Grilled Jalapeño Potato Salad Recipe

By
Joshua Bousel
a photo of Joshua Bousel, a Contributing Writer at Serious Eats
Joshua Bousel
Joshua Bousel is a Serious Eats old-timer, having started sharing his passion for grilling and barbecue recipes on the site back in 2008. He continues to develop grilling and barbecue recipes on his own site, The Meatwave, out of his home base of Durham, North Carolina.
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Updated August 30, 2018
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Joshua Bousel

I wanted to feature the jalapeño here, and made a Tex-Mex influenced dressing with sour cream, cider vinegar, and cumin. Then I grilled some jalapeños to blacken and soften them a bit, followed by new potatoes, which cook up quite well over an open fire, with no need to pre-boil like larger varieties.

The sour cream and vinegar has a nice tang that contrasts and slightly cools the heat from the jalapeños. The cilantro and green onions add freshness.

Recipe Details

Grilled Jalapeño Potato Salad Recipe

Active 45 mins
Total 75 mins
Serves 6 to 8 servings

Ingredients

  • 1/4 cup cider vinegar
  • 2 tablespoon sour cream
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon cumin
  • 2 pounds new potatoes, washed and cut in half
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 medium jalapenos
  • 2 green onions, thinly sliced
  • 2 tablespoon finely chopped cilantro
  • Type of fire: two-zone indirect
  • Grill heat: medium-high

Directions

  1. To make the dressing: In a medium bowl, whisk together vinegar, sour cream, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon pepper, and cumin. Set aside.

  2. Place potatoes in a large bowl. Add olive oil and toss to thoroughly coat potatoes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

  3. Light one chimney 2/3 full of charcoal. When all the charcoal is lit and covered with gray ash, pour out and arrange the coals on one side of the charcoal grate. Alternatively, set half the burners on a gas grill to high heat. Set cooking grate in place, cover grill and allow to preheat for 5 minutes. Clean and oil the grilling grate. Place jalapenos on hot side of grill and cook until lightly charred on all sides, 5 to 10 minutes. Transfer to cutting board, let cool, then deseed and finely chop jalapenos.

  4. Grill potatoes, cut side down, over hot side of the grill until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Move to cool side of grill, cover, and continue to cook until a paring knife can slide into potatoes with no resistance, 10 to 15 minutes more.

  5. Transfer potatoes to a large bowl. Add dressing and toss to thoroughly coat. Add jalapeños, green onions, and cilantro and toss again to evenly distribute. Let rest for 30 minutes. Serve at room temperature.

Special equipment

Grill

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