Grilled BBQ: How to Make Tasty Recipes with Dad

What dad doesn’t like to spend summer weekends in the yard cooking up some grilled BBQ foods. I previously compiled some of my families favorites that we use for patriotic holidays or just lazy weekends. But now I am adding my husband’s homemade BBQ sauce.

updated 5/15/23

NEW! Dan’s Tangy BBQ Sauce

Two of my kids have always hated BBQ sauce. They would rather eat plain chicken with nothing on it than be subjected to the taste of BBQ. My husband has tried many recipes over the years, but once he tweaked this one, we knew it was a keeper. Our older two, who live away from home, even wanted a jar for Christmas!

Sauce ingredients

• 2 cups ketchup
• 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 tbsp honey
• 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 1 tsp steak seasoning
• 1/2 tsp Frank’s Hot Sauce

How to cook BBQ sauce

1. Whisk all ingredients together in a medium sauce pan.
2. Bring to a boil over medium heat.
3. Once the mixture boils, reduce heat to low. Then simmer for ten minutes.
4. Place in a glass jar or plastic bottle once cooled, and keep refrigerated until ready to use.

Note: You can recycle old ketchup containers or glass jars from pickles to store the sauce. Just wash them in the dishwasher first. I like to add reusable chalk labels to my jars so my family knows what is in them.

Seasoning for Grilled BBQ Foods

This is Dan’s go to seasoning that he puts on meats before grilling them. This can stand on its own or you can brush BBQ sauce on the meats during the last minutes on the grill.

Ingredients

• salt
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• lemon pepper
• cinnamon
• sweet smoked paprika
• jerk seasoning
• curry powder

Mix 1 tablespoon of each unless otherwise specified together in a jar. Adjust amounts depending on taste. Most importantly make sure to write down any adjustments you make so you can duplicate your mixture in the future.

Grilled BBQ: The Meats

Grilled BBQ Ribs

We used 2 racks of ribs for this recipe and cut them into quarters prior to cooking. Once ribs are cut into sections use at least 2 tablespoons of the above seasoning to rub on ribs. Heat your grill to medium high (375-400F) and place ribs over indirect heat for approximately 2-4 hours. Most importantly make sure the internal temperature reaches at least 175F, or 190F for fall off the bone ribs. Brush the mop solution below on the ribs every half hour during cooking to prevent them from drying out.

Ingredients for Mop

• 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 Tbsp yellow mustard
• 2 Tbsp lime juice
• 1 tsp. Worcestershire

Here are sponsored links for the grill and rotisserie attachment we use plus our cool tiki umbrella to keep the sun off the grill area.

Rotisserie Chicken

To make the rotisserie chickens, begin by cleaning out the insides (get rid of gizzards, neck, etc.) Make sure your work area is clean so you aren’t getting raw chicken juices on anything that can’t easily be disinfected. After that use 1/4-1/2 cup of rub to spread evenly over the chicken skins. You can either use the rub recipe above or another favorite. Then stuff the cavities with your choice of onions, rosemary sprigs, garlic cloves, etc. Most importantly, make sure to tie up the legs tightly with kitchen twine after stuffing to prevent herbs from falling out while cooking.

To cook, follow instructions for your rotisserie attachment as far as putting the chickens on the rotisserie and attaching to grill. Then turn your grill on the low setting and use indirect heat. We use the outer burners to heat our grill whereas the chickens are in the center. Grill covered for 2 1/2-3 hours. During last half hour of cooking turn middle burners on low to crisp skin. Due to varying heat controls cooking times may vary. Most importantly make sure internal temperature of chicken is at least 165 F. After removing from rotisserie, let sit for at least 10 minutes before cutting.

And of course, save the bones and stuffing ingredients to make a delicious broth for future use.

Grilled BBQ Herb Crusted Steak

Mix together the following ingredients and rub half the mixture on your whatever kind of steaks you prefer an hour prior to cooking. Then cover and chill them for 1 hour. Use the remaining herbs to sprinkle on after cooking.

• 1/2 cup fresh snipped parsley
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup snipped fresh rosemary
• 1 tablespoon fresh snipped oregano
• 1 tbsp black pepper
• 1/2 tsp. salt

Grill uncovered directly over medium coals flipping once following these guidelines for desired doneness:

• 15-20 minutes- medium rare – internal temp 145F
• 20-25 minutes- medium– internal temp 160F

Here are some links to additional grilling accessories that may come in handy:

Grilled BBQ Shrimp Kabobs

Ingredients

• 1 lb. uncooked large shrimp
• 8 oz. mushrooms
• 8 mini bell peppers
• 1/2 a pineapple, cored and cut into chunks
• 1 tbsp hot or sweet chili sauce depends on your preference
• 2 tbsp hoisin sauce

Directions

1. Begin by wiping mushrooms off and coring peppers and discarding seeds. Then cut peppers into half or one inch pieces.
2. Once the veggies are prepped alternate veggies and shrimp on metal skewers. However, if you are using wooden skewers make sure to soak them in water ahead of time to prevent burning. You can either leave the peels on the shrimp while cooking or not. We were afraid the shrimp might come off the skewer so we didn’t peel them first. However, it made them more difficult to peel afterwards and we peeled off the delicious sauce.
3. After that mix together chili sauce and hoisin sauce and brush on the kabobs.
4. Cook over direct heat at about 375-400F for about 15 minutes turning every 5 minutes.

Side Dishes for Grilled BBQ

Grilled Corn on the Cob

You can use however many ears of corn you would like for this recipe. Pull back husks on the corn and, remove the silk. Then replace the husks and tie with kitchen string to secure. Soak the ears in a large pot of water mixed with a tablespoon of sugar completely submerged for an hour before grilling. To grill place directly over medium heat and grill covered 25-30 minutes turning at least 3 times during cooking. Brush on one of these flavored butters to serve.

• Lemon Pepper Butter– Mix 1 tsp. lemon pepper seasoning with 3 tbsp melted butter.
• Jerk Butter– Mix 2 tsp. jerk seasoning with 3 tbsp melted butter
• Italian Seasoning– Mix 2 tsp. Italian seasoning with 3 tbsp melted butter.

These seasoning butters also taste great on steak!

Roasted Potatoes

Ingredients

• All purpose seasoning mix (above)
• bag of small red potatoes (or whichever kind you like)
• olive oil

To make the potatoes, wash and dry them prior to cutting them to desired size. For example we cut ours in half, but if you have larger potatoes you might want to cut them in fourths. For small potatoes you might choose to keep them whole instead. After that toss them with about 3 tablespoons of olive oil so that they are coated but not drenched. Then toss desired amount of seasoning. My husband used about 1 1/2 tablespoons of seasoning because we like a lot of flavor.

To cook place the potatoes in an aluminum pan and cover with foil. Make sure to poke holes in the foil for ventilation. Cook on the grill over 375/400F direct heat for about 40-45 minutes until potatoes are soft and crispy.

For more great grilling check out Steven Raichlen’s website or watch his grilling shows on PBS.

Donna Emperador is a travel and food blogger and copywriter. Donna believes in learning about different cultures while sharing good food and cocktails. She has lived in South Florida for over 20 years and enjoys spending time exploring the road to find unique places to share with readers. She can be found on Facebook,  Instagram, and Pinterest.