Grill Gurus

Steven Raichlen flavors this speedy chicken dish with Xingu (a Brazilian black lager that has a distinctive colalike flavor), plus mustard and onion—evoking the classic combination of beer and bratwursts. "The marinade brings a lot of flavor to a meat that really needs it," he says.

To spiff up a big, juicy burger, try making this sweet, spicy ketchup, which gets its smoky flavor from dried pasilla chiles.

"If it were up to me, I would throw everything on the grill," says Tim Love. Case in point: He cooks tomatoes and scallions over a hot fire for a simple salad flavored with a little lime juice and crumbled cheese.

Grilling maverick Steven Raichlen created these fragrant spiced ribs that get brushed with a sticky, tropical barbecue sauce.

David Burke grills beef tenderloin, cuts it into long, thick slices about the length and width of a hot dog, then cradles each piece in a soft bun. A summery relish, made with kernels of sweet corn and bits of red onion tossed with cider vinegar, goes on top of all the "dogs."

Chef Tim Love rubs meat with a bit of sugar to help brown it but finishes the dish over low heat so the sugar doesn't char the outside. Here, he coats pork chops with cocoa and chile powders for a rub that's like a deconstructed version of Mexican mole sauce.

One of Francis Mallmann's favorite ways to eat steak is to season it with salt and pepper, throw it on the grill, and serve it with crispy potato cakes to soak up all the meat juices. Sides of fresh tomatoes and lemony pureed avocado help brighten the flavors and lighten the dish.

To cook this seafood-and-chorizo paella, Pete Evans uses his grill as both a stovetop and an oven, simultaneously using direct and indirect heat. We've replaced his whole crab with jumbo lump crabmeat for simplicity's sake.

By adding two flourishes to a simple grilled turkey burger, Bobby Flay makes it fantastic. First he melts slices of smoky Gouda cheese onto the meat, then he spreads toasted buns with a sweet-spicy sauce of mustard, horseradish and honey.

Caramelizing plums and peaches on the grill brings out their natural sweetness, and Francis Mallmann bastes them with melted butter and sugar to make them even more luscious. A dollop of cool mascarpone tops the warm fruit.

Pete Evans grills whole fish in banana leaves with soy, sherry and ginger.

Grilling kale gives it a toasty flavor; the smartest way to prepare kale for grilling is blanching it so it becomes tender and doesn’t burn.

Fresh bread crumbs are an underrated way of adding fabulous crunch to recipes. Here Francis Mallmann uses bread crumbs tossed with fresh basil and lots of Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese to create a great topping for tender grilled vegetables.

Adam Perry Lang’s super-flavorful chicken wings are fantastic with or without the sweet-and-sticky barbecue sauce.

Bobby Flay tops these grilled oysters with butter, tarragon and hot sauce. The butter melts to form little, delectable pools in the shells.

When preparing steaks for the grill, Steven Raichlen typically applies rubs and seasonings first, then drizzles the meat with oil. But here he applies an oil-based paste before sprinkling on a pungent blend of peppercorns, which helps the Asian-flavored crust cling to the steak as it cooks.

Bobby Flay likes to cook corn on the cob with the husk tied back into a kind of handle. He soaks the bundle in cold water before it goes on the grill for two reasons: It steams the kernels a little, making them tender, and it prevents the husks from burning.

“I love mixing miso and butter together,” says Jamie Bissonnette. “If you spread that miso-flavored butter on toast, people always love it and ask, ‘What is this?’” Bissonnette also transforms the butter into a sauce for grilled shrimp. Pickled mustard seeds, scooped out from the brine in a pickle jar, add tang and crunch.

Ray Lampe is a national barbecue champion, a teacher and the owner of a roadside barbecue stand in Lakeland, Florida. His first book, Dr. BBQ’s Big-Time Barbecue Cookbook, gives advice on how to bump up the flavors in grilled dishes, as in his sweet and sticky chicken wings (slash the inside of the joints so they cook through and the seasonings penetrate).

Chef Roy Choi is expert at making these delectable grilled, thinly sliced short ribs, known as kalbi at Korean restaurants.

Bobby Flay presents his sweet-spicy salmon with two different sauces— including tomatillo salsa and a black bean sauce.