5 Dinner Favorites to Up Your Grilling Game

"What's For Dinner" with grilled chicken with dukkah pictured under the caption. — Simply Recipes

It’s easy to fall into a rut when it comes to cooking. Grilling is no exception. Consider this the week to up your grilling game and add some new recipes to your repertoire. Skip the standard ribs and burgers (as delicious as they may be) and experiment a little.

In the menu below, you’ll find five dinner recipes that offer something a little different on the culinary front. This week you’ll be grilling fish and experimenting with Asian and Middle Eastern flavors. We’ll also be pushing you out of your comfort zone (that is if you’ve never made Cornish game hens), since we’ve got a spatchcocked version under a brick, ON YOUR GRILL.

If you’re not that comfortable on the grill, don’t worry we have a few tips to turn you into a master griller!

The end result is a menu steeped with fresh ideas and inspiration. You’ll find dishes that lean on the lighter side (the branzino), along with stick-to-your-ribs crowd pleasers (Mexican Street Corn and Grilled Hot Dogs). You’ll want to add these recipes to your outdoor cooking repertoire.

Grilled Dukkah Crusted Chicken with Lemon Hummus

Sally Vargas

This recipe is a tasty way to introduce new flavors to your grill. The chicken is seasoned with dukkah, a spice blend of coriander, cumin, nuts, seeds, and any number of additional seasonings. In addition, the recipe features a lime marinade that does double duty as a dressing for the greens. Lemony hummus brings it all together.
Grilled Mexican Street Corn

Megan Keno

Knock the socks off everyone at your table with this “next level” grilled corn. It’s modeled after elote, the delicious corn on the cob sold by street vendors throughout Mexico. Once grilled, the corn is slathered in a sauce of Mexican crema, mayonnaise, and lime, and then finished with chipotle, cilantro, and crumbled Cotija. It’s a dish that could be part of a vegetarian spread alongside other grilled vegetables, beans, and tortillas. Alternatively, throw chicken breasts, shrimp, or Chili Lime Flank Steak on the grill to serve with the corn.
Grilled Branzino with Rosemary Vinaigrette

Elise Bauer

Cooking a whole branzino on the grill is one way to step up your seafood game. It’s a method that is both simple and a little dramatic (a platter of whole fish is sort of a showstopper on the dinner table). This lightly dressed Grilled Romaine would go well with the fish along with rice, couscous or another one of your favorite grains.
Hot Dogs with Sriracha and Asian Slaw

Elise Bauer

Ditch the ballpark dogs for your next weenie roast and go for something more innovative. Here, hot dogs are grilled and then topped with spicy sriracha, Chinese mustard, and an Asian-style slaw. Make it vegetarian and use a plant-based hot dog instead.

Continue to 5 of 6 below.
Grilled Cornish Game Hens

Elise Bauer

Pint-sized Cornish game hens are a fun way to elevate your grilling chops (and feel a little bit festive). The petite birds are spatchcocked, seasoned with nothing more than salt, pepper, and lemon, and grilled under a brick. The recipe includes instructions for butterflying the game hens, but you can also ask your butcher to do that for you.
Weekend Baking: S’more Party at Home

Claudia Cash

You’ve got the grill going all week long, why not continue into dessert? Here are the essentials for a DIY s’more party at home. Could be just the thing to wrap up a Father’s Day feast.