Smoked Sweet Potatoes with Maple Bourbon Butter

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Sinfully delicious, Smoked Sweet Potatoes topped with Maple Bourbon Butter will rock your world with their sweet and savory smoked potato goodness. The light smoky flavor goes beautifully with the delicate sweetness of the potato, and this incredible side dish is super easy to make.

Smoked sweet potatoes topped with butter on a cutting board.

Smoked low and slow on a Big Green Egg or your grill, tender sweet potatoes are topped with decadent and flavorful compound butter. The butter features sweet maple syrup, the rich, subtle taste of bourbon, nutty pecans, and chives.

Smoked Sweet Potatoes are the perfect side dish to pair with a grilled entree or served at a backyard barbecue. They are also amazing served at Thanksgiving or other special occasions, or even a casual weeknight dinner or for a light lunch.

The Maple Bourbon Butter is so good, you might want to make a double batch! While it’s wonderful on the sweet potatoes, it’s also delightful slathered on biscuits, cornbread, roasted or steamed vegetables, steaks, pork chops, chicken, or fish.

Here’s what you will need:

Four sweet potatoes and ingredients to make maple bourbon butter.

Sweet potatoes – are often called nature’s candy and are full of vitamins and minerals. They are a true family favorite and are the star of this show.
Butter – with its buttery richness, forms the base of the indulgent compound butter that adds a wow factor to the smoked sweet potatoes.
Maple syrup – use pure maple syrup for the best flavor.
Bourbon – compliments the rest of the flavors with its own taste of pure sweet, smoky deliciousness.
Pecans – adds a layer of sweet, nutty buttery flavor.
Chives – besides adding a nice pop of color, they bring their mild oniony and garlic flavor to the party.
Olive oil and salt – coat the sweet potatoes before they are smoked. You can also use vegetable oil.

Here’s how to make it:

For a Big Green Egg or Kamado type grill, soak one cup of wood chips in water for one hour. Light the charcoal and when it comes up to 250 degrees F., scatter the drained wood chips over the fire. Add the grill grate. You do not need to use the plate setter for this recipe.
For any other type of grill or smoker, follow the manufacturer’s directions to prepare it for smoking and preheat it to 250 degrees F.
Scrub your potatoes and dry them. Then, using a knife or fork, pierce the top a few times.

Using a paring knife to pierce holes in sweet potatoes prior to cooking.

Use a pastry brush or your hands and coat them lightly on all sides with olive oil. Top each with a generous amount of kosher salt.

Place the potatoes in the smoker and close the lid—smoke for approximately two hours.

Four sweet potatoes on a Big Green Egg smoker.

While the potatoes are smoking, make the maple bourbon butter by combining the butter, maple syrup, bourbon, pecans, and chives in a small bowl.

Softened butter, maple syrup, bourbon and pecans in a bowl.

Place the butter mixture on a piece of wax paper or parchment paper and roll up tightly in a cylinder. Twist the ends and store the package in the refrigerator to firm up.

Compound butter wrapped into a cylinder shape with wax paper.

Test the potatoes for doneness by gently squeezing them with a potholder or barbecue mitt. They should give easily and feel soft, somewhat like an overripe avocado or tomato. You can also pierce them with a fork; the fork should glide in easily with no resistance.

Squeezing sweet potatoes smoked on a grill to see if they are done.

When the potatoes are done, remove them from the grill, split them open with a sharp knife, and gently push the ends toward the center to open them up.

Cooked sweet potatoes sliced and open ready for butter.

Top with a generous amount of maple bourbon butter and serve immediately.

Smoked sweet potatoes on a cutting board.

Frequently asked questions:

How long to smoke sweet potatoes?

It depends on the size of the sweet potatoes and the temperature of the grill or smoker. In general, you can plan on the following times for medium size potatoes:
– 250 degrees F. – 2 to 2.5 hours
– 300 degrees F. – 1.5 to 2 hours
– 350 degrees F. – 1 to 1.5 hours
– 400 degrees F. – 45 minutes to 1 hour

What to serve with them?

When we grill, I like the grill or smoker to do double duty, so I always try to grill or smoke an entree at the same time and then add a salad. Grilled Ham Steak, Smoked Burgers, Smoked Ribeye Steak, Smoked Chicken Thighs, and Smoked Spatchcock Chicken are all great pairings.

For Thanksgiving, my Smoked Turkey with Herb and Garlic Butter is an excellent choice.

What about leftovers?

Leftover potatoes can be stored covered in the refrigerator for four to five days. Leftovers are still tasty, but the texture of the potatoes is not as soft and fluffy.

I prefer to reheat them in a 350-degree oven for about 20 minutes, but you can also microwave them for a minute or so.

Can I make this recipe in the oven?

Of course! If it’s too hot or rainy to cook them outside, place the potatoes on a baking sheet and roast them in the oven. They will not have a smoky taste, but they will still be delicious.

What kind of wood to use?

You can use pretty much any smoking wood you have on hand or prefer. Even mesquite and hickory, which have a much stronger flavor than oak or fruitwoods, work with this recipe.

Sharon’s tips:

The Maple Bourbon Butter makes a unique hostess or holiday gift when packed in a cute jar.
If you really want to live on the wild side, use bacon grease instead of olive oil to coat your potatoes. It adds another flavor element.
If you don’t have maple syrup, you can substitute honey.
Remember, the size of your potatoes will affect your cooking time. Try and use potatoes that are all about the same size to cook in the same amount of time.
You can make the butter several days ahead and store it in the refrigerator until it’s time to use it.
I only pierce my potatoes on the top to let out steam before I put them on the grill. If you pierce them on the bottom, they will leak all over your fire as they are cooking and could cause a flare-up.
You can use salted or unsalted butter in this recipe. If you use unsalted, add a pinch of salt to the mixture.