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Top 20+ Summer BBQ Recipes

These delicious summer recipes will have you firing up the grill all season long!

From simple main dishes for a crowd to the best steak EVER, we’ve got all the side dishes, desserts, and even cocktails ready and waiting for you here to be the star of your next cookout.

Steaks

Nothing is like a REALLY great steak at a cookout. Here are a few of our all-time favorite steaks!

Snake River Farms Wagyu Manhattan New York Filet

Wagyu Manhattan Filet

The ultimate steak for the beef fanatic in your life. This American Wagyu filet is hands down the BEST steak I’ve ever had.

Reverse-Seared T-Bone

The t-bone is the best of several steak worlds, in my book, and the reverse sear is the perfect way to cook them!

Grilled New York Strip

New York Strips are an affordable and delicious option for a delicious steak dinner! Cook it on whatever kind of grill you’ve got.

Main Dishes for a Crowd

Sometimes you just want to make ONE big thing to feed them all, instead of trying to juggle a bunch of individual main proteins during a meal.

These dishes are great for feeding a big crowd, and some of them can be made in advance too.

Traeger Pulled Pork

Pulled Pork Sandwiches

Serve them with coleslaw, fresh buns, and ALL of the bbq sauce. You can make it the day before (since it takes eleventy hours). Easy to transport, too.

Smoked BBQ Beef Sandwich

Smoked & Pulled Beef Sandwiches

Your next chuck roast has met its match. Slow-smoked and pulled before getting loaded with bbq sauce and piled onto buns. Everyone loves smoked pulled beef!

Sweet Chili Chicken Leg Quarters

Sweet Chili Chicken Leg Quarters

Bring chicken up to the next level of barbecue fandom and make these affordable, delicious, sweet chili chicken leg quarters!

Chicken

I think chicken is largely underrated when it comes to good barbecue. Some of my very favorite recipes to make in the summer feature our small feathered friends, the ever-versatile, chicken.

More great grilled chicken recipes here!

Smoked Spatchcock Chicken

Grilled Spatchcock Chicken

Crispy skin, tender meat, easy prep, what more can you ask for in a meal?

Oh, right…seconds.

Smoked Chicken Wings

Chicken wings on the grill are always a treat. Check out my favorite rub for wings in this post too!

Chicken Lollipops Recipe

Inexpensive chicken legs are prepped and grilled and sauced and make an excellent addition to any bbq!

Fish

Grilled fish is an incredible option for those fresh catches you’re reeling in. Here are a few of our favorites.

Click here for all of our fish recipes.

Grilled Lingcod with Wine and Garlic

Any firm white fish will work for this recipe that features wine and peppers and makes its own sauce!

Traeger Honey Garlic Salmon

Grilled Honey Garlic Salmon

The t-bone is the best of several steak worlds, in my book, and the reverse sear is the perfect way to cook them!

Crab-Stuffed Lingcod

New York Strips are an affordable and delicious option for a delicious steak dinner! Cook it on whatever kind of grill you’ve got.

Seafood

MMMMhmmmmm. Don’t forget to break out the shrimp, lobster, and crab now and again!

Grilled Teriyaki Shrimp

Grilled, seasoned, and sauced in all things teriyaki. I could eat a whole plate of these and still want more.

Traeger Grilled Crab Legs

Garlic Crab Legs

Snow crab, Dungeness crab, King Crab, you can do it all on the pellet grill.

Traeger Grilled Lobster Tail

Grilled Lobster Tails

New York Strips are an affordable and delicious option for a delicious steak dinner! Cook it on whatever kind of grill you’ve got.

Best BBQ Sides

Nicole Johnson
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Nicole Johnson, a self-taught expert in grilling and outdoor cooking, launched Or Whatever You Do in 2010. Her blog, renowned for its comprehensive and creative outdoor cooking recipes, has garnered a vast audience of millions. Nicole's hands-on experience and passion for grilling shine through her work. Her husband, Jeremiah Johnson, also plays a pivotal role in recipe development, adding his culinary flair to the mix. Together, they form a dynamic duo, offering a rich and varied outdoor cooking experience to their followers.