Food Cooking Techniques Barbeque 22 of Our Best Barbecue Recipes By Bridget Hallinan Bridget Hallinan As an Associate Food Editor, Bridget Hallinan primarily focuses on home cooking content for Food & Wine.com. She writes and edits recipe content, interviews chefs for helpful tips and tricks, and works on franchises such as our cookbook roundups and taste tests. Food & Wine's Editorial Guidelines Updated on May 25, 2023 Trending Videos Close this video player Photo: Jen Causey There’s something inherently magical about barbecued food — the smokiness, the charred flavor, the crispy edges and crusts that form while you grill. In this roundup, you’ll find all of the classic recipes: sticky glazed ribs, tender and juicy brisket, chicken wings, pulled pork, and some shrimp and salmon dishes too, for good measure. Plus, if you haven’t found your signature barbecue sauce yet, we’ve included a few different spins, like Alabama’s signature white sauce and sweet mustard sauce. Read on for essential barbecue recipes to try. 01 of 22 Perfect Smoked Pork Ribs Victor Protasio Smoking then baking yields meltingly tender, deeply flavored ribs that are incredibly satisfying to eat — moist and meaty, with a texture that’s tender but not falling off the bone. To make the ribs, begin with a dry rub of warm red spices and gochugaru (Korean red chile flakes), which adds peppery heat that’s the perfect partner for the natural sweetness of pork. Get the Recipe 02 of 22 Burnt Ends with Bourbon Sauce Photo by Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Torie Cox & John Somerall / Prop Styling by Audrey Davis The crispy, caramelized "burnt" pieces of a smoked brisket are often the best part because the flavor is concentrated and the texture is pleasingly chewy. Chef Matt Horn's recipe works well with any type of barbecue. Get the Recipe 03 of 22 Grilled Chicken with Sweet Mustard Barbecue Sauce Reed Davis A sweet mustard glaze gives chef John Currence's grilled chicken a crisp coating. The juicy marinated birds are also delicious without the glaze. The chickens need to marinate overnight, so plan accordingly. Get the Recipe 04 of 22 Jerk-Smoked Duck with Peach Barbecue Sauce Greg DuPree 2019 F&W Best New Chef Bryan Furman’s method of smoking the duck over a drip pan is quick and efficient, infusing it with intense smoky flavor in only 30 minutes without toughening the meat. The combination of jerk seasoning and peach-sweetened barbecue sauce is also a great match for grilled chicken halves. Get the Recipe 05 of 22 Barbecue-Spiced Hot-Smoked Salmon Greg DuPree Homemade barbecue spice seasons both a dry brine and pineapple-based mop sauce for a double dose of flavor. Hot-smoked salmon makes a showstopping buffet centerpiece any time of day. Get the Recipe 06 of 22 Slow-Cooker Burnt Honey Barbecue Chicken Jen Causey The real star here is the burnt honey barbecue sauce; added just before serving, it retains a distinct honey flavor that balances this tangy-sweet chicken perfectly. Get the Recipe 07 of 22 Barbecue Shrimp Po’boy Frederick Hardy II / Food Styling by Melissa Gray / Prop Styling by Christina Brockman Smoky, spiced shrimp are the heart of this classic New Orleans-style po’boy sandwich. Get the Recipe 08 of 22 Smoked Brisket Andrew Thomas Lee This smoked brisket is self-taught barbecue expert Matt Horn's signature recipe — the star of the menu at his restaurant, Horn Barbecue, in Oakland, California. The 2021 F&W Best New Chef spent weeks perfecting this recipe and says time is the most important ingredient in the dish. Get the Recipe 09 of 22 Barbecue Jackfruit Sandwiches with Cabbage Slaw Photo by Jennifer Causey / Food Styling by Melissa Gray / Prop Styling by Heather Chadduck Hillegas Thanks to a smoky, tangy, gently sweet sauce, these barbecue jackfruit sandwiches taste satisfyingly meaty (feel free to double the sauce to toss with smoked or braised pork shoulder as well). Get the Recipe 10 of 22 Burnt Honey Barbecue Sauce Jen Causey You’ll never buy barbecue