Why You Should Brave the Cold and Grill This Winter

You’ve hibernated enough. It’s time to wrap yourself in a heavy coat, slip on some thick gloves and uncover the grill for a flame-licked dinner that will shake you out of your winter doldrums. But don’t fall back on your summer grilling menu. A different season calls for different recipes. Here, 11 excellent things to grill when it's cold out.

1. Grilled Rib Eye Steaks with Apple-Radish Vinaigrette

A little Champagne vinegar in the dressing adds punchy flavor to these supereasy steaks.v

2. Grill-Baked Potatoes with Chive Butter

These indulgent potatoes are layered with pats of chive and sour cream butter, then wrapped in foil and grilled until soft and delicious.

3. Pomegranate-Glazed Lamb Chops

This dish is a variation on shashlik po karsky, a lamb riblet kebab that was popular in the USSR.

4. Grilled Butternut Squash with Shallot Vinaigrette

Butternut squash tastes like a whole new vegetable when grilled—crisp, bright and not overly sweet.

5. Sweet-and-Spicy Grilled Beef Short Ribs

F&W's Justin Chapple quickly grills short ribs (cut across the bones) until they're juicy and delectably charred.

6. Grilled Mushrooms and Sausages with Pimentón Vinaigrette

Delicious griddled wild mushrooms star in this simple Catalan-inspired dish.

7. Grilled Spiced Quail with Shaved Fennel & Yogurt

A spicy citrus marinade keeps the quail meat juicy while giving it a beautiful char on the grill.

8. Grilled Spice-Rubbed Pork Tenderloin with Sweet Potatoes and Scallions

Here’s a great way to cook a whole meal—meat, potatoes and a vegetable—on the grill.

9. Whole Grilled Chicken with Wilted Arugula

Cooking a whole chicken on the grill can be tricky, but chef Thomas Keller has perfected a method that uses indirect heat; he adds rosemary sprigs to the coals to infuse the smoke and flavor the chicken.

10. Stuffed Whole Wild Salmon

Cooking an eight-pound fish might sound intimidating, but it’s surprisingly fast and simple.

11. Grilled Marrow Bones with Rosemary-Lemon Bruschetta

Chris Cosentino uses the phrase God's butter to describe rich, decadent bone marrow. Here he serves it alongside grilled toasts rubbed with rosemary and lemon.