Cast Iron Potatoes with Bacon

I am sure you have seen a lot of social media posts lately with people inquiring about your favorite food memory or the best food you ever ate. I have been intrigued about all of these posts as not only am I not able to pick just one dish or meal that was exceptional, but for me the place and people related to that memory make the food taste so much better. Therefore something rather simple like picking strawberries right from the bush with my family makes those strawberries taste even better.

One of those favorite and earliest food memories I have from the time growing up on a farm. Every year my parents grew potatoes and when I was a child, the harvesting of them was quite a manual and labor intensive task. Therefore the whole family and everybody available to help would go to the fields and spend the day working on getting the harvest collected. These were usually already cool even frosty mornings in the fall, so one of the first things my father did was make a big bonfire for us to warm at. As a child I think I probably spent more time by that fire than actually contributing to the work. When the lunch time drew closer, we would wrap newly harvested potatoes in tin foil and then my dad would place them inside the ashes in the bonfire. The ashes would cook the potatoes perfectly and I still remember how good they tasted with just a little bit of butter.

I am still in search for a potato recipe that would stand up to that memory. This is something that I saw in an Instagram post at the beginning of summer, but never actually looked up the recipe properly. So I have been playing with it couple of times and am now ready to share it with you. I used a cast iron skillet on a gas grill, but this could also be made on stove top and finished in the oven. You can also make it vegetarian and replace the bacon (and bacon fat) with vegetable oil that has high heat resistance. The seasoning can also be adjusted - please play with it and drop me a note when you improve the recipe!

INGREDIENTS:

5 Strips of good quality bacon, cut to bite size pieces

8 small/medium red potatoes, sliced

1 Tbsp Taco seasoning (optional)

Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

1 cup shredded sharp cheddar

4 Scallions

Chives and/or Cilantro to garnish

Sour cream

STEPS:

Heat cast iron skillet on direct heat on a grill. Add the bacon and saute until desired crispness. Remove the bacon bits from the pan with a slotted spoon and put aside on paper towel lined plate.

Move the skillet to indirect heat on the grill and add the potatoes, Taco seasoning (if using) and salt and pepper (remember the potatoes need quite a bit of salt). Make sure to mix everything together so all the potato slices get covered with the bacon fat and spices. Leave on the grill for 20 to 25 min until the potatoes are almost done. I noticed that if you stir the mixture while cooking, the potatoes will cook more evenly.

When the potatoes are almost done, move the skillet back on direct heat and top the potatoes with the cheese. Close the grill and let cook on medium heat for another 10 min or until the cheese is melted and all gooey.

Remove the skillet from the grill (it will be VERY hot!), add the bacon bits on top of the potatoes and garnish with scallions, chives and cilantro. Serve with sour cream.