This little trick comes from Big Bob Gibson's BBQ Book by Chris Lilly. It is so easy and effective that it is ridiculous. You simply roast sweet potatoes on a bed of coals. No oil. No rub. No foil.
I had just finished smoking a turkey breast and put 4 sweet potatoes in the coals.
20 minutes on one side.
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Flip and 20 minutes on the other side.
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Don't worry if they look, smell, or otherwise seem that they are burning. The sweet potato shells may even be fragile and break when you remove them. It's okay.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpsw6nYNtWem8hU-Kxasn7O5dnAcfSgjxbtz7yvMern4GFt4Skn-BhzOFY30VgMI949_A0qNYKkxQ0nFuIXPehqNfJxJ7UDLy_TpmVWWmlemScVPjiOal3L9p9yZ6Yyw53q327F63T6AcX/s400/DSC_0305+resized.jpg)
As they are cooling melt 1/4 cup butter and mix in 1/4 cup maple syrup, 1/8th teaspoon each of cayenne pepper, cinnamon, and salt. Chris Lilly also adds pecans to his mix but pecans represent all that is evil in the world so I skipped them. Split the sweet potatoes and drizzle the butter mixture over them.
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These were so tender that they just melted under the fork as it drove down into them. The sauce poured buttery-sweet-spicy flavor all over the potatoes.
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This is a great technique for cooking sweet potatoes if you ever need cooked sweet potatoes in a dish. But adding the sauce topping makes them shine as a side dish.
It's dishes like these that make Chris' book one of my favorite live fire cook books.