Anyone who’s traveled anywhere in the world has come across this scene: a roadside stand with a table and a few chairs, a couple of coolers, a smoky fire in an old oil drum, and a load of this well-marinated chicken sizzling on top of it. Whether it be on a Caribbean beach or at a fire department fundraiser, this is the quintessential grilled chicken - crispy, juicy, smoky, and tangy.

• 4-5 pounds of chicken pieces
• 1/2 cup red wine vinegar
• 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 cup peanut oil
• 1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tablespoon Kosher salt
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 3-4 cloves garlic
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon white pepper
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon celery salt
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 teaspoon dried parsley
• 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

Put the salt and garlic in a food processor and pulse until the garlic is minced. Add the remaining ingredients, except the chicken, and give them a whirl until they are well-combined. This makes just under 2 cups of marinade. Reserve a half cup for basting the chicken.

Put the chicken in a freezer bag and coat with the remaining marinade. Squeeze the air out of the bag and seal. Marinate in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours, overnight is best.

Set your grill up for a direct cook over medium-high (400°F) heat. Put the chicken on the grill and close the lid. Cook for about 5 minutes, then flip and baste with the reserved marinade using a basting brush or mop. Flip and baste every five minutes. Cook for about 30 to 40 minutes, until the juices run clear and the meat is no longer pink in the center, or until you reach 170°F in the breast and 180°F in the thickest part of the thigh.

This salt roasting recipe combines the best of several cooking techniques - steaming, roasting and (of course) grilling. It’s a bit of work, but because the food essentially cooks in its own juices, the moist and flavorful results are certainly worth the effort.

The first part of the cook is just to get a good sear on the steaks to add color and flavor. Take the steaks out at least an hour before you start grilling and season with your favorite steak seasoning.

Set your grill up for a direct cook and get it HOT - at least 600°F. Put the steaks on the grill and give them 30 seconds of undisturbed searing. Rotate (don’t flip) the steaks 45 degrees and give them another 30 seconds. Flip the meat and repeat the process. Once both sides have nice sear marks move the steaks off to a plate.

The next part of the cook is the roasting. Reduce your grill temp to 400°F and set it up for indirect cooking by banking the charcoal off to the side, inserting a diffuser,  or by shutting down the middle gas burner.

Combine the salt, water, rosemary, and pepper. Mix well. Use about half the mixture to line the bottom of a grill-safe 9×13 baking or roasting pan. Place the steaks in the center of the pan and surround with potatoes. Insert an ovenproof thermometer into thickest part of the steak.

Mound the remaining salt mixture onto the steak and potatoes. It doesn’t have to be perfect, but try to encase everything as best you can in an even layer of salt.

Put the pan on the grill and close the lid. The heat will cause the salt to melt and form a crust. This is what seals in not only the moisture of the food, but also all of the natural flavors.

Roast until the meat thermometer registers 130°F for medium-rare or 145°F for medium, about 30 to 45 minutes depending on how thick the salt is and how well it sealed.

Remove the pan from the grill and let stand 10 to 15 minutes.  Crack the salt crust with a spoon and try to lift away as much as you can. Brush away the remaining salt with a basting brush.

When it comes to ribs, I’m partial to baby backs - lean, tender, tasty, and fairly quick to cook. I usually do them over an indirect heat at 225°F for about 5 hours. But for this batch of ribs I decided to try going with direct heat and rely on a foiled cooking technique that I typically use for spare ribs to give me equally tender ribs in less time.

Known as the 3-2-1 (or in this case 2-1-1) method, it is one of the best ways to create tender ribs without drying them out. The first number is how long the ribs are smoked unwrapped. The second number is how long they are cooked after being wrapped in foil. The final number is how long they are finished unwrapped. This combination gives the ribs a smoky flavor, breaks down the toughness of the meat, and adds a final crispy bark.

The night before the cook, prepare the ribs by removing the membrane on the back side of the ribs and trimming any large amounts of fat or stray flaps of meat. Slather both sides of the ribs with a thin coating of yellow ballpark-style mustard and apply a generous coating of your favorite rib rub.

Wrap the slabs in plastic wrap and store them overnight in the fridge. By morning the mustard will have almost disappeared, melting into the rub and forming a glaze on the ribs.

Set up your cooker for a direct cook that will burn for at least 5 hours at between 225 to 250°F. Yes, I mean direct. Add your smoking wood, and put the ribs bone side down. The bone side of the ribs will act as a diffuser for the heat.

