48 Backyard Barbecue Recipes That Are Smoky and Delicious

You don’t need to be a pro pit master to cook up some crave-worthy ‘cue. With these doable recipes you’ll be making everything from ribs to burnt ends—right in your back yard.

May 05, 2023

By: Food Network Kitchen

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Real Deal BBQ, Right at Home

People do barbecue a little differently from region to region, and far beyond the South. You can find great BBQ from Delaware to Alaska. So, whether you prefer the acidity of Eastern Carolina-style pork or the smokiness of Texas-style brisket, you can enjoy your favorite version wherever you are—including your own backyard. Start with Food Network Kitchen’s take on a classic: baby back ribs. These sweet-and-smoky ones take a bit of time and planning, but you’ll be rewarded with tons of flavor. Plus, once you get the technique down, you’ll find yourself using it again and again. Just don’t forget the sides!

Get the Recipe: Smoked Baby Back Ribs

Citrus BBQ Chicken

The bright, tangy flavors of orange and lemon come together with this easy bbq sauce base to pull triple-duty as marinade, glaze, and sauce.

Get the Recipe: Citrus BBQ Chicken

Tyler's Pulled Pork Barbecue

Tyler seasons a pork roast with spicy-sweet dry rub, roasts it low and slow until it's falling apart and then serves with a tangy cider vinegar barbecue sauce.

Get the Recipe: Pulled Pork Barbecue

Texas Brisket

There are many barbecue joints throughout Texas, and among them, a variety of cooking styles and regional favorites, but the traditional Texas Brisket reigns supreme. This recipe calls for the meat to be coated with yellow mustard and a spicy rub and then smoked for over nine hours. The resulting flavorful beef brisket meat is well worth the wait.

Get the Recipe: Texas Brisket

Wet BBQ Ribs

The Neelys use a meaty St. Louis-style rib cut for this classic recipe. They rub the ribs with a seasoning mixture, cook them low and slow over indirect heat and then baste them with their homemade BBQ sauce.

Get the Recipe: Neely's Wet BBQ Ribs

BBQ Chicken Marinade

Mix up this classic marinade, pop it in the freezer with 1 1/2 pounds of chicken and you'll have some really great, grill-ready chicken on hand and ready to go whenever the BBQ craving strikes.

Get the Recipe: BBQ Chicken Marinade

BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwiches

Robert's classic pulled pork is delicious with any barbecue sauce and bread of your choosing.

Get the Recipe: BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwiches

Memphis-Style BBQ Sauce

The Neelys use ketchup as the sweet tomato base for their Memphis-style barbecue sauce.

Get the Recipe: Neely's BBQ Sauce

Memphis-Style Hickory-Smoked Beef and Pork Ribs

These Memphis-style beef and pork spareribs are the signature dish of Food Network's king and queen of barbecue. If you're a dry rib fan, serve these with a little extra of the Neelys' barbecue seasoning blend on top. If you prefer wet ribs, mix up a batch of the Neelys' homemade barbecue sauce.

Get the Recipe: Memphis-Style Hickory-Smoked Beef and Pork Ribs

BBQ Burnt Ends

When you need to save a little space on the grill or in the smoker, try Trisha’s burnt ends. She cooks the brisket in a slow-cooker before saucing it and charring the chunks in the broiler.

Get the Recipe: BBQ Burnt Ends

Beer Braised BBQ Pork Butt

This pulled pork starts out cooking at high heat in the oven until it's dark and blackened on the outside. Once the crust is formed, lower the heat and the pork settles in for a nice long braise.

Get the Recipe: Beer Braised BBQ Pork Butt

Smoked, Spice Rubbed, Texas-Style Brisket on Texas Toast

For the ultimate tender, moist barbecue brisket, Bobby makes sure not to trim away the fat to begin with, coats the meat in spices and then cooks it at a low temperature over indirect heat for hours.

Get the Recipe: Smoked, Spice Rubbed, Texas-Style Brisket on Texas Toast

Chili-Glazed Pork Ribs

Basting these ribs with homemade chili-spiked sauce every 10 minutes for the last 40 minutes of cooking creates a spicy glaze.

