A cookout is really two kinds of cooking. There is grilling, which is fast and hot and mostly about not walking away, and there is barbecue, which is slow and low and mostly about walking away for four hours. Both are below, clearly separated, because they need completely different planning.

Twenty-five recipes grouped by what is on the grate: burgers first, then grilled chicken, steak and lamb, seafood, the long low-and-slow cooks, food for a crowd, and three sides. Every entry lists the real total time, the servings and the ingredient count, so you can tell the twenty-minute burger from the twenty-four-hour short ribs.

Burgers

Three. All three are under half an hour and all three use a pound of ground beef.

Classic Homemade Hamburgers (Grill or Skillet)

Classic homemade hamburger on a toasted bun

A pound of ground beef with salt, pepper, garlic powder and onion powder, nothing else in the patty. Twenty minutes, four burgers, and the only recipe you actually need. View the full recipe — 20 minutes · 4 servings · 9 ingredients

Grilled Cheddar Pizza Burgers

A quarter cup of pizza sauce and breadcrumbs mixed into the beef with Italian seasoning, then a cup of sharp cheddar and more sauce on top. Eight ingredients. View the full recipe — 25 minutes · 4 servings · 8 ingredients

Grilled Crack Burgers with Ranch and Bacon

A pound of 80/20 chuck with a full ounce packet of ranch seasoning mixed in, topped with bacon, cheddar, avocado, jalapeno and crispy fried onions. Thirteen ingredients and not subtle. View the full recipe — 30 minutes · 4 servings · 13 ingredients

Grilled Chicken

Four. One is five ingredients, one marinates in a balsamic reduction.

Grilled Bruschetta Chicken Caprese with Balsamic Glaze

Four breasts marinated in a reduction of a cup of balsamic vinegar with honey, grilled, topped with mozzarella and a fresh tomato and basil bruschetta. Sixteen ingredients. View the full recipe — 40 minutes · 4 servings · 16 ingredients

Lemon Oregano Grilled Chicken Kebabs

Sixteen ounces of chicken with lemon juice, garlic, paprika and oregano, skewered with red bell pepper, zucchini and red onion. Eleven ingredients. View the full recipe — 52 minutes · 4 servings · 11 ingredients

Grilled Paprika Chicken Breast

Seven ingredients: four breasts with olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic powder, paprika and a teaspoon of sugar. The sugar is there for the char, not the sweetness. View the full recipe — 59 minutes · 4 servings · 7 ingredients

Grilled BBQ Chicken Drumsticks with Indirect Heat

Five ingredients: forty ounces of drumsticks, oil, salt, pepper and three quarters of a cup of barbecue sauce brushed on at the end. Sauce early and it burns; that is why it goes on last. View the full recipe — 1 hour 10 minutes · 4 servings · 5 ingredients

Steak, Lamb and Short Ribs

Four. Two are quick sears, one marinates overnight, one for a full day.

Grilled Ribeye Steak for Two with Garlic Butter

Five ingredients: twenty ounces of ribeye, kosher salt, pepper, two tablespoons of butter and two cloves of garlic. Forty-five minutes including the rest, which is not optional. View the full recipe — 45 minutes · 2 servings · 5 ingredients

Garlic Herb Grilled Lamb Chops

Twenty-four ounces of lamb loin or rib chops with four cloves of garlic, fresh rosemary, thyme and parsley, Dijon and a lemon. Ten ingredients, fifty minutes. View the full recipe — 50 minutes · 4 servings · 10 ingredients

Balsamic Grilled Steak Caprese

Thirty-two ounces of flank steak in a balsamic, Dijon and honey marinade, sliced over cherry tomatoes, fresh mozzarella and basil. Eleven ingredients. View the full recipe — 1 hour 15 minutes · 4 servings · 11 ingredients

Galbi Korean BBQ Short Ribs

Two pounds of short ribs in a marinade of soy sauce, brown sugar, mirin, onion and a quarter cup of grated Asian pear, which contains an enzyme that tenderizes the meat. Twenty-four hours, almost all of it marinating. View the full recipe — 24 hours 25 minutes · 4 servings · 15 ingredients

Grilled Seafood

Four, and three of them are done in twenty-three minutes or less. Fish on a grill is the fastest thing at any cookout.

Grilled Mahi Mahi

Twenty-four ounces of mahi mahi with paprika, oregano, cumin, garlic powder, cayenne and lemon. Ten ingredients, twenty minutes. View the full recipe — 20 minutes · 4 servings · 10 ingredients

Grilled Lobster Tail

Five ingredients: four lobster tails split and grilled with olive oil, kosher salt, four tablespoons of butter and a lemon. Twenty-two minutes. View the full recipe — 22 minutes · 4 servings · 5 ingredients

Grilled Cod Fillets

Twenty-four ounces of cod with paprika, garlic powder, Cajun seasoning and lemon pepper, finished with butter and lemon juice. Eight ingredients. View the full recipe — 23 minutes · 4 servings · 8 ingredients

Grilled Garlic Butter Salmon with Rosemary

Seven ingredients: four salmon fillets with garlic, lemon juice, fresh rosemary, salt and pepper. Forty-two minutes. View the full recipe — 42 minutes · 4 servings · 7 ingredients

Low and Slow

Four long cooks. These are the ones to start in the morning, not the ones to decide on at five.

