Grilled Hasselback Potatoes with Chive Butter: Your New Favorite BBQ Side Dish
Prepare to elevate your grilling game with these incredibly flavorful **Grilled Hasselback Potatoes with Chive Butter**. Forget heating up your kitchen with the oven; these “baked” potatoes cook directly on the grill, absorbing a wonderful smoky essence that perfectly complements their rich, herby flavor. They are an absolute showstopper, turning a simple potato into an unforgettable side dish for any outdoor gathering.
Grilling season is always in full swing in our hearts, and there’s no better way to celebrate it than by bringing all your cooking outdoors. These **grilled hasselback potatoes** are a testament to that philosophy. Not only do they free up oven space, but they also offer a depth of flavor that baking simply can’t replicate. The gentle kiss of smoke from the grill, combined with the golden-brown crispness developed on the edges, makes these potatoes truly exceptional. They are crispy on the outside, wonderfully tender on the inside, and bursting with herby goodness.
What truly sets these potatoes apart is the homemade **chive butter**. This aromatic compound butter is ingeniously wedged into each delicate slice of the potato before grilling, allowing its rich, savory notes to permeate every crevice as it cooks. The result is a potato that is intensely flavorful throughout, not just on the surface. For an extra touch of indulgence, more of this luscious chive butter is slathered on top just before serving, creating a truly irresistible side. These potatoes are versatile enough to pair with a wide array of grilled mains, making them the ultimate accompaniment. Imagine them alongside succulent lemon-herb roasted salmon, juicy pork chops with sage butter sauce, classic BBQ chicken, or a perfectly seared grilled ribeye steak. They truly elevate any meal.
The beauty of this recipe lies in its simplicity and the impressive presentation. Hasselback potatoes, with their accordion-like slices, not only look gourmet but also maximize surface area for flavor infusion and crisping. When you add the aromatic chive butter, it’s a match made in culinary heaven. Let’s dive into how to create this delightful dish, starting with the star flavor component: the compound butter.
Crafting the Perfect Chive Butter (Compound Butter)
Compound butter is a culinary secret weapon—a simple yet transformative ingredient that can elevate nearly any dish. Essentially, it’s softened butter mixed with various herbs, spices, and other flavorings to create a rich, savory, or sweet spread. For our **grilled hasselback potatoes**, we’re focusing on a vibrant chive butter that provides a fresh, garlicky kick. The process is wonderfully straightforward: you’ll combine room-temperature, softened butter with finely chopped chives, minced garlic, a touch of coarse salt, and freshly ground black pepper.
The key to perfect compound butter is ensuring your butter is truly at room temperature. This allows all the ingredients to blend seamlessly, creating an even distribution of flavor. Once mixed, shaping the butter into a log using plastic wrap makes it easy to slice and use. Chilling the log in the refrigerator for at least an hour, or even overnight, is crucial. This not only firms up the butter for easy handling but also allows the flavors to meld and deepen, resulting in a more complex and aromatic butter that will truly shine in your potatoes. This versatile butter can also be spread on toast, melted over grilled corn, or used to finish pan-seared meats.
The possibilities with compound butter are endless! Beyond chives, you can experiment with herbs like rosemary, thyme, parsley, or dill, or add citrus zest, chili flakes, or different spices. I’ve explored many variations, including savory cowboy butter (perfect for steaks), and delightful combinations like lemon herb, cranberry orange, and cinnamon honey butter for different applications. Each variation brings a unique flair to your cooking, proving that a little flavored butter goes a long way.
Mastering the Art of Hasselback Potato Slicing
The distinctive look and texture of a hasselback potato come from its unique slicing technique. Originating in Sweden, these potatoes are cut into thin, accordion-like slices almost all the way through, but with the bottom quarter-inch left intact. This ingenious method ensures the potato remains whole while creating numerous pockets for flavor infusion and a wonderful contrast of crispy edges and a creamy interior. While it might seem daunting at first, achieving the perfect hasselback cut is quite simple with a clever trick.
