Roasted potato wedges already give you crisp edges and soft centers, but wrapping each piece in bacon changes both the texture and flavor. As the bacon cooks, its fat coats the potato while the outside browns in the oven.
This recipe pairs the bacon-wrapped wedges with a harissa aioli made from mayonnaise, harissa, and garlic. The potatoes bring the crisp exterior and soft center, bacon adds smoke and salt, and the dipping sauce supplies the heat.
Soak the Potato Wedges Before They Go Into the Oven
Start with Russet potatoes and cut them into wedges about 1/2 inch thick. Place the cut potatoes in water for 30 minutes before cooking, then drain them and pat each piece dry.
Once dry, coat the wedges with a small amount of olive oil and salt. Removing surface moisture matters before roasting because wet potatoes can steam instead of developing the texture you want in the oven.
Wrap Each Potato Wedge With Bacon
Wrap a slice of center-cut bacon around each prepared potato wedge and arrange the pieces across a baking sheet coated with nonstick spray.
Keep the wedges in a single layer rather than stacking them. This exposes more of the bacon to the oven heat and gives the rendered fat somewhere to spread instead of trapping it between overlapping pieces.
Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for about 40 minutes, turning the wedges around halfway through the cooking time. The potato should become soft inside as the bacon cooks around the exterior.
Mix Harissa Into the Aioli for Heat
While the potatoes roast, combine mayonnaise, harissa, and garlic for the dipping sauce. Harissa is a chile pepper paste associated with North African cooking, so a small amount brings heat and pepper flavor to the mayonnaise.
The creamy dip provides a contrast to the salty bacon and roasted potato. Adjusting the amount of harissa also gives you control over the heat without changing how the potatoes themselves are seasoned.
Serve Them as an Appetizer or Side
Bacon-wrapped potatoes can sit on an appetizer platter with the harissa aioli in the center, but they don’t have to stay in the finger-food category. They can also replace standard roasted potatoes beside burgers, sandwiches, or other casual meals.
For leftovers, store the potatoes in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to three or four days. Reheating them in an oven or air fryer can help restore the bacon’s crisp texture better than leaving the wedges soft after refrigeration.
Potatoes and bacon handle the rich side of each bite, while the harissa aioli cuts through with chile and garlic. Serve the sauce beside the wedges and people can decide how much heat each bacon-wrapped potato gets.
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