These spuds spent a little time in the microwave to soften them up, shortening grilling time.
Mark Guydish | for Times Leader
Some red potatoes halved and skewered, with the melted butter at top left and the salt/pepper seasoning on bottom right.
Mark Guydish | for Times Leader
The finished spuds with a few grilled shiitake ‘shrooms and some sauteed crab cakes.
Mark Guydish | for Times Leader
Do potatoes really need to be cooked twice? Of course not. There are French fry recipes that call for two stints in the oil at two different temps (to make a soft interior with a crunchy outside), but I’ve never bothered, especially not after trying the “cold start French fries” recipe from America’s Test Kitchen.
I’ve long opted to cook potatoes in one stretch, whether frying, baking or grilling. Yet when I caught an episode of ATK involving a clam bake concoction, one of the ingredients they included happened to be taters that spent a little time in the microwave before heading for the grill.
Regular readers may remember I mentioned a new spuds recipe when I wrote about brined, grilled corn on the cob in July, which was also part of the ATK clam bake. This is that recipe, and despite the double cooking, it’s relatively simple, and we enjoyed them as a side to some store-bought crab cakes MT sauteed, along with a few grilled shiitake mushrooms we had on hand.
While you could do this with almost any soft-skinned potato if you cut them into appropriate sizes, using small red potatoes keeps the slicing simple. Half them, skewer them, nuke them and grill. One tip, and it’s important: If you skewer before nuking (as the recipe suggests and as I did), be sure to use wooden skewers. I tend to favor re-usable (and fireproof) metal skewers, but we happened to have a pack of wood skewers left over from a tasty appetizer recipe MT wrote about in March.
To be sure, skewering uncooked potatoes with wood instead of steel is a bit more work because the wood can snap, but I got the hang of it quickly.
Dobru chut!
Nuked and Grilled red potatoes (America’s Test Kitchen)
2 pounds red potatoes (amount can vary based on need, small spuds require less work)
1-2 tablespoons butter, melted
¼ teaspoon salt, or to taste
⅛ teaspoon pepper, or to taste
Slice potatoes into halves (or quarters if they are larger). Place on skewers, coat with butter and cook in the microwave on high for about 6 minutes to soften, flipping once.
Brush the potatoes with a little more butter, and season with salt and pepper. Place on grill heated to medium-high and cook for 10-15 minutes to brown, turning at least once.
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