It’s that brief time of year where I get to enjoy my grill. The mosquitoes aren’t out in full force trying to either carry me away or hitch a ride into the house to wake me at 2am. It’s not so hot that just looking at the grill from indoors makes me sweat, yet. It’s no longer so cold that I need thick gloves to keep my fingers from going instantly numb. (These are the same gloves that also render my hands into two nearly useless appendages.)
I take advantage of the three weeks out of the year that we get such blissful weather and spend whatever spare time I can scrounge up outdoors and it’s a good excuse to fire up the grill. I love the taste of grilled food and the often simple preparations. Toss whole corn on the cob onto the grill cold, and by the time it’s heated up and you’ve cooked the rest of the meal, the corn is done. Potatoes are another east choice to pair with whatever else you may be grilling. Then to finish things off, grill some fresh fruit (try pineapple, or peaches sliced in half.) Try once making your whole meal on the grill and you’ll see the reason I enjoy my grill so much!
I had to do some research into how to best cook sweet potatoes on the grill. Because of their longer cooking times, I wasn’t sure of the right approach. I found quite a few recipes, many of them first saying to boil the potatoes to a certain point, then put them on the grill. However I wanted to just cut them, slap them on the grill and be done with it! Forget this boil, peel, then grill shenanigans. Cut, grill, eat. That’s my idea of an easy side dish.
As usual, I just improvised. After reading a few more recipes (thank you internet) I found that a few recipes suggested slicing the potatoes and simply grilling them. I opted for this method, then added a glaze after cooking to further the flavor. Simple, easy to scale for more or less portions, and inexpensive to boot. That’s a winner in my book!
Ingredients:
1 medium size sweet potato
1-2 tsp oil (canola, vegetable, coconut, something with minimal flavor)
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp light brown sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
Directions:
Heat up the grill. Slice the sweet potato into approximately 1/4″ thick slices. Drizzle the potato with the oil, enough to lightly coat the slices and toss to coat. Place potato slices onto the hot grill and cook until tender, about 4-5 minutes per side. They will develop a few brown or black spots, and that’s good. It just makes them taste even better.
While they are cooking, melt the butter and mix with the brown sugar and cinnamon. Set aside.
Once tender, remove the potato slices from the grill. Drizzle with the butter mixture and serve.
One medium potato should be about two servings. You can also adjust the amount of cinnamon, sugar, and butter to your tastes. This was enough to give the potatoes a sweet glaze without covering up the taste of the potatoes. Pair this up with some grilled chicken and a salad and there’s dinner!
Half the recipe 