Grilled or baked sweet potato wedges make a great side dish to accompany any barbecued meat. They’re easy to make, darned tasty, and a good alternative to regular potatoes.
Where I live, the vegetable called “sweet potato” has a light-colored skin and yellow-white flesh, and the vegetable called “yam” has a red-colored skin with orange flesh. Lots of restaurants that serve “sweet potato fries” are serving the orange yam, and that’s what you want to buy at the supermarket for these sweet potato wedges.
Prepare The Wedges and Rub
Peel two good-sized yams. Cut each yam in half lengthwise, then cut each half into 3-4 wedges depending on size.
To prepare the rub for these wedges, mix 1 Tablespoon light brown sugar with 1 teaspoon of your favorite barbecue rub. I used 1 teaspoon of Slap Yo’ Daddy All-Purpose Rub. You can buy it online or make this version yourself.
SYD All-Purpose Rub
- 2 Tablespoons Lawry’s Seasoned Salt
- 2 Tablespoons white sugar
- 2 Tablespoons McCormick Grill Mates Montreal Steak Seasoning
- 1 Tablespoon mild chili powder
- 1 Tablespoon paprika
- 1 Tablespoon granulated garlic
- 1/2 to 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Combine all ingredients and mix thoroughly.
The rub will flavor the yams and promote browning during cooking.
Grill Or Bake The Wedges
Place the wedges on a rimmed baking sheet pan. Drizzle with 2 Tablespoons olive oil or vegetable oil and toss to coat evenly. Arrange wedges cut-side down and sprinkle with half of the rub. Turn wedges over and sprinkle with the remaining rub.
Place wedges in a preheated 450°F grill or oven and cook for 20-25 minutes, turning once. To serve, arrange wedges on a platter and sprinkle with kosher salt.
I grilled these sweet potato wedges in my Weber Summit 450 gas grill over direct heat with all burners on low and the temperature ran between 450-500°F. If you run the grill using indirect heat, the wedges will not brown evenly. Watch them carefully…mine got too brown in a few spots but were still delicious!
