A unique eastern North Carolina recipe for stewed potatoes boiled with salt, spices and hot sauce perfect to serve with barbeque or any homecooked meal.
JUMP TO RECIPEThe minute I saw these potatoes on the menu at Parker's Barbeque in Wilson, NC I knew I wanted some! The potatoes are soft, perfectly seasoned and have a little nip of something that makes you think of that famous NC pepper vinegar BBQ sauce.
A hunt online for the recipe lead me down a rabbit hole of social media discussions and a couple recipes that made reference to other barbeque restaurants in Eastern NC that serve BBQ Boiled Potatoes.
Being from South Carolina, I'd never heard of these, so I crafted this recipe based on what I read and what my taste buds told me!
KEY INGREDIENTS
As with any regional recipe, there are a LOT of opinions floating around about how to make BBQ Boiled Potatoes. The only ingredients everyone agrees about are below (folks start to disagree on fat and flavor after these):
- Potatoes
- Salt
- Hot Sauce
- Paprika
BUTTER, LARD OR BACON GREASE?
There are a lot of opinions on what type of fat to use in BBQ Boiled Potatoes: butter, lard or bacon grease. I think the differences come from which restaurant's recipe you're after (or maybe how your granny made it). Since I'm down for all three, I went with bacon grease and butter in my recipe because I always have both on-hand and I love the flavor. Feel free to use whichever you like best!
KETCHUP, BARBEQUE SAUCE OR NEITHER?
I feel like the potatoes I tasted had a tee-niny hint of sweetness. Most conversations I read said to use ketchup. But that flavor could have come from good quality sweet paprika. Or a little red (tomato based) barbeque sauce.
I wrote my recipe to use red (tomato based) barbeque sauce even though I doubt it's authentic. WAIT, y'all, hear me out! I doubt it's authentic to the recipe because you're not going to find red barbeque sauce in any BBQ joint in Eastern NC. But I did it for a reason. Three reasons, actually.
1) It will provide that hint of sweetness, 2) it will give the potatoes good color and 3) most of our pantries have paprika that doesn't taste like anything. When it's fresh and of good quality, paprika is sweet with smoky flavor but most people's paprika is stale and doesn't taste like anything. So, by using the red barbeque sauce, I know you're going to get the sweet and the smoky.
A FEW RECIPE NOTES
- I used new potatoes (smaller, red-skinned potatoes) but any waxy potatoes can be used (new, red, Yukon gold, yellow, etc.)
- You don't need to peel the potatoes but you certainly can!
- You can use whichever fat or combo of fat that you like (bacon grease, butter, lard or even olive oil).
- Don't panic about the fat! A half cup total (which is only 8 tablespoons) is NOT a lot for 6 cups of water and 3 lbs of potatoes. That's less than a tablespoon per serving and half of the fat will stay in the broth after the potatoes are served.
- I wouldn't say this is spicy but there is a mild kick.
- I only ever use Texas Pete hot sauce (which, ironically, is made in NC). You could use Frank's or any neutral hot sauce.
- I used Sweet Baby Ray's Hickory & Brown Sugar Barbeque Sauce in this batch but any sweet, smoky red BBQ sauce will work.
- Ketchup can be used instead of red (tomato based) barbeque sauce BUT you'll only want to use about 1/4 cup.
- You can use smoked paprika or sweet (Hungarian) paprika.
- I imagine you could omit both the hot sauce and barbeque sauce and use NC-style pepper vinegar barbeque sauce instead.
On a personal note... We were in Wilson, NC because my last baby, my boy, is at Barton College playing baseball for the bulldogs. If any of you sees the handsomest, funniest, kindest pitcher in the whole wide world, tell him his mama loves him. And maybe give him a hug. And tell him to shave. And remind him to wash his sheets.
Recipe for BBQ Boiled Potatoes
BBQ Boiled Potatoes
A unique eastern North Carolina recipe for stewed potatoes boiled with salt, spices and hot sauce perfect to serve with barbeque or any homecooked meal.
Ingredients
- 3 lbs red potatoes
- 6 cups water
- 1/4 cup hot sauce
- 1.5 tablespoons salt
- 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
- 2 teaspoons black pepper
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder (optional)
- 1/4 cup bacon grease
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1/2 cup red (tomato based) BBQ sauce
Instructions
- Cut potatoes in half (or cut into thick slices if using larger potatoes) then add to a medium-large pot.
- Add water and remaining ingredients then bring to a boil.
- Cover pot then boil for 20 minutes or until potatoes are fork-tender. Taste potatoes about 15 minutes into cooking then add more salt or other spices if desired.
- Remove from heat then let rest at least 10 minutes before serving. The longer they soak, the better they taste!
Notes
- Any waxy potatoes can be used (new, red, Yukon gold, yellow, etc.).
- You don't need to peel the potatoes but you certainly can!
- I cut my potatoes in half because they were small new potatoes but if using larger ones, you'll want to cut them into thick slices.
- You can use whichever fat or combo of fat that you like (bacon grease, butter, lard or even olive oil) so long as you have 1/2 cup total.
- Don't panic about the fat! A half cup total (which is only 8 tablespoons) is NOT a lot for 6 cups of water and 3 lbs of potatoes. That's less than a tablespoon per serving and half of the fat will stay in the broth after the potatoes are served.
- I wouldn't say this is spicy but there is a mild kick.
- Ketchup can be used instead of barbeque sauce BUT you'll only want to use about 1/4 cup.
- Lard or butter can be substituted for the bacon grease.
- You can use smoked paprika or sweet (Hungarian) paprika.
- Other questions have likely been answered in the article above the recipe card.
Curious as to brand of barbecue sauce you used, as barbecue sauce taste profiles are all over the place.
ReplyDeleteGreat question! I just updated the post and recipe with the info but I used Sweet Baby Ray's Hickory & Brown Sugar Barbeque Sauce in this batch.
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