Smoked Sweet Potatoes on a Pellet Grill

This is a super simple recipe for Smoked Sweet Potatoes and it is a great idea for the next time you are smoking some baby back ribs or pork butts and have some extra capacity in your pit. 

It is always nice to get the maximum use out of your smoker when you fire it up so don’t hesitate to give this recipe a try!

These potatoes come out sweet, smoky, savory and creamy.  

Let’s take a look at how to smoke these beauties!

Prepare the Sweet Potatoes

I start with about 2.5 pounds of sweet potatoes as that makes enough for four large servings.  You can use more if needed and have the room on your smoker.

The steps for getting the potatoes ready are:

• Wash the potatoes
• Cut into bite sized chunks
• Coat with oil
• Toss with a dry rub
• Add butter or margarine

Wash and Cut the Sweet Potatoes

Run the potatoes under cold water to get any residual dirt off. Nobody likes biting into a gritty potato!

I like to leave the skin on these guys but if you feel like breaking out the vegetables peeler then have at it!

You can any sized potato you want but I like to work with the biggest sweet potatoes that I can find because it makes it easier to cut them into bite sized chunks.   

I don’t try to get the pieces exactly the same size, just in the same general ballpark, so they will cook relatively evenly.

Coat and Season the Potatoes

Place the cut potatoes into a disposable foil pan and give the pieces a light spray with oil of choice.  I use canola oil but peanut oil would be fine. 

The only purpose of the oil is to serve as a binder to help the rub adhere so only use just enough oil to LIGHTLY coat the potatoes.

After the potatoes have been lightly coated in oil then toss the pieces with a dry rub.  Here is the recipe for the rub I used.

Dry Rub for Smoked Sweet Potatoes

• 1 tbsp salt
• 1 tbsp smoked paprika
• 1 tbsp chili powder
• 1 tbsp turbinado sugar
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp chipotle powder

Once the potatoes have been seasoned add about three heaping tablespoons of margarine or butter to the pan.

Smoke the Sweet Potatoes

I smoke the potatoes at 250F for two hours, however this is a very flexible technique so don’t be afraid to adjust the temperature and times to your cooking situation.

I picked 250F because I wanted this recipe to be for a side dish that I could make while I was slow smoking some ribs or a brisket.

I was cooking on my Z Grills pellet grill set to 250F using hickory pellets for smoke.

Let the potatoes smoke for one hour.  After one hour the potatoes will have soaked up most of the butter and started to brown up but will still be hard.

When the potatoes have smoked for an hour add about 3/4 cup chicken stock to the pan, cover with foil and seal tightly.

Return the pan to the smoker and allow the potatoes to simmer and steam for one more hour.  After an hour, CAREFULLY open the foil making sure that the steam does not burn your hands. 

The potatoes ought to be extremely tender at this point and a fork should slide right through them.  If the potatoes are not tender enough at this point then put the foil back on and smoke for another 30 minutes.

How Do They Taste?

I think these guys taste perfect!  You get sweetness from the potatoes, an earthy spiciness from the rub and a savory profile from all of the butter and chicken stock that the potatoes soaked up while they were cooking.

For me, this is a delightful alternative to those super sugary sweet dishes people make with sweet potatoes that are covered in mini-marshmallows.

This is a recipe for people who love sweet potatoes and want to amplify the flavors instead of covering it up.