How About Taters ?

[75fordfan]

Hello and good Bbqn to all. Hope you all had a good xmas, I need some advice on serving a good side with chicken and spares, i had taters in mind but want something more than just a Baked tater.

Thanks
Rick Galindo

[JamesB]

Wait for BigDave to stop by and reply... From what I understand he's got a killer tater technique...

James.

[BigDave]

Hi 75fordvan!

Now we got a special luv affair with taters!!! People seem to like this recipe a whole bunch!

Double Roasted Taters

15 lbs taters
3 lbs shredded cheese (1 lb cheddar, 1 lb Mexican four, 1 lb Colby/Monterrey Jack)
1-2 red Onions diced
5 lbs diced sausage
3 lbs diced bacon
1.5 lbs sour cream (or to taste)
Black Pepper (to taste & I like a lot)
Salt to taste
½ - 1 cup chives or to taste
¾ lb softened butter

Grill sausage & let cool. Then dice sausage. Dice up bacon and then cook in frying pan until crispy. You can rub the bacon grease on the taters before you wrap em if you like.

Wash taters and wrap with xtra heavy duty foil tightly. You must use the extra heavy duty foil as heavy duty will melt. Put foiled taters directly into coals and rotate every 5-7 minutes until done. They are done when they begin to feel soft when you squeeze them. Takes about 45 minutes.

Yes you can bake em in a oven if’n ya want but they won’t have that rich roasted starch flavor that comes from the high heat.

Once taters are done, unwrap, cut in half lengthwise and scoop out the inside into large pan. Save the skins. Mix cheese, diced onion, sour cream & butter with taters. Add bacon & sausage and continue mixin. Add salt, pepper & chives to taste. When they are to taste, stuff mixture back into skins & rewrap with foil. Take a fork, knife, icepick…whatever and put a small hole in the foil on top of the wrapped tater. Place back on coals and heat until melted tater mixture starts coming thru the small hole in foil. They be done at this time.

You will have extra filling that can be put in foil without a skin. It will work just fine but you won’t have that crispy skin to munch on. We use the shredded cheese from Sams. One pound cheddar, one pound Mexican four cheese and one pound monterey jack & colby I believe. You can use whatever cheese you like.

Thing to remember…Very Important…be careful with the butter. You will not need more than a pound max for 15 lbs of taters. If the mixture feels a little dry add some more cheese or sour cream. The cheese will bind the tater together as it cools. But, too much butter and you get a gooey runny mess. This is a big batch that we make for our Q’ing friends….but we always run out!!!

Prep & cook time about 3 hrs. But worth it as ya is gonna make a bunch of new friends! Bon Apetite!

BigDave

[JamesB]

Thanks for the recipe BigDave! Got it copied and might try a small batch this next weekend...

Happy New Year to ya!

James.

[BigDave]

Yer most welcome James. Hope to see yer smiling face at Irving this year.

Just remember on them tates...easy on the butter and use a lot of black pepper...I use a course butcher grind so it takes a lot to taste the heat but ya gets that nice peperry flavor. Now I expect a report back on this excursion into taterville!

BigDave

[mw]

I will testify to Big Dave's taters. You won't be dissapointed. They are GREAT!

[Texana]

BigDave,

I always look forward to meeting people from the forum ... with them taters I hope to meet ya real soon !!!!

[herper]

pass the taters, I'm hungry!!!!! sounds like they kick butt, cant wait to get to try em
Herper

[bigwheel]

Course now everybody know Big Dave got the patent on the best taters in the universe and they are a labor of love and highly labor intensive to make. When making reg old taters at home I go for the lazy boy method which surely aint as good but still purty tasty. Cut up and fry a pound or two of bacon in small pieces..save the grease and bacon seperate. Wash..scrub..and dry however many tates you want to cook. Oil up the tater skins with the cooled off bacon grease..then sprinkle the outsides with McCormick Season All....BBQ rub or whutever you like. Put them direct on the cooking racks (skip the tinfoil) on the gas grill..charcoal grill..oven..offset or whutever at around 275-300 degrees. Usually takes about an hour with a flip at the 30 min mark to tender em up. Pass the crumbled bacon..cheese..sour cream..Ranch dressing and canned chopped green chiles on the side. If you have some aversion to bacon fat ..it also works to rub the tates down with xxx virgin olive oil or just regular cooking oil. Makes em have a nice crispy type crust. My crew eats em like little piglets.

bigwheel

[Woodman]

God! I love potato's more than BBQ!!! :wink: :wink:

[Bob-BQN]

BigDave if these are those famous taters that I keep hearin' about, I've got to try them. Thanks for the recipe! :D We went to the store this week and hand picked some for twice-baked potatoes in the smoker. Here I go..... :D

[BigDave]

Well Bob, I'm not sure about the "famous" designation but this is the recipe for them tates we hand out to our friends at cookoffs! Hope they turn out well for ya!

