Why Avocado Oil Is Ideal For Grilled Potatoes

There's nothing like grilling food over an open fire to achieve a one-of-a-kind flavor and texture. Grilled potatoes deliver the ultimate textural contrast, creating a crisp, crunchy exterior and a steamy, pillowy interior while infusing them with an inimitable smokiness.

While wrapping whole potatoes in tin foil will effectively cook them on the grill, they'll lack the textural contrast and flavor you'd achieve with oil-coated potato chunks or wedges. Using avocado oil for your grilled potatoes is the best and safest way to achieve the tastiest results.

Because grilling is a high-heat cooking method, you'll need an oil with a high smoke point to prevent the oils from burning. Burnt oils will at best infuse your potatoes with an unpleasant flavor and at worst poison your potatoes with harmful chemical components called free radicals. Avocado oil has one of the highest smoke points, withstanding temperatures over 500 degrees Fahrenheit, which is much higher than most grilled potato recipes require.

Avocado oil is also a neutral oil, allowing for your potatoes' natural flavors, the smokiness from the grill, and any other seasonings or marinades you add to shine through unencumbered. Furthermore, avocado oil is touted for its numerous health benefits; It's rich in antioxidants, and healthy fats, and has been proven to reduce cholesterol and facilitate the absorption of other nutrients.

Avocado oil is widely available at most grocery stores and online sellers, and while it may be more expensive than other vegetable or seed oils, its health benefits, neutral flavor, and high smoke point are worth the expense. That said, if you can't afford or find avocado oil, safflower, sunflower, soybean, and corn oil all have smoke points of 450 degrees Fahrenheit or higher.

Before you execute a grilled potato recipe, choosing the right type of potato will make all the difference. You want a sturdy potato that will hold its shape when exposed to high heat and flipping on the grill. Starchy potatoes like russets and Idahos are large with thick skins, resulting in extra crisp outsides and plenty of volume for pillowy insides. Waxy potatoes like new potatoes or Yukon gold potatoes are smaller, but still firm enough to hold their shape while their exposed edges assume a wonderful crispiness.

Preparing your potatoes is equally as important; larger chunks or wedges will give you the textural contrast you desire while supplying enough pulp to absorb oils, seasonings, and marinades. Cutting the potatoes into equal-sized pieces ensures even cooking, while using a paper towel soaked in avocado oil to coat the grill's grates will prevent the pieces from sticking. If you want to go above and beyond, parboiling your potatoes before oiling, seasoning, and grilling them will maximize the textural contrast and reduce grilling times.