Smoked Pickled Potatoes with Creamy Garlic Aioli

These smoked pickled potatoes begin with new potatoes brined in malt vinegar, are gently cold-smoked for flavor, and finish with a quick deep-fry so the skins shatter and the interiors stay tender. Serve them with a bright, homemade anchovy aioli for a side dish that’s addictive.

Featured Review

My goodness David, I come back to these potatoes all the time. They haunt mine and my children’s dreams. Incredible!

Leigh Reese

These smoked pickled potatoes are the kind of side dish you taste once and can’t forget. They combine crisp, smoky, and tangy notes in one bite: crunchy, smoke-kissed skin, a melting interior, and a late vinegary zip. The anchovy aioli ties it all together without tasting fishy—just rich, savory, and lush.

What makes them special isn’t any single step but the layering of simple techniques: parboiling, pickling in malt vinegar, cold-smoking to infuse smoke without cooking further, and finally smashing and deep-frying so each potato develops crisp edges and exposed nooks that brown beautifully. The result is a complex yet approachable side dish that complements everything from steak to salmon to simple weeknight mains.

I first encountered these at Community Table in Washington, Connecticut, where the dish was prepared by chef Joel Viehland. After tasting it, I had to learn how to make them at home—and I haven’t stopped since. Make a batch and you’ll find yourself inventing excuses to return to the kitchen for “just one more.”

Smoked Pickled Potatoes

Once you master this method, these potatoes will become a versatile go-to. Serve them with meat, fish, or as a more interesting replacement for fries, potato salad, or chips. You can double the recipe: keep the smoked but unfried potatoes refrigerated and fry them just before serving. If storing, smoke the potatoes a little longer to preserve a strong smoke flavor; a quick spritz of vinegar over the fried potatoes before serving brightens them up.

—David Leite

Why this recipe is easy

This recipe is straightforward: 1) boil potatoes until just tender, 2) pickle them overnight in malt vinegar, 3) cold-smoke them for an hour to add depth, and 4) smash and deep-fry until golden and crisp. The techniques are familiar, and the payoff is more than worth the small investment of time.

Smoked Pickled Potatoes with Anchovy Aioli

Author: David Leite

Course: Sides

Cuisine: American

Servings: 6 to 8

Calories: 492 kcal (approx.)

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 10 hours 30 minutes (includes pickling and smoking)

Total Time: 11 hours

Equipment

• Wood sawdust, chips, chunks, pellets, or bisquettes for cold smoking
• Deep-fry thermometer, candy thermometer, or instant-read thermometer

Ingredients

For the anchovy aioli

• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
• 6 anchovy fillets, minced
• 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
• 2 large egg yolks, at room temperature
• 1 cup extra-virgin olive oil (or 1/2 cup olive oil + 1/2 cup grapeseed oil)

For the smoked pickled potatoes

• 2 pounds small red new potatoes (1 to 1 1/2 inches in diameter), scrubbed
• 4 cups malt vinegar
• Peanut oil, for frying
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Instructions

Make the anchovy aioli

1. Sprinkle the garlic with a pinch of salt and use the flat side of a knife to mash it into a paste.
2. Combine the garlic paste and anchovies in a medium bowl with lemon juice and egg yolks; whisk until well blended.
3. Very slowly drizzle a few drops of oil into the bowl while whisking vigorously to begin emulsification. Once the emulsion begins to thicken, add the remaining oil in a thin, steady stream while whisking until the aioli is smooth and pale yellow. Season to taste with salt. (Aioli can be refrigerated up to 3 days.)

Pickle, smoke, and fry the potatoes

1. Place the potatoes in a large pot and add cold water to cover by about 2 inches. Add a pinch of salt, cover, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer gently until just tender, about 10–12 minutes (longer for larger potatoes).
2. Prepare an ice bath. Drain the potatoes and transfer them to the ice bath until fully cooled.
3. Drain again and prick each potato multiple times with a toothpick or thin skewer (several dozen pricks per potato helps the vinegar penetrate).
4. Place the potatoes in a nonreactive bowl and pour the malt vinegar over them. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature overnight or at least 8 hours to pickle.
5. Set up your smoker, smoker box, or a cold-smoking arrangement on a grill following the manufacturer’s instructions. Cold-smoke the pickled potatoes with wood sawdust, chips, chunks, pellets, or bisquettes, keeping the smoker temperature under 100°F (38°C), for about 1 hour. The potatoes are already cooked; the goal is to infuse smoke, not to cook further. After smoking, blot any moisture from the skins. Potatoes can be refrigerated for several hours if not frying immediately.
6. Pour peanut oil into a heavy pot so it reaches a 2-inch depth. Heat to 375°F (190°C), monitoring with a thermometer. While the oil heats, place the potatoes on a flat surface and press each gently with the palm of your hand until the skin cracks and the potato flattens slightly—enough to create nooks and crevices without crushing the potato.
7. Fry the potatoes in batches, maintaining oil temperature above 350°F (180°C), until golden and crisp and the loose skins are translucent, about 7–9 minutes per batch. Drain on paper towels and season with sea salt and black pepper. Serve immediately with plenty of anchovy aioli.

Notes and tips

• If you plan to refrigerate the smoked potatoes for later frying, consider smoking slightly longer (up to 1½ hours total) to preserve smoke intensity.
• Pricking the potatoes before pickling helps the vinegar flavor penetrate. Be thorough but gentle when smashing prior to frying so the potatoes hold together.
• Use a neutral oil with a high smoke point, such as peanut oil, for frying. Maintain thermometer monitoring to prevent overheating and drying the potatoes.

Nutrition

Nutrition values are estimates and provided for reference only. Per serving: about 492 kcal; carbohydrates 27 g; protein 5 g; fat 38 g; sodium varies with seasoning.

Recipe testers’ feedback

Testers praised the dish for being surprisingly simple to execute and richly flavorful. A common workflow: boil and pickle the potatoes the night before, cold-smoke the next day, then smash and fry just before serving. Testers reported clear layers of malt vinegar tang, smoke, and the aioli’s savory richness working together in each bite.

Try these smoked pickled potatoes for your next gathering or as a way to elevate a weeknight meal—once you serve them, they’re hard to forget.