Yes, You Can Make Baked Potatoes On The BBQ. Here's How

There are a lot of opinions when it comes to baked potatoes. Some feel the correct way to cook a potato is in the microwave. Others believe the best baked potato is made in the air fryer, while many folks opt to keep it classic with a traditional roast. But when it comes to baked potatoes on the barbecue, it's simple, right? Just wrap them in tinfoil and throw them directly on the grill.

Well, with a couple more easy steps, you'll get your barbecued baked potatoes from decent to downright delicious. All you need is a couple of ingredients you almost certainly have in the pantry: olive oil and salt. This seasoning step helps you avoid a major mistake that leads to bland baked potatoes and helps improve the texture.

They'll come off the grill beautifully fluffy, ready to be popped open with finger and thumb (once they've cooled, of course). And the grill will impart some amazing smoky flavor, an extra "ingredient" you just can't get from the microwave, oven, or air fryer. By adding a little olive oil and salt to the exterior of the potato before it goes on the grill, you'll be setting yourself up for perfect flavor and an enhanced crunchy, caramelized exterior texture. 

Russet potatoes work best for any baked potato because they're wonderfully starchy and can hold up to high heat to come out fluffy and flaky, rather than hard and chunky. Plus, their low moisture content means they can more easily pick up flavor and won't be steamed inside the foil. To prep your potatoes, rub a light coating of olive oil on the exterior and add a sprinkle of salt all around before wrapping each spud in aluminum foil. Once wrapped, poke a few holes through the foil to let in the smoky flavor from the grill.

For a 45-minute to hour-long cook, go with potatoes weighing 8 to 10 ounces and cook them over medium-direct heat, rotating every 15 minutes or so. To make sure they're done without burning your hands, use a meat thermometer — the perfect baked potato should register 205 degrees Fahrenheit. Alternatively, you can just stick a knife through the foil to make sure they're nice and soft in the middle.

The salt adds flavor and helps lock in moisture, while the olive oil will make the skin incredibly crispy and packed with even more flavor. It creates a skin so good, it might just steal the show — chewy, crunchy, and delightfully caramelized. And you'll taste a bit of delicious smoke from the grill all the way through. Once opened, these spuds need little more than butter and salt, or you can try even more ingredients to upgrade your baked potato. Regardless of what you put on top, a barbecued baked potato is the new side you need for all your favorite grilled meats and veggies.