Get the Recipe: Chili-Glazed Pork Ribs

Texas BBQ Braised Beef Brisket

Brisket is a natural for barbecue, as it loves to be cooked low and slow. Add the smokiness of chipotles and hickory chips and you've got a meal fit for a Texan.

Get the Recipe: Texas BBQ Braised Beef Brisket

Pulled Pork Sandwiches

The Neelys use hickory chips to give their pulled pork a distinctive smoky flavor and then top each sandwich with homemade BBQ sauce and sweet slaw.

Get the Recipe: Pulled Pork Sandwiches

Bobby's Brisket

Bobby's classic brisket is smoked for four to five hours until extremely tender. He bastes it with a mop spiked with dark beer every 30 minutes.

Get the Recipe: Smoked BBQ Brisket

Bobby's Spice Rubbed Smoked Ribs With Maple-Horseradish Baste

Bobby uses a spice rub which tenderizes the meat and creates a crust on the outside as the ribs smoke. Then he brushes them with a maple-horseradish glaze for an unconventional barbecue sauce.

Get the Recipe: Spice Rubbed Smoked Ribs with Maple-Horseradish Baste

Oklahoma Joe's Smoked Brisket Flat

This 5- to 8-pound flat-cut brisket is rubbed down with spices and then smoked for five to seven hours over hickory or oak for maximum, true barbecue flavor.

Get the Recipe: Oklahoma Joe's Smoked Brisket Flat

Tyler's Smoked Ribs With Dry Rub

Tyler mixes up a dry rub for his ribs before cooking them low and slow, basting them periodically with a vinegar mixture. When they’re about done, he gives them one last spray of vinegar and then sprinkles on some more dry rub for a zesty coating, no sauce required.

Get the Recipe: Smoked Ribs With Dry Rub

Alton's Smoked Salmon

Smoking isn't just for ribs. Follow Alton's lead to make fantastic smoked salmon at home.

Get the Recipe: Smoked Salmon

Bourbon Peach-Glazed Baby Back Ribs

No grill? No problem. These instantly craveable ribs are made from start to finish in the oven. Using peach preserves instead of the fresh fruit in the savory glaze means this pantry-friendly meal can be made all year long, not just during the summer.

Get the Recipe: Bourbon Peach-Glazed Baby Back Ribs

Oklahoma Joe's Pulled Pork

This classic pulled pork is cooked over low heat with oak or hickory smoke for about 5 hours, and periodically basted with apple juice.

Get the Recipe: Oklahoma Joe's Pulled Pork

Asian-Spiced Baby Back Ribs

Brine your ribs and make your brown-sugar topping tonight for a lazy-day barbecue meal tomorrow.

Get the Recipe: Citrus and Spice–Brined Baby Back Ribs

Pellet-Grill Smoked Ribs

The pellet grill might be the best thing to happen to barbecue since fire was invented! With no need to constantly tend a fire or monitor smoke and heat, it makes smoking much easier. We tested out baby-back ribs, spareribs and St Louis-style ribs. Overall, we preferred the St. Louis style, although you can substitute spareribs. For the sauce, we went with a balanced blend of vinegar and sweetness that really lets the smoky flavor of the meat shine.

Get the Recipe: Pellet-Grill Smoked Ribs

Glazed Pork Belly With Ginger BBQ Sauce

This succulent cut of pork pairs perfectly with a tangy ginger-spiked sauce.

Get the Recipe: Glazed Pork Belly With Ginger Barbecue Sauce

Smoked Pork Loin Center Cut Chops in Belgian Ale Marinade

Dust off your spice rack for a no-nonsense marinade that will ensure these rosemary-smoked pork chops stay in your recipe arsenal.

Get the Recipe: Smoked Pork Loin Center Cut Chops in Belgian Ale Marinade

Eastern North Carolina Barbecue

This pulled pork is smoked for a few hours to give it a nice smoky flavor, and then finished in the oven with low, steady heat until the meat is falling apart. A tangy apple cider vinegar BBQ sauce tops it off.

