These easy Smoked Baked Potatoes can cook while you are smoking or grilling the other components of your meal. Plus, they taste fantastic! I love to serve baked potatoes with my proteins. Whether I’m grilling or smoking dinner, it just seems like the perfect side dish.
If you are looking for other fantastic side dish ideas, why not check out these Stuffed Smoked Tomatoes? Or how about this awesome Grilled Romaine Lettuce!
I’m an old-school baked potato fan; you know, the ones that you used to get at those great steak houses. These smoked baked potatoes remind me of those, except they are amped up to eleven with flavor!
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WHAT DO YOU NEED TO MAKE Smoked Baked Potatoes?
Other than obviously Russet potatoes, you don’t need much else to cook these amazing delicious smoked baked potatoes.
INGREDIENTS
- Bacon
- Russet potatoes
- BBQ rub
- Cheddar cheese
- Green onions
Preparing your smoked baked potatoes
Start by cooking your bacon in a frying pan over medium heat. I like to cook the bacon until crispy as it seems to crumble better over the potatoes. Once cooked, set the bacon aside on a paper towel-lined plate. Don’t toss the bacon fat out! Pour it into a small pyrex bowl.
Preheat your smoker to between 225 and 250 degrees F. Wash, scrub, and dry your potatoes. Using a fork, poke a few holes in each potato. Be careful not to stab your fingers; it really hurts, speaking from experience! Place the dried and pierced potatoes on a baking sheet.
Using a pastry or BBQ brush, coat each potato with the reserved bacon fat. Make sure you turn them over and brush the underside. You want the entire potato covered with bacon fat. Then season your potatoes with your favorite BBQ rub, ensuring that the entire potato is covered.
Once your smoker is preheated, place the potatoes on the grill. You can choose any flavor of wood to smoke your potatoes. Close the lid and allow the potatoes to smoke for about 3 hours. Make sure you test the potatoes to make sure they are done. Pierce the skin with a fork; they should be soft with no bone on the inside of the potato. The time it takes to smoke your potatoes will vary depending on their size, outside temperature, and even the wind.
Once they are done, remove them from the smoker and allow them to rest for about 10 minutes while you prepare the toppings.
Topping your Smoked Baked potatoes
I start by grating the cheddar cheese; that’s one of my standard baked potato toppings. Next, I chop the bacon so I can sprinkle it on, again a must-baked potato topping for me.
Once the potatoes are cool enough to handle, slice each one down the middle and gently press on each end to open the slit. You can use a fork to gently mash the meat of the potatoes once it is open if you like.
Top with the cheese and bacon and put the potatoes back in the smoker for 10-15 minutes or until the cheese is nicely melted.
At this point, the sky is the limit for additional toppings. If you like sour cream, then now is the time to put a dollop on top. You can substitute blue cheese for cheddar cheese if you like.
I know people who love to sprinkle fried onions over top of their baked potatoes. If you are a little more health-conscious, you could simply caramelize some sweet onions. That would be a perfect substitution for fried onions!
It doesn’t matter how you want to top your smoked baked potatoes; this is a side dish that you absolutely need to make. Everyone is going to love the smoky flavor of this traditional steakhouse side dish!
Pin it HERE!!
Pin it HERE!!
Smoked Baked Potatoes
Ingredients
- 10 strips of thick-cut bacon
- 8 large russet potatoes
- 1 tbsp bbq rub
- 4 oz brick Cheddar cheese
- ½ cup chopped green onion
Instructions
- Wash, scrub and dry the potatoes.
- Preheat a frying pan over medium heat.
- Preheat the smoker lid closed for 15 minutes to 225 degrees F. use your favorite flavor of pellets or chips.
- Add bacon to the hot pan and cook until crisp as the smoker preheats. (do not drain the bacon grease)
- Place the cooked bacon onto a paper towel-lined plate to absorb excess grease. Roughly chop and set aside until step 10.
- Pour the bacon fat into a mason jar or Pyrex bowl.
- Pierce the potatoes several times with a fork.
- Line potatoes up on a baking sheet. Brush bacon fat over the potatoes and turn each one until thoroughly coated.
- Season each potato generously with your favorite bbq rub. (I suggest using your hands to rub the seasoning into the skin of the potatoes for this step!)
- Place potatoes directly on the grill grates. Smoke for 3 hours. Let cool for 10 minutes. (Sometimes, the smoking time for potatoes can vary depending on the size of the potatoes, temperature outside, and even wind. Test that they are cooked before removing. If a fork easily pierces through the potato, they are ready! If not, continue to smoke until soft)
- Shred the cheddar cheese into a bowl.
- Slice each potato down the middle and gently press on each end to open the slit. (I also suggest using a fork to lightly mash and break up the inside of the potatoes as well!)
- Pack the opening of each potato with shredded cheese and chopped bacon.
- Heat until the cheese has melted in the oven or the smoker.
- For the oven, preheat to 375 degrees F after step 11 and place potatoes onto a baking sheet in the oven for about 5 minutes.
- For the smoker, place potatoes onto a baking sheet and put them back into the smoker for about 15 minutes.
- Top with chopped green onions and any other topping s you desire!
- Serve and enjoy!
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