Today I’m going to show you how to cook sweet potatoes in coals. So, basically you are grilling the sweet potatoes right within the embers instead of on the grate. What you get is a charred flesh on the outside, but fluffy sweet potato on the inside.
Sweet potatoes are only one of the vegetable you can do this with, it also works great with baking potatoes, beets, and onions. Today however we are going to focus on grilling sweet potatoes on the coals.
It is really simple to roast vegetables this way, you just put them in with the embers. These embers can be from either charcoal, or wood. If you have a gas grill, you are probably thinking that you can’t do this, but you still can, it just won’t be as good as using wood or charcoal. With a gas grill you would just cook the sweet potatoes over medium-high heat until the skin is charred. You won’t get that rich, smoky flavor but it still will be good.
First off you are going to need some sweet potatoes or yams. Get about 4 large ones that are about the same size. This way they will all finish around the same time. Set up your charcoal grill for direct grilling. Spread the coals into an even layer, and make sure they burn down so they are glowing.
Using a pair of extra long tongs, here are the ones I use, place the sweet potatoes on the coals. Rake any loose coals up around the potatoes. Roast the sweet potatoes in the coals until the skins are charred black and the centers are soft. Use a metal skewer or something to test if the potato is soft. This will take around 40 minutes to 1 hour. Turn the potatoes with your tongs from time to time so they roast evenly.
Once the sweet potatoes are done remove them from the coals with the tongs and brush away and ash. Let them rest for a couple of minutes. Slice the sweet potatoes lengthwise and serve. I like mine with a little butter and maple syrup on top. Of course the outside is completely charred so you will only eat the nice fluffy insides.
This is how to cook sweet potatoes in coals that turn out rich and smoky. Give this a try with other vegetables such as onions and beets, it works really well.
image courtesy of JeepersMedia/flickr