Plank Smoked Mashed Potatoes Recipe

1. Peel your potatoes as thoroughly as you like. I, personally, like a little bit of potato skin in my mashed potatoes. Chop the potatoes into chunks of roughly the same size.
2. Place the potatoes in a pot and rinse with cold water until the water runs clear. Fill the pot until the potatoes are just covered, salt the water a little and bring to a boil over high heat. Boil the potatoes until a fork or knife will penetrate the flesh of the potato without effort and then slide out again.
3. Drain the potatoes and add the butter, dill, half of the green onion, and all of the garlic. Mash them all together until you are happy with the texture, chunky or whipped and smooth. Store in a container with a lid and refrigerate until you are ready to use them.
4. Soak your planks for at least an hour before you preheat your grill to medium-high, about 450°F.
5. Remove the potatoes from the fridge and pile them on to the soaked planks. You can use an ice cream scoop to shape individual servings, a plank will hold about eight. Or you can shape logs that are about 2 to 2½-inches high and about ½ an inch from all edges of the plank.
6. Place the planked potatoes on the grill, over direct heat, and grill bake them for 15 minutes for individual scoops or up to 30 minutes for filled planks – just grill until the potatoes are warmed through and golden-crispy on the outside. Top with the remaining green onion.
7. Remove the planks from the grill carefully. Place the planks on a cutting board or other planks for serving. Don’t remove the potatoes from the plank, just provide a spoon and let your guests tuck in right off the planks.

These Plank Smoked Mashed Potatoes were totally amazing, served with gravy and veggies, you will have some pretty happy customers. Two planks of potatoes, my biggest mixing bowl full, eight ginormous baking potatoes, completely demolished but for some crumbs. But remember my mantra for plank grilling? Smoke good, Fire bad? I was working on a few other things while planking the potatoes. Those planks caught fire. I was able to manage it quickly with a couple tablespoons of water, (watch out for steam), and the potatoes were no worse for wear, but keep your eyes on the prize when you are working with planks.