After the ribs have been on for 2 hours, remove them from the heat, wrap them tightly in two layers of heavy-duty aluminum foil, and return them to the cooker bone side down for an hour. This braises the ribs and makes them tender while decreasing the overall cooking time.

After an hour, carefully unwrap ribs and return them to cooker bone side up. This is to firm up the ribs and set the bark. After 30 minutes, flip the ribs bone side down and start checking for doneness. You want a full slab to “break.” This is the point were when you pick up one end with a pair of tongs it almost folds in half and the meat near the tongs starts to crack. When the ribs get to that point it’s time to sauce.

Purists will skip this and serve the ribs dry. I like a little sweetness added at end to balance the flavors and seal the crust. First sauce both sides with a light coating. After about 15 minutes, sauce them again just on top.

With all the fresh herbs coming up in our garden, I like using some of them for this tangy Argentinian marinade. Chicken is not exactly traditional gaucho food, but it pairs well with the citrus and garlic, and the extra oil helps keep the breasts moist.

• 1/2 cup fresh cilantro
• 1/2 cup fresh Italian parsley
• 1/2 cup red wine vinegar
• Juice of 1 lemon (2-3 tablespoons)
• 3/4 cup olive oil
• 4-6 cloves garlic
• 1 tablespoon fresh oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon dried red chili flakes
• 1 teaspoon of sweet smoked paprika
• 1 teaspoon kosher sea salt
• 6-8 boneless chicken breasts

Put the salt and garlic in a food processor and pulse until the garlic is minced. Add the remaining ingredients, except the chicken, and give them a whirl until they are well-combined.

Put the chicken in a freezer bag and coat with the sauce. Squeeze the air out of the bag and seal. Marinate in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours, overnight is best.

Set our grill up for a direct cook over medium (350°F) heat. I like using a raised grid on the Big Green Egg to help even out the cooking temperatures. Put the chicken on the grill and close the lid. Cook for about 5 minutes, then flip. Flip again every 5 minutes until the breasts hit 170°F internal and the juices run clear. Remove breasts to a plate, cover and let rest for another 5 minutes. Serve with lemon wedges.

Paella is a classic dish from eastern Spain. Recipes vary widely, but are always based around rice, saffron, and olive oil. It is traditionally cooked over an open fire in a wide, flat pan called a paellera. In that spirit of outdoor cooking, this is a simple version that has been adapted to work well on a grill.

Paella Mixto (serves 2-4)

• 3 cups chicken broth
• 1/2 teaspoon of saffron
• 1 teaspoon of sweet smoked Spanish paprika
• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into 2 inch chunks and lightly salted
• Olive oil
• 1/4 lb of Spanish cooking chorizo, cut in 1/4 inch slices
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• 3 Roma tomatoes, chopped
• 1 red or yellow bell pepper, cut into 2 inch strips
• 1 lb medium raw shrimp, shelled
• 1 1/2 cups Bomba or Calasparra rice
• 1/2 cup fresh or frozen peas
• 3 tablespoons capers

Like a lot of dishes on the grill, timing is everything with paella. Having all of the ingredients measured, washed, chopped and placed in individual bowls lets you concentrate on cooking and makes even complicated dishes easy to put together.

Heat the broth with the saffron and the paprika. Keep warm and nearby.

Get your grill up to medium-high (about 400°F). You want to provide a wide, even heat that can be maintained with the lid open. You don’t want any hot spots. You can accomplish this on the Big Green Egg by putting the paellera directly over a well-established fire on a raised grid.  On other grills you can achieve this by cooking indirectly, or by using a diffuser like a pizza stone under the pan.

Use a metal paella pan with about a 13-14 inch bottom. I really like this enameled pan that Cook’s Illustrated rated highly. Add enough olive oil to cover to bottom well. Heat the oil for a few minutes and then add the chicken pieces and fry until brown. Remove the chicken to a plate.

Add the chopped onion and garlic. Saute until the onion is soft. Add the chopped tomatoes and cook until the tomatoes break down and the mixture thickens and darkens. Add more oil if needed. This is your sofrito. It adds depth to the dish and provides a base for all you other flavors.

Add the rice and saute 1-2 minutes until the rice is translucent.

If you want to add some wood for smoke, now is the time. Grape vine is traditional but any fruit wood will work.

