22 Memorial Day Recipes for a Perfect Cookout

By Food & Wine
Updated May 23, 2019
Jennifer Causey
These fantastic recipes—from classic burgers to smoked ribs—are perfect for Memorial Day cookouts and events.
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F&W’s Ultimate Burger


© Con Poulos
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Meat master Pat LaFrieda of LaFrieda Meat Purveyors worked with us to create the most delicious homemade burger blend, combining five cuts of meat into the juiciest, beefiest and most consistently delicious burger you’ll ever have.

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Layered Blackberry-and-Turmeric Lemonade


Charles Masters
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This spritzy, summery drink is incredibly versatile: swap in raspberries or strawberries for the blackberries, double the recipe for a crowd, or serve the homemade soda and the turmeric-spiked lemonade on their own.

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Salmon Skewers with Almond Charmoula

Abby Hocking / Food & Wine
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Simply grilling fish is TV chef Andrew Zimmern’s favorite way to eat what comes out of the ocean. For these skewers, he pairs rich salmon with North African charmoula, a brightly acidic herb paste tempered with sweet fruit and—his personal twist—crunchy nuts.

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Sausage Mixed Grill

Con Poulos
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Prick fresh sausages all over before grilling to release the excess fat.

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Deluxe Lobster and Potato Chip Rolls

PHOTO © JOHN KERNICK
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Co-chefs Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo serve chips on Tabasco-spiked lobster salad tucked into buttery toasted buns.

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Baked Chicken Wings

Abby Hocking / Food & Wine
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These supereasy baked chicken wings use just a few ingredients and four simple steps.

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Grilled Skirt Steak with Green Sriracha

DAVE LAURIDSEN
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“So many cultures have some version of a pesto or chimichurri,” says Susan Feniger, who uses southeast Asian coconut, chiles and kaffir lime leaves to create a green Sriracha, a Thai-style hot sauce.

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Watermelon and Charred-Tomato Salad

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Tim Byres uses a smart trick here: He sears the tomatoes on one side only, so they’re fresh and smoky at the same time.

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Grilled Chicken with Chimichurri

Victor Protasio
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Try serving it with Santa Maria–Style Pinquito Beans and a Mild Tomato Salsa on the side.

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Traditional “Santa Maria BBQ” Oak Wood–Grilled Tri-Tip

Victor Protasio
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Wood-grilling tri-tip brings rich, smoky flavor in this easy grilled steak recipe, while allowing plenty of time for the meat to become meltingly tender over the coals. A peppery spice rub and garlicky basting liquid amp up the flavor in the roasts.

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Kidney Bean Salad

Justin Chapple / Food & Wine
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This bright, crunchy kidney bean salad is tossed in a zippy lime-jalapeño vinaigrette. Terrific on its own, this salad would be equally good served over chopped romaine, tossed with cooled couscous, garnished with roasted salted pumpkin seeds or scooped up with tortilla chips.

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Coconut-Curry Grilled Chicken

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Caprese Salad

© Abby Hocking
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Serve this classic tomato-and-mozzarella salad with lots of grilled bread for dipping. The olive oil and the cream from the buffalo-milk mozzarella create an irresistible sauce in the bottom of the bowl.

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Grill-Roasted Bacon-and-Scallion Corn Muffins

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When baking these bacon-and-scallion-flecked corn muffins—a great accompaniment to all kinds of barbecue—Nick Fauchald prefers the grill to a conventional oven for two reasons: The muffins absorb some of the grill’s great smoky flavors, and he can spend that much more time outside.

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Beef Burgers with Sweet-n-Smoky Ketchup

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

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Deviled Egg Toast

Abby Hocking
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This twist on deviled eggs is Chef Missy Robbins’ favorite way to get the salty, spicy, tangy filling all in one crunchy bite. Robbins usually tops her crostini with bottarga or tuna roe, but recommends truffles or even hot sauce, too.

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Citrus and Garlic Pork Shoulder

Christina Holmes
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This marinated bone-in pork shoulder should be one of the first things to go on the grill, so it has plenty of time to roast slowly. The total time will vary depending on the heat of the fire, the temperature outside and the meat’s distance from the heat; to speed things up, you can cover the grill, leaving the air vents open. To determine doneness, use a meat thermometer. The pork is ready when the internal temperature reaches 160°.

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Grilled Baby Potato Salad


© Con Poulos
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This modern take on potato salad forgoes mayo for a base of vinegar and olive oil. Justin Chapple also grills the potatoes to add a great smoky flavor before tossing them with quickly pickled red onions. But the best part is the playful salt-and-vinegar potato chip topping, which adds an addictive crunch.

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Coffee-Rubbed Strip Steaks with Chimichurri Sauce

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This bright and fresh chimichurri is used twice: as a sauce for the steak and as a dressing for the accompanying herb salad.

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Green Salad with Smoky Barbecue Vinaigrette

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Smoky barbecue sauce and cheese-toasted corn bread croutons put a Texas spin on hearty greens.

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Fire-Roasted Berry Crostini with Honey Crème Fraîche

© Christina Holmes
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Grill this super-simple dessert right before you serve it: It takes just 30 minutes.

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Brown Sugar Cake with Ricotta and Blueberries


Jennifer Causey
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Joe Flamm, Executive Chef at Spiaggia in Chicago, cinched his season 15 Top Chef win with this simple brown sugar cake. “I just fell in love with it right away, and I’ve wanted it ever since,” Flamm says. The chewy, dense confection is like a cross between a cake and a blondie. It’s delicious both by itself and dressed up with Ricotta Mousse and Blueberry Sauce.

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