Get the Recipe: Eastern North Carolina Barbecue

Kansas City Style Pork Ribs

Kansas City-style barbecue is all about the sweet tomato-based sauce, and the Neelys' homemade version can't be beat.

Get the Recipe: Kansas City Style Pork Ribs

Easy BBQ Short Ribs

Sunny cooks her short ribs slow and low, at 300 degrees for three hours, resulting in tender and moist meat, all with little effort.

Get the Recipe: Easy BBQ Short Ribs

Pat's Ribs With Peach BBQ Sauce

"These ribs are perfect for a throw-down-and-wow-your-guests summer barbecue," the Neelys say. "They are sweet and smoky with just a hint of spice. The pureed peaches provide the sweetness and the hickory gives us that smoke. Our secret ingredient is the smoked paprika, which gives the ribs another layer of flavor and smoky sweetness."

Get the Recipe: Pat's Ribs with Peach BBQ Sauce

Sweet Cola Ribs

The Neelys say, "These ribs will blow you away. The smoke and indirect heat leave you with deliciously tender ribs while the cola packs a punch of unexpected sweetness. Our secret is removing the fatty membrane from the ribs before cooking and glazing them to sweet perfection at the end of the grill time. Perfection!"

Get the Recipe: Sweet Cola Ribs

Bobby's Smoked Ginger Chicken With Cardamom, Cloves and Cinnamon

Bobby trades wood chips for spices (whole cloves, cardamom pods and cinnamon sticks) to create a flavorful Indian-inspired smoked chicken.

Get the Recipe: Smoked Ginger Chicken with Cardamom, Cloves and Cinnamon

Cola Barbecue Ribs

You can forget the bottled stuff — all you need is a bottle of cola to make your own thick and delicious BBQ sauce. Brush some over the ribs before grilling, then serve the rest on the side.

Get the Recipe: Cola Barbecue Ribs

Oklahoma Joe's Pulled Pork

This classic pulled pork is cooked over low heat with oak or hickory smoke for about five hours, while periodically being basted with apple juice.

Get the Recipe: Oklahoma Joe's Pulled Pork

New Orleans-Style Babyback Beer Ribs

These Cajun-spiced ribs are poached briefly before being smoked. The homemade sauce starts with onions, carrots and peppers — the "trinity" of Louisiana cooking.

Get the Recipe: Jan Birnbaum's New Orleans-Style Babyback Beer Ribs

Rib Dry Rub

This Memphis-style rub adds so much flavor and a great crusty top (the "bark") to ribs that you won't need barbecue sauce at all.

Get the Recipe: Rib Dry Rub

Baby Back Ribs

You can cook these ribs the day before, and then throw them on the grill when you're ready to serve them.

Get the Recipe: Baby Back Ribs

Sweet-Tea Ribs With Lemony Potato Salad

These easy ribs are roasted in the oven, then coated with a black tea and citrus glaze. For a classic side, mix up quick lemony potato salad while the ribs cook.

Get the Recipe: Sweet-Tea Ribs with Lemony Potato Salad

Pulled Pork Shoulder With Lexington Style Dip Sauce

After spending 8 to 10 hours cooking away in the smoker, this tender pulled pork is served with a simple vinegar-based dipping sauce.

Get the Recipe: Pulled Pork Shoulder with Lexington Style Dip Sauce

Backyard BBQ'd Spareribs

Mix and match: Choose from two spice rubs, then mix up Kansas City-Style BBQ Sauce or Chile-Coffee BBQ Sauce.

Get the Recipe: Backyard BBQ'd Spareribs

Michael Chiarello's Babyback Ribs With Espresso Barbecue Sauce

Michael liberally douses baby back ribs with dry rub, roasts them in the oven until they're fall-off-the-bone tender and then finishes them on the grill, basting with his unusual homemade sauce.

Get the Recipe: Michael Chiarello's Babyback Ribs with Espresso Barbecue Sauce

Southern-Style Brisket

A 5-hour slow smoke over mesquite or hickory wood chips gives this brisket a smoky succulence that’s well worth the wait.