Stir in the chicken broth and try to spread the rice out as evenly as possible. Once you have a relatively uniform layer, leave it alone. This is the last time you will stir the paella as the rice needs to sit undisturbed on the bottom of the pan to developed the tasty brown crust called the soccarat.

Arrange the browned chicken, pepper, chorizo, peas, capers, and shrimp on top of the rice. Try to make it even and pretty. Close the lid and lower your grill temperature to 350°F degrees. Cook until all the liquid is absorbed - about 30 minutes.

Once the liquid is gone, bump the heat up to 400°F and start listening closely. The paella will start to crackle, and you might smell a  toasted odor that tells you the rice is browning and forming the soccarat. Test by running a spatula under the rice to feel for a slightly bumpy bottom. Once you feel this, remove the paella from the heat.

Let the paella rest, covered with foil, for about 10 minutes before serving.

• 2 tbsp butter, softened slightly
• 2 tbsp honey
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 tbsp candied ginger
• 1/2 cup mascarpone cheese
• 3 freestone peaches or nectarines, halved & pitted
• 1 tbsp butter, melted

Heat grill to high.

Combine softened butter, honey, vanilla, and candied ginger together in a food processor and pulse until mixed into a soft paste. Refrigerate.

Brush cut side of peaches with melted butter. Grill cut side down 3-5 minutes until you get good grill marks.

Turn peaches over and fill pit hole with a teaspoon or so of the ginger/butter mixture.

Grill for 1-2 minutes cut side up until the butter has melted.

Carefully remove from grill, top each half with with 1 a dollop of mascarpone, and serve with remaining ginger/butter mixture on the side.

The Meat

Pick USDA Choice or Prime beef. These top 2 grades will have enough marbling (thin streaks of fat in the muscle) to give you a tender, juicy, flavorful steak.  Know your cuts and what you like.  Filet mignon will be oh-so-tender, but not necessarily very flavorful. Rib-eyes have excellent flavor, but can be very rich.  Strip steaks have good flavor, but are tougher. Sirloin is tasty, but lean and can get dry. T-bones and porterhouses offer a compromise by combining the strip and the filet.

Once you pick a cut, make sure you get a nice one. Go to a butcher and have them cut your steaks right off the primal. Get them at least an inch and a half thick. Look them over. You want a nice, red, compact steak with a minimum of excess fat.

Even good meat can use a little enhancement. Give the steaks a light coating of olive oil, a splash of red wine vinegar, and a dusting of kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper. Stash these in the fridge for at least 3 hours, overnight is best.

The Cook

Take the steaks out at least an hour before you start grilling. The cook is going to happen very fast, and you want them very close to room temp so you’re not fighting a cold center.

Grilling is nothing but inverted broiling, so you want your grill HOT. We’re talking a minimum of 600°F, but the hotter the better. A loaded kettle grill can reach 700°.  Some of the infrared burners on the gassers go to 1200°. The Big Green Egg will hit 1500° with all the vents open. Once it’s hot, get the grate clean. You want nice sear marks, not a lot of sticking.

Do a final prep before putting the steaks on. Dust them again with a little more kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper. Shape them with your hand so that they are as tight, high, and compact as possible. You don’t want any loose bits to burn off.

Put the steaks on the grill using tongs or a spatula (no forks allowed). Put the steaks over the hottest part of the grill and close the lid. Give them 60 seconds of undisturbed searing. After a minute, flip them over. If they won’t come away from the grill easily. give them another 30 seconds. Once flipped, close the lid and give them another 60 seconds of undisturbed searing.

Now open the lip and leave it open for the rest of the cook.  Flip them again - yes this violates most “perfect steak” rules. But flipping the steaks often minimizes flareup and maximizes the amount of steak that’s done the way you like it. Keep flipping the steaks once a  minute until they are done.

When is it done? Press on the center of the steak or use an instant-read thermometer to determine doneness:

• Rare is 125°F, warm bright red center, feels soft like a sponge
• Medium-rare is 135°F, mostly pink with a hint of red center, yields easily to a little pressure
• Medium is 145°F,  has a large pink center, yields only slightly
• Medium-well is 155°F internal, has a hint of pink, and feels firm
• Well is anything over 160°F, the meat is solid brown with no give

Most steaks are at their best at medium-rare, but will be tasty anywhere from rare to medium. Leaner steaks will start to suffer at medium-well. When in doubt, err on the side of under cooked. You can always put a steak back on the grill if it’s too rare but, you can’t uncook it if it’s overdone.

