Every summer gathering needs a Grill Dad—the person who commands control of the charcoal, making sure everyone’s burgers and steaks end up okay, and most importantly, shoos away the dude who wants to douse everything with lighter fluid. It’s time to take charge and be that person behind the grill. Break out the ol’ Weber and start up those good-good meaty smells that make the whole neighborhood hungry.
New to it all? Take a minute to watch our resident grill expert J. Pereira walk through how to light a charcoal grill, or study some of our backyard grilling primers from summers past. Already got your bearings? Great! Grab a beer and dive right into this collection of all our favorite grilling recipes, perfect for all your summer cookouts.
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The Best Jerk Chicken Recipe
According to chef Kwame Onwuachi, the absolute best jerk chicken is a three-day process—you’ve got to brine your chicken and marinate it for a day for the juiciest, most flavorful meat possible. But once you get it on the grill, you’ll realize that it was all extremely worth it.
Grilled Shrimp with Miso, Ginger, and Scallion Butter Recipe
Now here’s a good excuse to get the biggest, meatiest shrimp you can find. Grill them whole and top them with miso butter, and you’ve got a showstopper of a shrimp dish that’ll have people thinking, “Lobster who?”
Mexicali-Style Carne Asada Recipe
This carne asada marinade is so good that you’ll wanna use it on everything (and you should!). Make this marinated skirt steak—and then turn it into the Mission-style tacos of your dreams.
Steak with Nahm Jim Jeaw Recipe
You did not go through all this trouble to perfectly cook a beautiful steak to ruin it with that crappy, bottled steak sauce. Give your beauty of a steak the condiment it deserves: a spicy Thai dipping sauce made with fish sauce, aromatics, and plenty of chiles.
Easy Backyard Spare Ribs Recipe
The key to getting these homemade ribs as flavorful as possible is a dry rub and an overnight marinade made with ranch dressing flavor powder.
Homemade Chorizo Sausage Recipe
Grilled sausage on a toasted bun is one of the underrated stars of the backyard barbecue. Make it even nicer with this recipe for homemade chorizo, from Boston chef Jamie Bissonnette.
Grilled Lemongrass Pork Chops Recipe
A well-grilled—and well-marinated—pork chop does not taste like the bland, dry cardboard you might be expecting. Thanks to a sweet-tart combination of fish sauce, maple syrup, and lemongrass, these might just be the best pork chops you’ll ever have.
Confit and Grilled Octopus Recipe
Instead of a long braise, the chefs at the Middle Eastern restaurant Lamalo opt for a gentle confit in citrus-infused olive oil to get their octopus perfectly tender. Then, they throw it on the grill for a just-right amount of smoky char.
Grilled Lobster and Corn Tacos Recipe
A lobster roll is kinda obvious. A lobster taco, however, will be a nice summer surprise—plus, every gathering gets better with a DIY taco-making station (and we’re not just saying that because it makes our lives easier as hosts).
Grilled Sesame Chicken Skewers Recipe
Put some meat on a stick with this riff on sesame chicken, and you can spend less time clearing up dishes and utensils and more time crushing seltzer on the deck with your friends.
Contramar’s Red and Green Grilled Snapper Recipe
Even if you can’t take a trip to Mexico City to try Contramar‘s Instagram-famous fish, you can at least throw a snapper on the grill and give it a shot yourself.
Yogurt-Marinated Grilled Lamb Chops Recipe
The key to making these grilled lamb chops so delicious is marinating them in a zesty mixture of yogurt, lemon, and Aleppo pepper, a dried red pepper that’s less spicy than your typical red chile flakes but even more flavorful.
Smoked Oysters with Ramp Butter Recipe
If you like a raw oyster shooter, you’re going to love what a few minutes on the grill will do to all that briny ocean flavor and buttery oyster texture. We finished these grilled oysters with ramp butter, since ’tis the season.
Grilled Fish Tacos Recipe
Snapper is our go-to choice for homemade fish tacos: Its flesh is firm, and the fillets are wide enough that you don’t have to be worried about the whole thing falling apart on the rack.
Tsukune (Grilled Chicken Skewers) Recipe
Sure, you could make a chicken patty, but if you’re looking to branch out with your ground chicken repertoire, give these yakitori-style grilled chicken skewers a try.
Grilled Scallops with Charred Corn and Tomatoes Recipe
Corn so sweet it’s basically nature’s candy? Check. Small tomatoes bursting with that only-during-the-summer flavor? You bet. Seafood so fresh that all it needs is a few minutes on the grill? Yep. This easy meal is all the greatest things about summer in one dish.
Grilled Turkey Club Sandwich Recipe
Forget the boring, pre-sliced deli meats for a little while—since you’ve already got the grill going, you might as well brine and grill your own turkey breasts for the best club sandwich filling ever.
Grilled Squid with Calabrian Chiles Recipe
Lemon, herbs, and spicy Calabrian chiles take this simple squid dish from “just another thing you threw on the grill” to the star of the show.
Perfect Cheeseburgers Recipe
Did you think we’d round up grilling recipes and leave you without a guide to the perfect cheeseburger? We’re offended if you think we could be so remiss.
Grilled Carbonara Pizza Recipe
It’s way too hot to turn your oven inside up to 500°F, but don’t dash your dreams of homemade pizza just yet—put your pizza on the grill for the ultimate crispy crust. You can top it with whatever you want, but this carbonara pasta-inspired grilled pizza is our current favorite.
Mushroom-Beet Veggie Burger Recipe
Look, the truth is that all your vegetarian friends have had way too many mediocre, mushy grilled portabella mushroom “burgers.” Luckily, butcher-turned-sausage-maker Cara Nicoletti has a mushroom-beet veggie burger so hearty and flavorful it’ll get them all stoked about the veggie option at the cookout once again.
Grilled Vegetable Sandwich with Tapenade and Goat Cheese Recipe
You know that time in the year when it’s suddenly nothin’ but zucchini everywhere? With nice crusty bread, goat cheese, and a homemade olive tapenade that you’ll want to eat by the spoonful, this grilled zucchini and pepper sandwich will make you thankful for summer’s bounty.
Grilled Shrimp Salad with Avocado Green Goddess Recipe
Green goddess dressing is one of our go-to ways to finish big bunches of herbs. We like it on just about everything, but especially this grilled shrimp salad with avocado. Serve it in a pita or on crunchy endive leaves, and you’ve got a cool, fresh meal for the sweatiest summer days.
Grilled Corn, Potato, and Crab Salad Recipe
This simple salad of grilled corn and potatoes and jumbo lump crab meat is kinda like a crab boil, but for the days you’re too lazy to sit and shell a bunch of crab by hand.
Grilled Artichokes Recipe
The only hard part about this grilled veggie dish is learning how to break down an artichoke. If you haven’t done it, you’re in luck—Samin Nosrat of Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat walked us through the process in the MUNCHIES Test Kitchen.
Grilled Carrots with Sunflower Seeds and Carrot Tops Recipe
This easy grilled carrot dish is proof that you should, in fact, be eating your carrot tops. Here, we added them to toasted sunflower seeds for a fresh, crunchy topping.
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