Get the Recipe: Southern-Style Brisket

Sweet Heat Barbecue Ribs

Infuse flavor into spareribs by wrapping soaked wood chips in a double layer of heavy-duty aluminum foil and placing the wrapped chips on the coals. You can use bourbon barrel staves, and cherry or hickory would be good too, but stay away from mesquite.

Get the Recipe: Sweet Heat Barbecue Ribs

North Carolina-Style BBQ Pulled-Pork Sandwiches

You can't go wrong with this low-and-slow classic recipe, including zippy North Carolina-Style Vinegar BBQ Sauce to top it off.

Get the Recipe: North Carolina-Style BBQ Pulled-Pork Sandwiches

Alton's Who Loves Ya Baby-Back?

Alton's easy indoor ribs are spiced up, then braised in the oven and glazed with a homemade sauce.

Get the Recipe: Who Loves Ya Baby-Back?

Cola Barbecue Sauce

Homemade barbecue sauces are all about balance, with sweet, tart and spicy flavors melding together. Start with this basic sauce, using cola as a base, and tweak spices to make it your own.

Get the Recipe: Cola Barbecue Sauce

Dry Rub Ribs

Ribs couldn't be simpler than this no-frills version. Just mix together a few common spices for a classic rub and then cook the baby back ribs in the oven. When cooked, dig in Memphis-style, without sauce.

Get the Recipe: Dry Rub Ribs- Memphis (Dave's Dinners)

Spicy Hoisin-Glazed Ribs

Add an Asian twist to ribs with a few boldly flavored ingredients like soy sauce, sesame oil, Chinese five-spice powder and hoisin sauce.

Get the Recipe: Spicy Hoisin-Glazed Ribs

On Tonight

Have a Backyard BBQ

48 Backyard Barbecue Recipes That Are Smoky and Delicious

Related To:

Real Deal BBQ, Right at Home

Citrus BBQ Chicken

Tyler's Pulled Pork Barbecue

Texas Brisket

Wet BBQ Ribs

BBQ Chicken Marinade

BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwiches

Memphis-Style BBQ Sauce

Memphis-Style Hickory-Smoked Beef and Pork Ribs

BBQ Burnt Ends

Beer Braised BBQ Pork Butt

Smoked, Spice Rubbed, Texas-Style Brisket on Texas Toast

Chili-Glazed Pork Ribs

Texas BBQ Braised Beef Brisket

Pulled Pork Sandwiches

Bobby's Brisket

Bobby's Spice Rubbed Smoked Ribs With Maple-Horseradish Baste

Oklahoma Joe's Smoked Brisket Flat

Tyler's Smoked Ribs With Dry Rub

Alton's Smoked Salmon

Bourbon Peach-Glazed Baby Back Ribs

Oklahoma Joe's Pulled Pork

Asian-Spiced Baby Back Ribs

Pellet-Grill Smoked Ribs

Glazed Pork Belly With Ginger BBQ Sauce

Smoked Pork Loin Center Cut Chops in Belgian Ale Marinade

Eastern North Carolina Barbecue

Kansas City Style Pork Ribs

Easy BBQ Short Ribs

Pat's Ribs With Peach BBQ Sauce

Sweet Cola Ribs

Bobby's Smoked Ginger Chicken With Cardamom, Cloves and Cinnamon

Cola Barbecue Ribs

Oklahoma Joe's Pulled Pork

New Orleans-Style Babyback Beer Ribs

Rib Dry Rub

Baby Back Ribs

Sweet-Tea Ribs With Lemony Potato Salad

Pulled Pork Shoulder With Lexington Style Dip Sauce

Backyard BBQ'd Spareribs

Michael Chiarello's Babyback Ribs With Espresso Barbecue Sauce

Southern-Style Brisket

Sweet Heat Barbecue Ribs

North Carolina-Style BBQ Pulled-Pork Sandwiches

Alton's Who Loves Ya Baby-Back?

Cola Barbecue Sauce

Dry Rub Ribs

Spicy Hoisin-Glazed Ribs

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