Side Dishes
The Raichlen Stuffer (Smoked Stuffed Baked Potato)
This baked stuffed potato recipe has been a steakhouse fixture for years. It’s about to get an upgrade—you guessed thanks to the grill. More specifically, thanks to a haunting smoke flavor, which you’ll achieve by adding wood chunks or chips to the coals. The smoke flavor gets reinforced with smoked cheddar, smokehouse bacon and pimenton (Spanish smoked paprika).
Read the blog! The Best Baked Stuffed Potato on the Planet
Smoked Stuffed Baked Potato
The Raichlen Stuffer (Smoked Stuffed Baked Potato)
Ingredients
- 4 strips bacon (try to use a genuine smokehouse variety, like Neuske’s), cut crosswise into 1/4- inch slivers
- 4 large baking potatoes (Russets), each 10 to 12 ounces, scrubbed
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, thinly sliced
- A bunch of fresh chives or 2 scallions (trimmed), thinly sliced
- 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely diced (optional)
- 2 cups (8 ounces) coarsely grated smoked cheddar or gruyere cheese
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- Coarse salt (kosher or sea) and freshly ground black pepper
- Pimentón (smoked paprika) or sweet paprika, for sprinkling
You’ll also need
- 1-1/2 cups of hardwood chips, soaked in cold water to cover for 30 minutes, then drain, or 2 hardwood chunks
Recipe Steps
1: Fry the bacon until crisp in a skillet over medium-high heat, 3 to 5 minutes. If you want to do the whole process outdoors, use your grill’s side burner or position the frying pan directly on the grate. Transfer the bacon pieces with a slotted spoon to paper towels to drain. Reserve the bacon fat.
2: Prick each potato on all sides with a fork. Brush the outsides with the reserved bacon fat.
3: Meanwhile, set up your grill for indirect grilling and heat to medium-high (400 degrees F). Brush or scrape the grill grate clean. (There is no need to oil it.) Add the wood chips or chunks to the coals. If using a gas grill, place the wood in the grill’s smoker box or place chunks under the grate directly over one of the burners. If using a pellet grill, there is no need to add wood.
4: Arrange the potatoes on the grate in the center. Smoke-roast (indirect grill the potatoes) until tender all the way through, 1 hour. Use a bamboo skewer to test for doneness. It should pierce the potato easily.
5: Transfer the potatoes to a cutting board and let cool for 5 minutes. Make a lengthwise slit down the top of each potato. Push in the ends to open the potato, then scrape out most of the flesh with a spoon, leaving a 1/4-inch-thick layer next to the potato skin. Place the scooped potato in a mixing bowl and dice it by scissoring 2 paring knives. Don’t dice too finely: the mixture should have some texture.
6: Add Bacon, 4 tablespoons of the butter, the chives or scallions, and 1 1/2 cups of the cheese and gently stir to mix. Stir in the sour cream and salt and pepper to taste: the mixture should be highly seasoned. Stir the mixture as little as possible: you don’t want mashed potatoes.
7: Stuff the potato mixture back into the skins. Sprinkle each potato with some of the remaining cheese and top each with a thin slice of butter from the remaining 1 tablespoon and a sprinkle of pimentón. (The potatoes can be prepared up to 24 hours ahead to this stage and refrigerated, covered.)
8: Refuel the grill if needed. Arrange the stuffed potatoes in the center of the grate. Indirect grill the potatoes until bubbling and browned, 15 minutes or as needed. Get ready for the best baked stuffed potatoes you’ve ever tasted.
