100 Best Backyard Texas Grill Recipes

Discover 100 of our best recipes, from Texas BBQ and smoked meats to Southern comfort food, sides, breads, soups, and desserts.

When Backyard Texas Grill first got started, the idea was pretty simple: Zach had a smoker, he knew his way around a piece of meat, and we figured there were plenty of folks out there who might want to learn a few of his tricks.

And then, somehow, we blinked.

We just crossed 200 posts.

Two hundred!

Backyard Texas Grill is Growing!

Somewhere along the way, this little backyard grilling site turned into a whole lot more. There are still plenty of briskets, ribs, burgers, smoked turkeys, and things wrapped in bacon around here — we are Backyard Texas Grill, after all.

But now there are also pots of chicken and dumplings simmering on the stove, pans of old-fashioned macaroni and cheese coming out of the oven, homemade breads cooling on the counter, soups tucked into the freezer, and enough cobblers, pies, brownies, and Southern desserts to keep Janice happy for a very long time.

And that's really what this site has become.

It's Zach at the smoker. Randi and Zach trying something new on the grill. Janice pulling an old family recipe out of her memory and trying to figure out exactly how Grandma used to make it.

It's food we've served to our families, carried to people we love, photographed before anybody was allowed to take a bite, and occasionally eaten standing over the kitchen counter because we couldn't wait another minute.

Not every recipe started out perfect. Some took a few tries. Some surprised the heck out of us. And some were so good that before the dishes were even washed, somebody was already saying, "We're making this again."

Those are the recipes we wanted for this collection.

Our Favorite Recipes, the Ones we Love to Share!

100 favorite recipes from Backyard Texas Grill

We went through Backyard Texas Grill and chose 100 of our favorites — the recipes we're proudest of, the ones we make again and again, and the ones we think deserve a spot on your table, too.

There are recipes for the smoker and grill, of course, but you'll also find weeknight dinners, Southern comfort food, appetizers, breads, sides, soups, and plenty of desserts.

Basically, if you're hungry, you've come to the right place.

So pull up a chair and take a look around.

Here are 100 of our favorite recipes from Backyard Texas Grill. And we're just getting started.

Beef & Brisket

If there's a heart to Backyard Texas Grill, it beats right here. Brisket is where Zach cut his teeth as a pitmaster, and it remains the centerpiece of everything we do. But beef on this site goes far beyond brisket — juicy smoked meatloaf, butter-drenched burgers, chicken fried steak with country gravy, and weeknight comfort food that starts with a pound of ground beef and ends with a skillet you'll scrape clean. These ten recipes represent the very best of beef, Texas-style.

Pork

Pork is the unsung hero of the backyard cookout. It's economical, endlessly versatile, and when done right — low and slow on the smoker, or seared hot on the grill — it is absolutely spectacular. From fall-apart pulled pork to sticky honey bourbon ribs to that legendary breakfast fatty, this category holds some of the recipes our readers come back to most. If you haven't tried the smoked pig shots yet, that changes today.

Chicken & Turkey

Chicken is the weeknight workhorse and the holiday centerpiece all in one. On this site, we've smoked it, grilled it, sauced it two ways, beer-canned it, spatchcocked it, marinated it, and stuffed it with bacon. Turkey gets its own full treatment here too — because a properly smoked turkey is one of the great triumphs of backyard cooking, and we want every reader to be able to pull it off. These eight recipes cover everything from quick weeknight dinners to showstopping holiday birds.

Seafood

Don't overlook the smoker and grill when it comes to fish and shrimp — some of our most-loved recipes live in this category. Smoked salmon gets a tropical twist with mango salsa. Teriyaki salmon goes into a cast iron skillet right on the pellet grill. And those grilled shrimp skewers? They're on the table in 15 minutes flat. Seafood on the grill is easier than most people think and more impressive than almost anything else you can serve.

Appetizers & Snacks

This is where the party starts. Before the brisket is sliced, before the sides hit the table, before anyone sits down — the appetizers are doing the work of setting the tone for the whole meal. Our appetizer lineup runs from elegant smoked cream cheese that looks like you spent hours on it (you didn't) to spicy bacon-wrapped jalapeños that disappear off the tray before you can turn around. These ten are the ones we reach for every time company's coming.

Soups, Stews & Chili

When the weather turns and you want something warm in a bowl, this is where you come. Our soup and stew collection has grown into one of the most diverse sections on the site — from Instant Pot chicken noodle soup that comes together on a weeknight to a smoky Texas chili that'll warm you from the inside out. There's also a cowboy chowder that is unlike anything you've had before, and a Dutch oven beef stew that is pure Texas comfort. Come fall, these ten recipes become a rotation.

Sides

No great BBQ spread stands alone. The sides are what turn a plate of smoked meat into a meal — and on this site, sides are taken just as seriously as whatever's coming off the Traeger. We've got potato salads and potato casseroles, coleslaw and pasta salad, beans three different ways, mac and cheese that earns its own applause, and sweet potato dishes that somehow make everyone at the table happy. These fourteen sides are the ones that earn the most compliments and empty bowls.

Breads

Every great BBQ meal needs something to sop up the sauce, mop up the gravy, or just make the whole table smell like a dream. Our bread collection covers everything from cast iron cornbread to sourdough focaccia, from fluffy dinner rolls to the famous 2-ingredient biscuits that have become a reader favorite. Whether you're serving a crowd or just feeding your family on a Tuesday night, one of these eight breads belongs on the table.

Desserts

This is Janice's domain, and she has not held back. The dessert section of Backyard Texas Grill is bigger than most people expect — because we firmly believe that any meal worth cooking deserves a proper ending. Cast iron skillet desserts for the grill, Texas sheet cake in cookie form, cowboy brownies loaded with chocolate and coconut, peach dump cake bubbling away in cast iron, and a pecan pie that will ruin all other pecan pies for you. Twenty desserts. Pick one tonight.

Southern Comfort Foods & One-Pot Meals

As Backyard Texas Grill has grown, so has our love for the food that Texans actually cook on a Tuesday night — not always the smoker, not always the grill, but always from the heart. This section is full of the dishes that warm a kitchen and feed a family: chicken and dumplings, skillet potatoes, slow cooker swamp potatoes, old-fashioned mac and cheese, goulash like grandma made, and a turkey pot pie that turns leftovers into something better than the original meal. These nine recipes are proof that Southern comfort food belongs right alongside anything coming off the Traeger.

Here's to the next 200. The smoker is already warm.

— Zach, Randi, and Janice

Thanks for Stopping By!

If you make any of these recipes and enjoy them please leave a comment or review. And before you go, please pin some photos to your Pinterest board!

About the Backyard Texas Grill Team

Backyard Texas Grill is very much a family affair. Zach Morrow is our resident pitmaster, the guy behind the smoker, and the one we turn to for brisket, ribs, grilled meats, and just about anything that benefits from a little smoke and fire. Randi Morrow cooks right alongside him, helping dream up and test the creative backyard recipes that have become some of our favorites. And Janice Thompson brings the Southern comfort food, breads, soups, sides, and desserts — along with a lifetime of family recipes and Texas kitchen memories.

Between the three of us, there's usually something smoking on the patio, simmering on the stove, or baking in the oven. Backyard Texas Grill is where we share the food we actually cook for our families and friends — sometimes traditional, sometimes a little unexpected, but always made with the hope that you'll want to pull up a chair and join us at the table.

100 Best Backyard Texas Grill Recipes: BBQ, Southern Favorites & More