Before we get to answering the common question of, “How long does it take to grill baked potatoes on a charcoal grill?”, I have to ask… if you’re cooking a potato on a grill, is it still a “baked potato”???
No matter. The point is that you can definitely prepare a large, baking potato to be well cooked on your grill, regardless of whether you are using a gas grill or a charcoal grill. There are a few tricks that can help you along the way, and that is the purpose of this article. By spending just a few minutes to understand the variables you’ll be dealing with, you will be able to apply the appropriate solution to your particular circumstance.
So what kinds of variable exist when using a barbecue to cook your potatoes? The answer is in two of the last three words in the previous sentence; “cook” and “potato”. Different kinds of grills give off different amounts of heat. So whether you’re using a gas grill, charcoal grill or electric grill, it’s impossible for me to know exactly how “hot” your particular grill will get. The information presented here will apply very broadly, but in the end you’ll need to get familiar with your own grill, how hot it gets, and how to adjust cooking time accordingly in the future.
This brings me to another point that is worth mentioning here. Whenever you are grilling something for the first time (or first few times) I highly recommend that you keep notes on what you do and how you do it. This way you’ll know the next time that if you cooked your potato for 75 minutes on high and it came out way too dry, the next time you should try adjusting either the time or the temperature (or both). Record what you do each time AS YOU DO IT so that when you finally get that ‘perfect’ result, you’ll know how to duplicate it the next time.
The other variable that we need to talk about (remember I said there were 2), is the potato itself. It should be pretty obvious that if you’re cooking a giant Idaho spud, it’s probably going to take longer than a little red potato or new potato. Again, this is a bit of info to keep in your grilling notebook.
OK, on to the grilling tips! We’ll assume you’ve got an average to big potato on a charcoal grill that produces decent heat (though this applies just as much to gas grills and electric grills. It’s just that my summer preference is grilling on red Weber charcoal grill, so that’s what I’m imagining as I write this).
If you want to spend as little time as possible with your potato on the grill (and a big potato could take as long as 45 minutes to cook), I suggest nuking it first. Poke some hole in it with a fork and put it in the microwave for about 4 to 8 minutes on high (again, depending on the size and how much pre cooking you want done), and you’ll get your “baked” potato off the grill and ready to eat much faster.
As for time on the grill at this point, with the pre-cooking… about 10 to 15 minutes.
Some people prefer to place the potato directly on the grill to help brown and crisp the outside of it, while others prefer to wrap it in foil. If you go with the foil, rub the outside with some oil, butter, Crisco or the like to help keep it moist. You could also try adding some spices to the oil before rubbing if you want to get creative and add some interesting subtleties to it.
In case you didn’t catch it above, if you don’t have a microwave handy (camping, etc), or just don’t want to go that route, you can expect it to take a good 45 minutes or more to get a potato completely cooked on your grill. So start it early and plan the rest of your food accordingly! Also, remember to poke holes in the potato with a fork or sharp knife before you cook it, and make sure you have enough foil to completely wrap it up. No matter what route you take, your potato will be done when you can easily pierce a fork or sharp knife all the way to the center and it comes out clean.
Regardless of whether your “baked” potato is cooked on your favorite charcoal barbecue grill, gas grill, campfire or electric outdoor grill, by adjusting a few of the variables mentioned above, in know time you’ll be the expert on how long does it take to grill baked potatoes on YOUR grill.
