Recipe: Seasoned Grill Fries with Dip

This incredibly simple yet versatile recipe requires a little bit of inside preparation before cooking, but is well worth it in the end.

Required:

3-6 large russet potatoes of roughly similar size
olive oil, preferably in a pump sprayer bottle
salt and pepper, any additional seasonings you like
2 cups of sour cream
1 cup BBQ sauce (you can guess which kind I prefer)

Take the potatoes and clean them under running water with a stiff bristled brush to get all the stuff off the skin. These used to live in the ground, remember?

Put them all in a large stock pot and fill with cold tap water to about 1" above the line of the potatoes. Put on stove over high heat until boiling; pot can be covered to speed up the process, but remember to remove the lid once the boiling starts unless you really enjoy cleaning your stovetop.

Allow potatoes to boil in the water for around 15 minutes and then remove from heat and drain. Let them cool for around 10 minutes to make them easier to cut without smashing. Boiling them first allows the outer parts of the potato to partially cook through, leaving the remaining inner sections (the ones that will be thinner once you cut them into wedges) to be cooked on the grill. If you boil them the right amount you'll see a line when the potato is cut in half where the very center section is still completely uncooked.

Once cool, cut potatoes into wedges using a sharp knife; I usually get 12 wedges per potato by quartering the potato first then cutting three wedges out of each quarter. For really large potatoes you might want to cut each quarter into 4. I'll leave it up to you, but don't call me in the middle for help.

Arrange the wedges skin side down on some type of large platter or cooking sheet and spray or brush lightly with olive oil.

Season the potatoes with spices you like and that go well with the food you're cooking. I always start with salt and pepper, but use things like ancho chili powder and dried cilantro flakes to give them extra flavor. You could always used a prepared spice blend as well, such as lemon pepper, cajun seasoning or even Old Bay. Make sure you get a good coating of stuff on them, as some of it is going to fall off while you're grilling. If you're putting them on the grill an you notice a side that looks a little light on the seasoning, you can always rub the potato in the residual oil and spices left on the platter that didn't land on potatoes the first time around.

Make sure your grilling surface is cleaned off; oil or non stick spray is usually not necessary. These are best cooked over indirect heat with the lid on, but can be flipped over the coals to really crisp them up if you like. When they're cooking at the right temperature they'll make a whistling noise as they cook. You'll know they're done when the outer part of the potato is a medium brown and starts to bubble up a little.









Mix the two cups of sour cream with about a cup of BBQ sauce for a delicious dip. Make sure you keep this in sight however, or you'll spot people putting it on their burgers before the fries are even done.









Feel free to experiment with different seasoning and dip combinations; I've probably made these a few dozen times and they've always been delicious. Ranch dressing with a bit of hot sauce is always a great combination as well.

Give them a shot, I'm sure you'll make them again and again.