Oven Baked Baby Back Ribs with BBQ Sauce

Forty ounces of baby back ribs with a seven-ingredient rub of smoked paprika, garlic powder and brown sugar, baked low for three and a half hours, then a cup of BBQ sauce at the end. No smoker needed. View the full recipe — 3 hours 45 minutes · 4 servings · 7 ingredients

Smoked BBQ Chicken

Four bone-in skin-on thighs marinated in olive oil and cider vinegar with two tablespoons each of smoked paprika and brown sugar, then smoked four hours and sauced. View the full recipe — 4 hours · 4 servings · 11 ingredients

BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwiches

Four pounds of pork shoulder with a dry rub and only half a cup of water, cooked over eight hours until it shreds, then dressed with a cup of BBQ sauce. Serves eight. View the full recipe — 8 hours 20 minutes · 8 servings · 10 ingredients

Slow Cooked Beef Ribs with Barbecue Sauce

Six beef short ribs with a nine-ingredient rub, slow cooked, then finished in a from-scratch sauce built on a cup and a half of ketchup, half a cup of cider vinegar and brown sugar. Nineteen ingredients. View the full recipe — 8 hours 25 minutes · 6 servings · 19 ingredients

BBQ for a Crowd

Three recipes that scale. All three use the slow cooker, so the grill stays free for everything else.

Slow Cooker Barbecue Chicken Wings

Four pounds of wings with a cup and a half of barbecue sauce and a spice blend of paprika, dry mustard, cumin, garlic and onion powder. Serves eight. View the full recipe — 4 hours 30 minutes · 8 servings · 12 ingredients

Slow Cooker BBQ Pulled Chicken Sandwiches

Slow Cooker BBQ Pulled Chicken served on a plate with coleslaw.

Three pounds of chicken breast with a cup and a half of barbecue sauce, Worcestershire and brown sugar, shredded onto buns with coleslaw. Ten servings and the easiest thing here to make for twenty. View the full recipe — 5 hours 10 minutes · 10 servings · 10 ingredients

Slow Cooker BBQ Chicken for a Crowd

Three and a half pounds of chicken breast with two cups of BBQ sauce, cider vinegar, brown sugar and red pepper flakes. Nine ingredients, serves eight. View the full recipe — 6 hours 10 minutes · 8 servings · 9 ingredients

Sides and Starters

Three. One goes on the grill alongside everything else.

Grilled Elote with Cotija

Six ingredients: four ears of corn grilled, then rolled in mayonnaise and a full cup of crumbled cotija with chili powder, lime and cilantro. Twenty-five minutes. View the full recipe — 25 minutes · 4 servings · 6 ingredients

Summer Corn Chowder with Fresh Corn and Bacon

Four cups of fresh corn with four slices of bacon, two potatoes and four cups of broth, finished with a cup of heavy cream. Ten ingredients, serves six. View the full recipe — 45 minutes · 6 servings · 10 ingredients

Spicy BBQ Grape Jelly Meatballs

A pound of ground beef rolled into meatballs and simmered in a cup of grape jelly with a cup of barbecue sauce, sriracha and cider vinegar. Twelve ingredients, serves eight, and they hold for hours in the slow cooker. View the full recipe — 3 hours 20 minutes · 8 servings · 12 ingredients

Cookout Questions, Answered

When should I put the BBQ sauce on?

At the end, always. Most barbecue sauce is sugar-based and sugar burns at grilling temperatures. The drumstick recipe here brushes it on in the last few minutes for exactly that reason, and the ribs and smoked chicken sauce only after the long cook is finished.

What is the difference between grilling and barbecue?

Heat and time. Grilling is high direct heat for minutes, which is everything in the burger, chicken, steak and seafood groups above. Barbecue is low indirect heat for hours, which is the four recipes in the low and slow section. Different techniques, often confused.

Why does the Korean short rib recipe use Asian pear?

Pear contains an enzyme that breaks down muscle protein, which is what makes properly marinated galbi so tender. A quarter cup grated into the marinade does more for the texture than any amount of extra time would.

What is the fastest thing on this page?

Classic Homemade Hamburgers and Grilled Mahi Mahi, both twenty minutes. Three of the four seafood recipes are under twenty-five, which makes fish the fastest category at any cookout.

How do I know when a steak is done without cutting it?

A thermometer. 130 degrees F for medium rare, 140 for medium, measured at the thickest part away from bone. Then rest it five to ten minutes before slicing, which the ribeye recipe builds into its forty-five minutes.

Which recipes feed the most people?

BBQ Pulled Chicken Sandwiches at ten servings, then eight each for the pulled pork, the wings, the BBQ chicken for a crowd and the grape jelly meatballs. All five hold well on warm, which matters when people arrive at different times.

Can I do the ribs without a smoker?

Yes. The baby back ribs here are baked low in the oven for three and a half hours and sauced at the end, and come out tender. You lose the smoke ring and some of the smoke flavor; smoked paprika in the rub gets you part of the way back.