Now me thinks I may try an abreviated version as Bigwheel suggested. I think this recipe might could be adapted to use in "the weapon" and cut down on some work by removing one round of foil! Thanks uncle wheel for the suggestion!!! Think as long as the temps be high enuf that same roasted effect to the potato starch could be achieved.

BigDave

[JamesB]

Yer most welcome James. Hope to see yer smiling face at Irving this year.

Just remember on them tates...easy on the butter and use a lot of black pepper...I use a course butcher grind so it takes a lot to taste the heat but ya gets that nice peperry flavor. Now I expect a report back on this excursion into taterville!

BigDave

I'll let ya know how they turn out as soon as I get to take a crack at 'em... See ya in Irving!!!

James.

[Big JT]

wow!! that sounds great Bigdave i will be sure to try that recipe

I am a meat and taters Man

[bigwheel]

Ok give it a whirl sometime. It do make the outside of them tates real interesting flavor and texturewise.

bigwheel


Well Bob, I'm not sure about the "famous" designation but this is the recipe for them tates we hand out to our friends at cookoffs! Hope they turn out well for ya!

Now me thinks I may try an abreviated version as Bigwheel suggested. I think this recipe might could be adapted to use in "the weapon" and cut down on some work by removing one round of foil! Thanks uncle wheel for the suggestion!!! Think as long as the temps be high enuf that same roasted effect to the potato starch could be achieved.

BigDave

[75fordfan]

Thanks BIG DAVE. I must admit i scored Bigtime...those sure were better than the standard baked tater. Thanks again, for all the help :D

75fordfan

[Paul Taylor]

WOOP,WOOP,WOOP!!! Possible new menu item. I hafta find a printer for this. This"ll go great in August for GF's parents' 50th wedding anniversary. Thank ya Big Dave. :D 8)

Paul Taylor

[Greathounder]

Thanks Big Dave for the recipe. Just reading it, is making me hungry.

[Bob-BQN]

BigDave, MMMmmmmm, those taters were good! :D

I wasn't sure what kind of sausage you use, but I made them as close to your recipe as I could.

Washed the potatoes, poked holes in them, coated with bacon grease, and wrapped them in foil. I started two chimneys of Kingsford charcoal and when going good placed the potatoes directly in the coals. Gave the potatoes a quarter turn, moving the front one to the back every 6 minutes and cooked them for an hour. Half way through the potatoes swapped sides in case some of the coals were hotter on one side. Once cooked they were cut in half lengthwise and the potato was carefully scooped out of the skin, leaving a little potato to help strengthen the skin. Mashed the potatoes and mixed in some butter, sausage, bacon, cheese, sour cream & chives (anything you would normally choose for a baked potato ). Then I put the grate back on the grill and put all the potatoes on it over the coals which were at a medium heat for 30 more minutes to reheat the filling. The came off piping hot! Mmmmmmm. The potato skin was not burnt but was crisp as a potato chip and OH, SO, GOOOOOD.

I didn't re-wrap them in foil since the suggestion was made, and it worked great! Guest what I'm having for lunch today... :wink: :D

[oldnndway]

Them taters up yonder do sound good and I'll bet they are ... but this is a good easy recipe that my family loves for me to make (hell, my wife loves ANYTHING I cook)

Camp Potatoes:

large frying pan with a lid
5 or 6 large potatoes (like for baking) peeled and cut into small chunks
1 or 2 large onions cut into small chunks
buncha bacon (1/2# or more, mores better) fried and the drippings left in the pan and the crisp bacon took out
salt and pepper
Minced garlic

Put the onions in the meat grease and let them sautee a bit then put the taters in on top of them
salt and pepper to taste
crumble the cooked bacon on top of that
spoon a couple big spoon fulls of the garlic on top of that
stir it up and cover it for a while.

Start running a spatula under the whole mess and turn it over several times but let it stay on the pan long enough to get some "crunchies" before turning.

Sometimes (if you didn't get enough meat grease) you'll need to add a little oil to get it frying.

You'll be able to tell when it's ready as the taters will be getting soft.

I have added chopped jalapenos to this but it cooks into it and causes what is almost like a chemical burn when you eat it (so only if you REALLY like it hot)

Try that one, bet you'll have em licking the pan.

[Woodman]

Frying potatoes in bacon grease. It don't get better than that. Well, eggs too of course! WM