Recipes
9 Recipes to Grill in June
June whets our appetite for warm weather grilling and smoking—a refreshing beverage featuring mezcal (distilled smoke-roasted agave hearts), icy gazpacho, first-timer’s ribs, an amazing grilled wedge salad, Peruvian grilled chicken with an authentic green sauce, sublime berry shortcake, and more. Add these recipes to your repertoire for a superb dining summer.
June Grilling Recipes
Mezcalini
Cross a margarita with a mojito and you get a Mezcalini. Add smoke and you achieve nirvana, not to mention notoriety—especially if you brandish the handheld smoker in front of your guests.
Wood-Grilled Gazpacho with Serrano Ham Crisps
Grilling in the embers was probably man’s first version of live fire cooking and it’s still practiced in many countries, from Mexico to Azerbaijan. You don’t need much in the way of special equipment—a bed of glowing embers in a kettle grill or hibachi. The physics of the process involve controlled burning. You lay the vegetables right on the coals, which chars the surface. This extreme method of grilling imparts a haunting smoke flavor that’s quite different than smoking with wood chips. The process looks cool as all get out, and when a luscious, smoky gazpacho emerges from what looks like a barbecue accident, the wow factor is off the charts. This is a perfect dish for beginners—you can burn it and it still tastes great.
First-Timer’s Ribs
Well, if this is your idea of the perfect rib (and it should be), here’s your master recipe. It will teach you the principles of first-class ribsmanship – skinning the ribs, rubbing the meat, using a mop sauce, glazing with a barbecue sauce, and harnessing the mouth-watering powers of wood smoke.
Mexican Fish Tacos
Though originally deep-fried in the taco shacks of the Baja Peninsula, grilled fish is superior in terms of taste, and healthier, too. Serve with a chilled Mexican beer or a Mezcalini (see above).
Griddled Bulgogi Steak Lettuce Wraps
These griddled bulgogi steak lettuce wraps are built for weeknight cooking: thin-sliced sirloin, a sweet-savory pineapple-soy marinade, quick cooking on a hot griddle, and crisp lettuce wraps finished with pickled cucumbers, green onion, and sesame seeds. The griddle gives the steak direct contact with high heat, helping the marinade caramelize while the meat stays tender.
Peruvian-Style Spit-Roasted Chicken with Green Sauce
To be strictly authentic, you need to acquaint yourself with two ingredients that are common in Peruvian cooking—ají amarillo paste and huacatay (black mint) paste. Both are available at Latin American markets and online. Leave them out if you must. Traditional sides include thick-cut potato or yucca fries and a green salad. But small Peruvian purple potatoes roasted alongside the chicken (dress them with olive oil and salt and pepper before roasting) are also a good complement to the smoky chicken.
Grilled Wedge Salad with Smoky Ranch Dressing
This classic salad makes the most of crunchy, lightly grilled iceberg lettuce, complemented by a creamy homemade ranch dressing. Perfect as a summer side dish. Prepare yourself for multiple recipe requests.
Grilled Pepper Salad with Currants, Capers, and Feta
This bell pepper salad with capers and pine nuts is a sweet-sour salad of flame-charred bell peppers with currants for sweetness, capers for tang, and pine nuts for crunch. In Italian, it’s called “Peperoni ai Ferri con Capperi e Pinoli.”
Grilled Strawberry Shortcake
Classic strawberry shortcake with a smoky twist in this delightful grilled version. Fresh, juicy strawberries are lightly macerated with sugar and a splash of orange liqueur, then nestled between warm, butter-grilled biscuits. Topped with a dollop of smoked whipped cream, this dessert perfectly balances sweet, tangy, and smoky flavors for a unique summer treat. Ideal for outdoor gatherings or as a special finish to your barbecue, this grilled strawberry shortcake is sure to impress your guests with its simple elegance and irresistible taste.
June is one of the best months to cook outside, before the full heat of summer really settles in. Mix a few of these recipes into your next weekend cookout, build a simple weeknight meal around one of the quicker dishes, or save the bigger cooks for when friends and family are coming over. However you use the list, it’s a good month to keep the grill busy.
Looking for more recipes like this? Browse our Recipe Index for grilled, smoked, and live-fire favorites.
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