Smoked Potato Bombs -- Family Style

So... this perfect picture of my family working together...and having fun at the same time...is not typical. I wish it was.

Just sayin', because I didn't want you to roll your eyes. 

We are a normal family. 

Unfortunately, the kids will tease and provoke each other...they fight over TV shows or the computer...or who got the bigger slice of cake...and...when I call and ask for help, they often scatter--not to be found. Typical, right?

We are working on this. They say it's a process...Some days, I wonder...and other days, I'm pleasantly surprised at how they are coming along. 

So when I realized what was happening in our kitchen this one fine day....I had to snap a picture. As it captured one of those rare instances, that made me think that some of our parenting skills, might just be working. There's hope!

We CAN get along, work, AND have fun at the same time. I don't say anything as I take the pictures in hopes not to burst this bubble of an event. 

So what were we doing that had all the kids engaged, and being good workers and kind to one another?

We were making "potato bombs" for a family BBQ party that we were hosting that afternoon. 

Perhaps you can set up your kiddos assembly line style and make some this weekend. They are yummy (the potatoes...not the kids...we don't eat those.)

Anyway... I can't promise everyone will get along. I don't know if my kids would get along this well the next time we make them either...but I'm definitely willing to give it a try. Because I believe we just made a great family memory that might just turn into a tradition. 

Ingredients:

1 bag medium sized potatoes, or large potatoes cut in half.

2 or 3 onions minced

1 or 2 bulbs garlic minced or pressed (not cloves...the whole bulb...so get pressing) 

Olive oil

Garlic Salt 

Pepper

Method:

1. First, you need to scrub your potatoes. If you are like me, you inevitably forget about one of the bags of potatoes you have in the pantry, and the skin starts to turn green...so peel any green ones. Do not use any soft ones. You can't eat that. Leave skin on all the others. ( I was in charge of the "scrubbing station"...that's why you don't see me in the photos.)

2. After all your potatoes are scrubbed, core them with an apple corer. Don't worry about which core "plugs" go with which potato. They will all be the same size and are interchangeable. 

3. Cut each core in the middle so that you have two plugs. (one for each end.) 

4. Next stuff the center of each potato with as much garlic and onion as you can fit, yet leaving enough room to be able to fit plugs into the ends. You can salt the onions and garlic before putting them in the potato if you wish.

5. Take two "plugs" and "cork" the potato on each end. The ends will stick out from the potato a little bit, this is okay. You want the room for the onions and garlic.

6. Next drizzle each potato with olive oil. We buy our olive oil in bulk then put it in a cheap-y squeeze container first to make the process go quicker. Flavored olive oil is especially good. Do this over the foil you will be using to wrap your potatoes.

7. Then sprinkle with garlic salt and pepper. We mix ours together in the same container to combine this step. We use this combo for seasoning all the time, so the container comes in handy. 

 8. Wrap each potato with foil. If doing these on the grill or smoker, use heavy duty foil. Costco sells a great one at the best price I've seen. Amazon's price fluctuates on this product, and can sometimes be a good deal.

9. They are ready now to be cooked...here are some cooking method choices:

Grill them... it'll take about an hour, or until you can press into the foil with your thumb and it crushes into the potato. (you can also open one foil packet up, and fork the potato for softness.) 

Smoke them on a smoker...this is how we cook them. This will take longer, assuming that you are smoking some meat with it. Which means you'll probably be smoking at a low temp like 250 to 300 degrees depending upon your meat and method. We just keep checking the potatoes. They can take anywhere from 2 to 3 hours.

In your oven at 425 degrees for 45 minutes to an hour. Just check them. 

Cooking times all depends upon the size of your potatoes. Just don't microwave them. 

These smell so good when they are finished and turn out amazing. So yummy!!!

Something happens to the onions and garlic in the middle of the potato. It's almost like they dissolve and become a part of the potato as the flavor permeates through the entire thing. A few of my kids say that the skin is the best part. The olive oil and garlic salt and pepper makes the skin a tasty treat. The entire thing is to die for. Now I'm hungry. 

So this method can be used to stuff potatoes with a number of things. Try bacon and cheddar cheese. Butter and fresh herbs, ham and swiss cheese...

Be creative! There are so many other versions you can experiment with. Let me know what you try. 

To read how we got into the BBQ smoking habit, you can read more on this post here.