It’s that time of year again when we neglect our Dutch ovens, slow cookers, and air fryers for our outdoor char-grilling and smoking devices. It doesn’t matter if you’re cooking with gas, charcoal, or pellets. The main is you’re outside enjoying the nice weather with a cold beer.

While everyone loves a tasty burger or hot dog, they can get boring after a while. Sometimes we want to flex our culinary muscles at our grills and for anyone else who may be just hanging around us for the cold beer.

We took it upon ourselves to help you get your grill swoll on and sought out some unique grill and smoker recipes from food pros across the country. So get out your rubs, tongs, and meat thermometers, and get ready for some great recipes that will wow your yard guests.

(Courtesy of Chef Isaac Toups)

We’re starting off the list with one of the most delicious yet under-utilized meats on the grill, duck. Not only duck but duck wrapped in bacon. Need we say more? Thank you, chef Isaac Toups, owner of Toup’s Meatery in New Orleans, for this decadent, grilled delight.

(Courtesy of Martin’s Bar-B-Que Joint)

Switching from duck to cabbage may seem a bit drastic, but don’t knock it until you try it. This barbecued cabbage is simple, delicious, and the perfect sweet and smoky side dish for any grilled or smoked main course.

Smoked turkey is one of those things that we may only think to cook during Thanksgiving or buy in the deli aisle, but it’s a great piece of meat to smoke anytime. Pitmaster Sam Jones (Sam Jones BBQ a North Carolina BBQ staple) brings us not only his recipe for smoked turkey but also his signature Rub Potion Number Swine meat rub.

This is a smoky take on guacamole from the cookbook; How to Grill Vegetables: New Bible for Barbecuing Vegetables over Live Fire by Steven Raichlen. This cookbook is more of an encyclopedia, with detailed lessons on grilling and smoking virtually every veggie under the sun. This completely from-scratch dish is delicious and easy to scale up for more people. Don’t be intimidated by the number of steps in this recipe; it’s way easier than it looks at first glance. Raichlen purposely makes his recipes very detailed to ensure your dish comes out perfect every time.

Grilled Chia Seed Totopos (Tortilla Chips)

When cooked properly, lamb chops are one of the most visually appealing and mouth-watering dishes around. This recipe from Mark Zoske (owner of Saltworks) is easy to prep and cooks up quickly. With this recipe, you can spend more time at the party and less time tending to the grill.

(Courtesy of Chef Devon Cameron)

Chicken thighs (skin on & bone-in) are an often overlooked gem in the smoking and grilling world. Chef Devon Cameron of Braised and Deglazed is looking to change that with his Legendary Chicken Thighs recipe, which in all honesty, lives up to its name. If you’re looking for a crowd-pleasing dish, you can’t go wrong with this one.

When grilling and smoking, it’s crucial not to forget about our friends from the sea. This cedar planked recipe from Wildwood Grilling is delicious, easy, and virtually foolproof. Utilizing cedar planks soaked in water for smoking or grilling is beneficial in two main ways. First, the water inside the plank releases steam into your food, making it moist. Second, along with the steam, the wood flavor of the plank is infused into your meats, veggies, and fruits.

(Courtesy of Executive Chef Kevin Templeton)

What kind of best grilling/smoking recipes would be complete without a recipe for fall-off-the-bone ribs? These Brown Sugar ribs from executive chef Kevin Templeton (barlymash, San Diego, Ca.) are just the ticket. He uses bacon fat in his recipe to achieve the moist and fall-off-the-bone tender results. This recipe can be used on a grill or smoker and can be thrown together quickly.

(Courtesy of Executive Chef Gil Dumoulin)

This is definitely one of those recipes you can impress your friends and family with your next-level culinary skills. One of the primary reasons people don’t grill octopuses as much as they should is because it seems more difficult to source than it actually is. You can find frozen, pre-cooked octopuses (tentacles) at many Asian markets, higher-end supermarkets, or you can order them directly online. This recipe delivers a party directly to your mouth with an array of flavors and textures. This dish has pleased many party-goers at the Hôtel Barrière Le Carl Gustaf  in St. Barth.

(Courtesy of Executive Chef Chris Schaefer)

If the previous recipes didn’t get grilled/smoked veggies on your radar, we hope this one will. Chef Chris Schaefer of Geraldine’s in Austin brings us this recipe. All you really need on broccolini is a good char and a bit of your favorite seasonings to make the flavor of this member of the mustard family stand out. Chef Schaefer enjoys a bed of yuzu cashew butter on the bottom of the plate topped with a garnish of serrano chilies and furikake.

We’re rounding out the list with a super-easy yet super-delicious recipe from the BBQ Buddha, pitmaster Chris Sussman. If you’re unfamiliar with the current grilling/smoking trend of reverse searing, here’s a quick rundown. You can reverse sear thick cuts of beef with some lesser-known cuts of beef, like the tri-tip, by first grilling/smoking the meat at low temp until it reaches rare to mid-rare. Then, you finish it off by giving it a heavy sear in a cast iron.

The Essential Guide for MenThe Manual is simple — we show men how to live a life that is more engaged. As our name implies, we offer a suite of expert guides on a wide range of topics, including fashion, food, drink, travel, and grooming. We don’t boss you around; we’re simply here to bring authenticity and understanding to all that enriches our lives as men on a daily basis.