Our barbecue traditions harken back to the time when, living in caves, our distant ancestors mastered cooking with fire. Today, we have more meats, more sauces, and more sides to enrich our BBQ experience. These BBQ recipes may add to your grilling repertoire, and our sides recipes are sure to enrich your table setting.
| 🍗 Food | 📃 Ingredients | 🔎 Steps to take |
|---|---|---|
| Mains | ||
| BBQ pulled pork | pork shoulder salt garlic powder thyme oregano basil smoked paprika | Blend all ingredients except for the meat until well mixed. Stir them into water or chicken broth, if preferred. Allow the meat to marinade for at least 6 hours, turning as needed. Place on the grill, away from hot zones. Remove, wrap in foil, and return to grill to cook further. |
| BBQ burgers | minced beef or beef and pork blend. Salt, pepper, spices to taste. egg bread crumbs (as a binder) | place the mince in a bowl. If using mixed meat, make sure they're well blended. Blend the egg in, and then the seasonings. Add breadcrumbs if needed. |
| Vegetarian | ||
| Grilled halloumi burger | halloumi slices thyme honey black pepper | Slice the cheese in 1.5 cm slices. Heat the honey; add thyme and black pepper. Place the cheese on the grill; brush on the honey sauce. Cook over medium heat; turn after 2-3 minutes. Cook until golden brown. |
| Sesame peanut tempeh skewers | tempeh soy sauce sesame oil ground cumin smoked paprika peanut sauce | Mix all ingredients except for the tempeh, make sure they're well blended. Slice tempeh into cubes. Skewer cubes; place on grill. Brush sauce on as they grill; turn as needed. Remove from grill, Pour peanut sauce over them or leave that sauce for dipping. |
| Sides | ||
| Coleslaw | shredded cabbage a grated carrot salt and pepper to taste salad mayonnaise a bit of pineapple juice | Shred a head of cabbage. Grate a carrot; blend well. season the mix. Stir in the salad mayonnaise. Add a splash of pineapple juice. |
| Roasted corn | corn on the cob garlic butter salt and pepper to taste | Cut the cobs in half melt the butter; mix in crushed garlic place the corn on the grill brush the butter-garlic mix, using tongs to turn them. remove from grill when the corn turns brownish. |
Classic BBQ Recipes
When chucking a burger or steak on the grill, you don't necessarily need any special equipment to barbecue your way to success. Still, you might find a few accessories helpful, like a sauce brush, a spatula and a pair of tongs. But for more elaborate preparations like these, you'll definitely need more than tongs and a spatula.
BBQ Pulled Pork Recipe
Whether a charcoal or gas grill, making grilled pulled pork is a lengthy process. It takes upwards of six hours to grill a succulent pork shoulder, and you must let it sit for another hour before shredding and serving it1. But all that work is well worth the time and effort; you will receive rave reviews for it!
The Classic Burger
Burgers (and sausages) are arguably the easiest meats to barbecue; you don't even have to slather them with sauces! Still, a few factors can make the difference between garden-variety 'burgers on the grill' and the type of burger that sets the standard for all future grill parties.
BBQ purists insist that salted meat on the grill makes the meal. Others go to great lengths to blend an assortment of accents into their burgers' flavour profile. Still others merely consider the meat a vehicle for sauces.
Fundamentally, choosing the right meat and discovering your favourite flavours is what makes the best burger. These tips aim to help you define your preferences faster.
BBQ Chicken Recipe
Like the 'burger wars', grilled chicken lovers typically fall into one of two camps.
Marinade before grilling
- place chicken pieces into your favourite marinade
- allow meat to absorb the flavour for at least an hour
- place on the grill
Grill with minimal seasoning
- place chicken pieces on the grill
- season as desired
- remove when fully cooked
- serve with sauces
Far be it for us to declare which camp you or your guests should fall into. The only thing we must insist on is that you make sure to cook the meat thoroughly.
The Food Standards Agency recommends a minimal internal temperature of 74°C for poultry and mince5, while pork and veal are deemed safe at 71°C.
Vegetarian BBQ Recipe Ideas
Typically, when one thinks 'grill', meat springs to mind. But these days, people who don't eat meat have plenty of ways to show off their summer barbecue techniques. Grilled vegetables aside, these vegetarian BBQ recipes are bound to thrill.