When prepping your potatoes, it’s incredibly easy to accidentally slice all the way through, turning your hasselback into a pile of potato chips! To prevent this common mishap, place two chopsticks or pencils parallel to each other on either side of the potato, along its long edge. As you make your thin slices, your knife blade will hit the chopsticks, stopping it from cutting through the bottom. This ensures that the base of the potato stays intact, keeping everything together. Aim for slices about 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick for the best results, as this allows the chive butter to melt beautifully into each slice and creates those desirable crispy edges. Russet potatoes are generally preferred for hasselback due to their starchy content, which yields a fluffy interior, but other varieties like Yukon Golds can also work for a slightly creamier texture.
Once you’ve mastered the slicing, the real magic begins with the chive butter. Thin slices of your chilled compound butter are carefully wedged into each cut. As the potatoes cook on the grill, this butter melts down into the potato, infusing it with incredible flavor and richness, while simultaneously helping the exterior crisp up to a golden perfection. This step is critical for ensuring that every bite of your **grilled hasselback potato** is packed with that delicious herby garlic goodness.
Grilling Your Hasselback Potatoes to Perfection
Grilling these hasselback potatoes not only imparts a fantastic smoky flavor but also keeps your kitchen cool, making them ideal for warm-weather cooking. The key to evenly cooked, tender potatoes with crispy edges on the grill is mastering the heat zones. You’ll want to set up your grill for both direct and indirect heat. For a charcoal grill, simply pile all your briquettes to one side. If you’re using a gas grill, ignite only half of the burners. This creates a cooler zone where the potatoes can slowly cook through without burning, and a hotter zone if you want to finish them with a quick crisping.
Before placing them on the grill, each butter-infused potato is generously sprinkled with coarse salt and then tightly wrapped in aluminum foil. This foil packet acts like a mini oven, steaming the potatoes to tenderness while allowing the chive butter to fully melt and infuse its flavor. Place these foil-wrapped bundles over the indirect heat section of your grill. They will need about 45 minutes to an hour, depending on the size of your potatoes and the grill’s temperature. Remember to rotate them occasionally to ensure even cooking. You’ll know they’re done when they are fork-tender throughout. If you desire a slightly crispier finish, you can carefully unwrap them for the last 5-10 minutes and place them briefly over direct heat, keeping a close eye to prevent burning.
Serving these **grilled hasselback potatoes** is the final flourish. Unwrap them from their foil, revealing the beautifully fanned-out, golden-brown potatoes. The aroma alone will make mouths water! Don’t forget to serve them with extra dollops of that glorious chive butter for an added burst of fresh, herby flavor. This recipe guarantees perfectly cooked, incredibly flavorful potatoes that are sure to impress your family and friends at your next BBQ or weeknight dinner.
This recipe was originally developed for Go Bold with Butter, a fantastic resource for all things butter! To explore more delicious recipes I’ve created for GBWB, click here.
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Grilled Hasselback Potatoes with Chive Butter
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Ingredients
Chive Butter:
- ½ cup salted butter (1 stick)
- ½ cup chopped chives
- 2 cloves garlic , minced
- ½ teaspoon coarse salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
Potatoes:
- 4 medium russet potatoes (about 10-oz )
- Coarse salt
Instructions
To make the Chive Butter:
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In a medium bowl, stir together all ingredients until combined. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed.
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Place on a sheet of plastic wrap and wrap up in a log. Chill in the fridge for at least 1 hour.
To make the potatoes:
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Use a sharp knife to cut the potato into thin slices, leaving 1/4 inch at the bottom unsliced so that the potato stays in one piece. If it’s helpful, place 2 pencils or chopsticks on either side of the potato as you cut, which will prevent you from slicing all the way through.
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Cut the chilled butter into thin slices and wedge down into the cuts made in the potato.
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Tear sheets of aluminum foil into squares and place potatoes into the center of each one.
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Sprinkle potatoes generously with coarse salt and wrap tightly in the aluminum foil.
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Preheat grill to medium high heat so that there are areas of indirect heat and direct heat. For a charcoal grill, push all the briquettes to one side. For a gas grill, leave half of the burners unlit.
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Place potatoes over the indirect heat portion of your grill and cook for about 45 minutes, rotating occasionally, until potatoes are cooked through.
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Serve potatoes with additional chive butter.