When they are done to your liking, put the steaks on a warm plate, cover them gently with another one, and let them rest. Meat is muscle and muscles contract when cooked. If you want tender steaks, you need to allow time for the muscle to relax and the juices to redistribute.  Let them sit for about 10 minutes before serving.

The Copper River flows some 300 miles through Alaska, and the salmon that attempt the journey up that river are some of the richest, tastiest fish in the world.

The Copper River king salmon has a firm red flesh and a rich, nutty flavor that really calls for a minimalist approach when grilling.  I almost always do them on a cedar or alder plank. Plank cooking deepens the flavor while letting you use high temperatures to seal in the juices.

Use a food-grade plank that’s been soaked in water for at least half an hour. Set your grill up for direct cooking at medium-high heat (about 450°F). Oil the skin side of the salmon and season both sides with a little sea salt.

Put the plank on the grill by itself for about 5 minutes, or until you see the first wisps of smoke coming from the board. Flip the plank over and put the salmon on skin side down.

Close the lid on the grill and cook for 10-15 minutes. Salmon is best medium rare, so take the fillet off when it starts to flake, but is still a little translucent red inside - about 135°F internal. Remember that the fish will continue to cook a little once it’s off the heat, so you want it to be slightly underdone when you take it off.

It’s Summertime, and that means hamburgers and fresh sweet corn hot off the grill. This recipe takes preparation and a little coordination to get everything on and off the grill at the right time, but the results are well worth it.

Double Cheese Bacon Onion Double Burgers with Southwestern Sweet Corn

For the burgers:

• 1lb ground beef (preferably chuck), divided into 4 thin patties
• 2 slices of bacon
• 1/2 sweet onion, sliced into rings
• 1/2 oz Bleu cheese crumbles
• 2 slices Colby Jack or Cheddar cheese
• 2 buns, sliced and buttered

Cut the bacon strips in half and pan fry until crisp. Remove from pan and set aside, but don’t drain the pan. Add the sliced onions to pan and cook until soft. Set aside with the bacon.

Divide the Bleu cheese and place half on each of 2 of the beef patties. Top with remaining 2 beef patties, pinching the edges to seal. Season each side with your favorite steak seasoning (I like Dizzy Pig Cowlick). Let rest in the fridge while you prep the corn.

For the corn:

• 4 ears of corn, husked and cleaned
• 2T butter
• Juice of 1 lime
• 1t chili powder
• 1t sweet smoked paprika
• 1t kosher sea salt

Melt the butter in a small saucepan (I love the making this right on the grill with the Lodge Cast-Iron Melting Pot). Add the remaining ingredients (except the corn) and stir to combine. Keep this warm and nearby.

Okay, this cook moves kind of hot and fast. Get your get your grill up to medium-high (about 400°F) heat, get your mis en place, follow along closely, and nobody gets hurt.

1. Put the stuffed burgers on the grill.
2. Put the ears of corn on. Baste the ears with the butter mixture.
3. Cook the burgers until you see the juices forming on the top (about 3 to 5 minutes).
4. Flip the burgers.
5. Turn the corn and baste again.
6. Cook the burgers for another another 3 to 5 minutes. Flip and top with the sliced cheese, bacon strips, and onion rings.
7. Turn the corn and baste again.
8. Put the buns on, buttered side down.
9. Cook the buns and burgers for another 2 to 3 minutes until cheese is melted and the buns are golden brown. Remove from the grill.
10. Turn the corn and baste again. It should be getting some nice grill marks by now.
11. Assemble the burgers.
12. Remove the corn and serve with the remaining basting sauce on the side.

The heat of the grill does a lot to tone down the spiciness of the marinade.

Chipotle Marinade

• ¼ cup olive oil
• 1 chipotle chile canned in adobo sauce
• 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice (about 2 medium limes)
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 2-4 cloves garlic
• 1 teaspoon kosher sea salt
• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Put all of the ingredients (except the chicken) in a food processor and give them a whirl until they are well-combined. Put chicken in a freezer bag and coat with the marinade. Squeeze the air out of the bag and seal. Marinate in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours, overnight is best.

Remove chicken from marinade, letting excess drip off. Season the chicken on both sides with salt and pepper (or kick it up with a dusting of Dizzy Pig’s Swamp Venom). Set your grill up for direct cooking over medium heat (around 400°F). Cook chicken for 4 minutes, rotate 45 degrees and cook an additional 4 minutes. Turn the chicken over and cook until the internal temperature hits 165°F.