Grilled Halloumi
You might also soak your cheese (block or slices) for about 10 minutes in water to reduce its salt content. Once you have a plateful of golden, grilled cheese slices, you can build burgers or cut them into cubes to top a salad.
Grilled Tempeh
For many health-conscious diners, tempeh is a versatile go-to protein source. You can pan-fry it, bake it, crumble it and, of course, grill it2.
Cook the skewers for two to three minutes per side, until lightly charred. Remove from the grill and enjoy! For added flavour, you might dip them into barbecue sauce or coat them with a sesame peanut sauce.
BBQ Side Dishes
For most, what comes off the grill is the meal's sum total. There is a grain of truth to that; we can grill all kinds of veg, after all. But what's a barbecue meal without tantalising chilled foods?
Far from leaving you torn between grilled and chilled recipes, we present a bit of each. And don't forget about these grill-ready dessert recipes; desserts are just as much a part of the meal as sides and mains are!
Classic BBQ Sides: Grilled Corn on the Cob
You can use the second option for faster cooking; it's also a great way to keep the corn from drying out. Speaking of drying out: for health reasons, you might be tempted to leave the butter off, but you shouldn't. It helps the corn stay moist and adds a distinctive flavour. Also, the butter's maillard reaction tantalises with its smell and enhances the grilled veg's appearance.
This chemical reaction gives foods their distinctive brown colour and enhanced flavour.
Coleslaw
If coleslaw doesn't grace the table, can you even call your garden event a barbecue? This Dutch-inspired salad took its time to make its way to our shores, but it's here to stay. Cheap and easy as it is to make3, why even bother buying a tub of it from the store?
That little bit of sugar goes a long way towards making your coleslaw the type of salad to put on your burger. But you can ditch the sugar (and most of the vinegar) by using pineapple juice. This juice gives your salad a unique, distinctive flavour profile; all your guests will clamour for the recipe!
BBQ Sauce Recipe UK
Isn't it odd how nearly every guide to the barbecue arts insists that sauces and marinades must be store-bought? Don't cheat your inner grillmaster out of the joy of creating your own sauces4! Try your hand at these easy mixes.
Classic BBQ Sauce
You may apply this versatile sauce to anything you have on the grill, from meats to veg. Or you might simply leave portions in bowls on the table for your diners to slather it on burger buns or dip their ribs into. Should you happen to have any leftovers, save them for your next plate of chips!
Garlic Cream Sauce
This versatile sauce is both easy to make - just two ingredients - and suitable for both grilled and chilled foods. Even better: you can whip it up in just seconds and save any leftovers to use as a dip for crisps, chips, or veggies.
The two ingredients are fresh garlic and sour cream. To make it, empty a tub of sour cream into a mixing bowl - or more tubs, depending on the size of your BBQ party. And then, peel and press the garlic into the sour cream. This is a 'to taste' recipe; if you prefer a sharper garlic flavour, add more.
To gauge the flavour as you make the sauce, press a few garlic cloves, mix well and taste, adding more as needed.
Should you prefer a slightly thinner sauce, you may add some milk, but be sure to try the mix without it, first. It will cling better to anything you dip into it, be it spicy grilled shrimp, a strip of steak, or carrot sticks. Also, for a heartier flavour, stick with full-fat sour cream, as the lighter varieties tend to lose some of their zing.
You might try making this sauce with garlic powder or store-bought minced garlic.
However, for the most robust flavour and greater health benefits, stick with fresh garlic.
References
- Kitchen, Traeger. “Smoked Pulled Pork.” Https://Www.traeger.com, 2026, www.traeger.com/recipes/traeger-pulled-pork. Accessed 22 May 2026.
- Swanson, Heidi. “17 Vegetarian Grilling Recipes You Need This Summer.” 101 Cookbooks, 19 June 2019, www.101cookbooks.com/vegetarian-grilling/. Accessed 22 May 2026.
- Merritt, Sam. “An Easy Coleslaw Recipe.” Sugar Spun Run, 25 May 2022, sugarspunrun.com/easy-coleslaw-recipe/. Accessed 22 May 2026.
- Stewart, Martha . “Quick BBQ Sauce Recipe.” Martha Stewart, 26 Apr. 2026, www.marthastewart.com/312812/quick-bbq-sauce. Accessed 22 May 2026.
- “Cooking Temperature Chart | Guide for UK Chefs.” ETI Thermometer Shop, thermometer.co.uk/content/296-food-temperatures. Accessed 23 May 2026.
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