GRILLED POTATOES IN 5 MINUTES | FAST AND EASY

With the warm weather now here, it’s time to dust off the barbeque and enjoy some grilled potatoes. I love grilled potatoes, however grilling potatoes can be a time consuming process. Depending on the size of the potato, it can take up-to 45 minutes to grill them. Don’t get discouraged, there is a fast and easy way to enjoy grilled potatoes in just 5 minutes.

Grilled potatoes in just a few minutes by parboiling them first.

Parboil Definition: Boiling a food product until partially cooked, often before further cooking.

Potatoes that have been parboiled can be stored in the fridge for up-to one week for when you are ready to barbeque them. When you are ready for grilled potatoes, just cut the potatoes into wedges or even slices, season and throw on the barbeque. Since they are pre-cooked they will be ready in just a few minutes. Just grill them until both sides are golden brown.

BENEFITS OF PARBOILING POTATOES

1 EVEN COOKING

Nobody wants to bite into a delicious looking potato only to find that the potato is dry or the centre is raw. Parboiling is the best way evenly cook potatoes. Since they are pre-cooked a a few minutes on the grill is all it takes for the potatoes to be evenly cooked. The short time on the grill also prevents the potato from drying out.

1 SHORT COOKING TIME

Depending on the size of the potato, grilling them can take up-to 45 minutes. That’s a lot of time, and can be a problem when other items on the grill cook much faster. The long cooking time can also take up valuable grill space. Reduce the grilling time to only a few minutes by parboiling your potatoes. I use the same trick on cobs of corn. I like to parboil my potatoes and corn mid-week so that they are ready for the weekend.

3 FLAVOUR EXPLOSION

Add some salt to the water when you parboil you potatoes. Doing this will cause the flavour to soak all the way through the potato. Once the potatoes are parboiled you can toss them in a bowl with additional herbs and spices if you like. Forgetting to add salt while parboiling and/or grilling them raw will cause the seasoning to be only on the surface. A little bit of extra preparation will ensure that every bite will be a flavour explosion.

HOW TO PARBOIL POTATOES

1 PREPARATION

Clean or peal your potatoes. I like to leave the skin on the potatoes as I like the flavour of the skin and it prevents the potatoes from getting water logged.

2 BOIL POTATOES

Place potatoes in a pot of water. Ensure that the top of the potatoes is covered by about an inch of water. Add about one tbsp. of salt. Start a timer. Bring the water to a boil and immediately turn the burner off. Leave the pot on the burner for until your timer reaches 15 minutes.

3 REMOVE POTATOES FROM HEAT

You can check to see if the potatoes are properly cooked by sticking a fork into one of the potatoes. The fork should go in easily and meet some resistance once you approach the middle of the potato. If not properly cook, place back in water for a few more minutes. The heat from the water and the potatoes own heat will continue to cook it.

4 PLACE POTATOES IN COLD WATER

Placing the potatoes in cold water immediately stops the cooking process. They are now to be placed in the fridge and stored for when you are ready to barbeque. For best results, store the potatoes in a bowl. Storing them in a plastic bag will cause them to sweat, make them soft and reduce the storage time. Do not store the potatoes more than a week.

Get out there and enjoy some grilled potatoes today!!