simply Beef & Lamb and Love Pork 

Potato recipes to cook on the BBQ

Brazilian Potato and Vegetable Espetinho

 Tornado Twister Potatoes with Zingy Lime Mayonnaise

Mini Hasselback Potatoes with Rosemary and Garlic

Charred Potato, Grilled Peach and Sliced Lamb with Parsley Dressing

Baked Potato with Asian Inspired Slaw 

Potato salads to serve at your BBQ 

1. Creamy New Potato Salad
2. Potato Salad with Beetroot
3. Sensational Summer Salad
4. Bavarian Potato Salad with Griddled Pork Medallions
5. Potato, Griddled Asparagus and Egg Salad

For more delicious salads to accompany your BBQs, check out our Summer recipe collection!

BBQ Hacks

Below you can find a list of some of our favourite hacks to help you elevate your BBQ experience in some exciting, practical ways. 

• Let your BBQ heat up properly (it will take at least 20mins).  If the coals are still burning rather than glowing, your food will burn too 
• Add a handful of herbs (like lemon grass, rosemary or lavender) to burning coals to give food an extra kick as it cooks
• Use a sprig of rosemary as skewers, not only will it look great, but it also infuses the meat with lots of flavour! 
  
• Make sure you have two sets of cooking utensils and containers when cooking on the BBQ to avoid cross-contamination between raw and cooked food
  
• If you’re looking for an alternative to using wire brush to clean your BBQ grill, use half an onion!
  Allow the grill to heat up, pierce the half onion with a fork and rub the cut-side down along the grill grates
• Take meat out of the fridge 15 minutes before cooking and it will cook more evenly, the outside is less likely to burn before the middle is cooked to your culinary perfection
• Use fresh herb sprigs and tie them to the end of a wooden spoon and use as an aromatic brush. Rosemary branches work best but thyme, oregano and sage work best too! 
• Avoid continually flipping the meat on your BBQ or pressing down with a spatula as juices and flavours escape, losing its juiciness
• Have a small spray bottle filled with water by the BBQ, so you can damp down the coals if any flames appear
• After cooking on your BBQ extinguish the burning coals with water and leave for a few hours until they are completely cold

Follow #FireUpForSummer

Keep an eye out for #FireUpForSummer on your social feeds. From the 17th May until the end of August we’ll be posting all things BBQ on our social channels from top tips to recipes and cookalong videos with expert BBQ Pitmasters. Give us a follow and get in touch – we’d love to hear from you. Ask us your BBQ cooking questions, let us know what you think of our recipes and share pictures of your grilling successes (and don’t forget to tag us in your posts with #FireUpForSummer). Find us here on Facebook Instagram Twitter and Pinterest.