Four whole potatoes are sliced into coins a centimetre thick, restacked in order, and threaded onto skewers with a walnut-sized meatball between every slice. The meatballs are lean ground beef with red bell pepper, onion, parsley and finely chopped bacon for fat, kneaded until sticky. The skewers are wrapped tightly in foil and air-fried at 180 °C / 350 °F for 25 minutes, then unwrapped, brushed all over with barbecue sauce and given 10 more minutes so the sauce bakes on. A full dinner on a stick. Serves 4.
Instructions
- 1
Leave the skins on the potatoes and slice each one into coins about 1 cm thick. Stack the slices back in order so each potato sits whole again.
- 2
In a bowl combine the ground beef with the finely chopped red bell pepper, onion and parsley. Season with salt and black pepper.
- 3
Chop the bacon smaller than you think you need to — it should vanish into the beef — and add it. Lean beef dries out fast in an air fryer; the bacon is the fat.
- 4
Mix by hand and really work the meat, kneading rather than stirring, until it turns sticky and holds together.
- 5
Roll the mixture into small, walnut-sized balls and work through the whole batch.
- 6
Hold a stacked potato steady and push a skewer through it. Thread potato slice, meatball, potato slice, meatball until there is meat in every gap; each meatball should sit flat against its slice. Repeat for all four potatoes.
- 7
Wrap each skewer tightly in foil. Put them all in the air fryer basket and cook at 180 °C / 350 °F for 25 minutes — the potato steams inside the foil and cooks through, though it will not brown yet.
25:00 - 8
Unwrap the skewers. Brush barbecue sauce on thick over every side, turning the skewer as you go so the coat is even from end to end.
- 9
Return the skewers to the basket without foil so the heat reaches the sauce. If they are long, rest the ends in the holes of the basket base and lay them criss-crossed so they do not touch the sides. Cook at 180 °C / 350 °F for 10 more minutes until browned and glossy with the sauce baked on.
10:00
Watch the video
Notes from our kitchen
Two stages are the point. Wrapped in foil, a whole potato steams in its own moisture and cooks through in 25 minutes — unwrapped from the start it would brown outside and stay hard in the middle. The second, uncovered stage is only for the sauce, which is why it goes on thick and everywhere: bare spots stay pale. Kneading the meat until it is sticky matters more than usual here, because each meatball is pressed between two slices and a loose one crumbles when you thread the skewer. Bacon chopped very fine is the fat lean ground beef lacks in the dry heat of an air fryer; coarse pieces just sit on the surface. Slice the potatoes evenly — a thick coin needs longer than its neighbours and the skewer tells on it. Keep the skewers from touching the basket walls, which run hotter than the air and scorch the sauce.
Variations
- Pork or mixed mince. Use a pork-and-beef mix instead of lean beef; with pork you can reduce the bacon, as the meat brings its own fat.
- Garlic-herb butter finish. Skip the barbecue sauce and brush the unwrapped skewers with melted butter mixed with crushed garlic and chopped parsley for the last 10 minutes.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to pre-cook the potatoes?
No. Wrapped tightly in foil, the slices steam through in 25 minutes at 180 °C. Keep the coins about 1 cm thick so they finish at the same time as the meatballs.
Can I do this on a grill or in the oven?
Yes. The method is the same: foil-wrapped first until the potato is tender, then unwrapped with sauce until glossy. In a 200 °C / 400 °F oven allow about 30 minutes wrapped and 10–15 minutes unwrapped.
My skewers do not fit in the basket — what then?
Use shorter skewers or snap wooden ones to length, or lay them criss-crossed with the ends resting in the holes of the basket base, as in the video, so they stay off the hot walls.
How do I store and reheat leftovers?
Slide everything off the skewers into an airtight container; it keeps in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat in the air fryer at 180 °C / 350 °F for 5–6 minutes to warm the potato through and refresh the sauce.