sauce again after you stir up this sophisticated version. All the classic smoky characters show up to the party — tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, apple cider vinegar, and chili powder — but they get a tasty transformation courtesy of the just-burnt honey. Save your special farmers market honey for something else; honey from the classic plastic bear is perfectly fine for this recipe. Get the Recipe 11 of 22 Red Wine Barbecue Chicken © Con Poulos Leftover red wine gets repurposed into a sweet, sticky, and luscious barbecue sauce in this easy chicken recipe from Food & Wine culinary director at large Justin Chapple. Get the Recipe 12 of 22 Hill Country Smoked Chicken Wings with Texas Ranch Dressing © Peden + Munk Rubbing chicken wings with a variety of sweet and spicy seasonings before smoking gives them a double dose of delicious flavor. Get the Recipe 13 of 22 Big Bob Gibson's Chicken with White Barbecue Sauce © Marcus Nilsson At Big Bob Gibson Bar-B-Q in Alabama, chef Chris Lilly butterflies a whole chicken, smokes it, then dunks the bird into a vat of tangy white barbecue sauce. Home cooks can grill pieces of chicken until crispy and nicely charred, then serve them alongside Lilly's terrific white sauce. Get the Recipe 14 of 22 Sticky Barbecued Beef Ribs © Tina Rupp These beef ribs — leftovers from the giant rib roast — are incredibly luscious. Chef Tim Love douses them in his sweet and tangy homemade barbecue sauce, then cooks them on the grill until they're crusty, sizzling, and outrageously good. Get the Recipe 15 of 22 Apple-Glazed Barbecued Baby Back Ribs © Quentin Bacon These sticky, apple-scented ribs are cooked in the oven, then finished on the grill. Use a thermometer to keep the temperature at a steady 250°F and wrap the ribs in foil after adding the apple cider mixture. Get the Recipe 16 of 22 Sweet-and-Spicy Spareribs with Korean Barbecue Sauce © Christina Holmes Top Chef winner Mei Lin slow-roasts these ribs in the oven until they’re super tender; then she glazes them on the grill with a sweet, spicy sauce spiked with gochujang (Korean chile paste). She also stirs the sauce into pulled pork, serves it with french fries instead of ketchup, and mixes it with melted butter to toss with fried chicken. Get the Recipe 17 of 22 Pulled Pork Sandwiches with Barbecue Sauce © Con Poulos Roasted garlic seasons this pork shoulder, which slow-cooks until tender and deeply flavorful. Shred it and top with barbecue sauce, coleslaw, and a spicy habanero vinaigrette for the perfect sandwich. Get the Recipe 18 of 22 Barbecued Brisket and Burnt Ends © James Baigrie Ten hours on the grill with a slather, a rub, and a mop give this brisket an extraordinarily robust flavor. Pitmaster Paul Kirk's recipe calls for a whole packer brisket, which includes both the flat (the larger, leaner portion) as well as the point (the smaller, fattier part for the burnt ends). When slicing the brisket, cut perpendicular to the grain to keep the meat juicy. Get the Recipe 19 of 22 Chinese-Style Ribs with Guava Barbecue Sauce © Tina Rupp The Barbecue Bible author Steven Raichlen uses Chinese five-spice powder in his rub for these charcoal-grilled ribs that are sprayed with sherry and glazed with a sweet sauce. Get the Recipe 20 of 22 Robb Walsh’s Texas Barbecue Brisket © Hector Sanchez Slice the brisket thinly across the grain and serve it with its cooking juices. along with sliced white bread, chili beans, coleslaw, and pickles. Get the Recipe 21 of 22 Carolina Pulled Pork © Antonis Achilleos Traditional Carolina barbecue begins with a whole hog smoked over coals; here, chef Sean Brock cooks pork shoulder for 12 hours in a 275°F oven before smoking it for about one hour in a backyard grill. Get the Recipe 22 of 22 Barbecue Shrimp with Avocado Salad © Christina Holmes Kansas City chef Colby Garrelts flavors this quick and easy shrimp with plenty of Worcestershire, making it hearty and bold. Get the Recipe Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit