These Grilled Chicken Recipes Might Utterly Revolutionize Your Cookouts

“Grilled chicken is an excellent humble family meal, although the marinade in this recipe adds an incredible glaze worthy of a restaurant meal,” Matt Horn says in his cookbook, Horn Barbecue. “The brown sugar speeds up caramelization and deepens the flavor of the finished poultry.”

A simple garlic-ginger paste creates a flavorful crust on the wings as they grill, so don’t brush off the excess before cooking.

With a dead-simple marinade, this chicken comes out tangy and sweet, with just the right hint of bitterness. The only trick is: turn it frequently, to keep the sugars from burning.

A briny, flavorful marinade tenderizes and moistens the chicken and also serves as a dressing for the olive-tomato topping. Serve with sliced grilled potatoes if you like.

Don’t underestimate the power of a good wing, especially this sticky-sweet version. For a crowd, double or triple the recipe.

A sweet-and-savory main-dish salad that’s totally worthy of dinner guests.

Why settle for one use of avocados when you can pickle, purée, and grill them, all in one satisfying dish?

People flock to Santa Fe’s Pollo Asado for its mesquite-grilled chicken. The secret is the citrus and achiote seasoning, which co-owner Olivia Arizmendi learned from her sister in Mexico. They tuck the meat into telera rolls and add pickled onions, hot sauce, and shredded iceberg lettuce. Mashed avocado makes it even better.

Put the Mediterranean seasoning blend called za’atar to work to give camp chicken a complex flavor with minimal ingredients.

Tangy, fruity tamarind, popular in Latino and Asian cuisines, is the secret ingredient in one of our favorite barbecue sauces for chicken wings.

Russell Moore, chef and owner at Camino restaurant in Oakland, gave us this technique for grilling chicken breast—and it’s the juiciest version we’ve ever had, protected from overcooking by the bones and skin. “Don’t cook it too fast,” he adds. “You don’t want it burnt outside and raw inside.”

The perfect picnic chicken! Soak chicken in a buttermilk brine for extra moist and tender results, and add subtle Indian-inspired spices for a go-anywhere feast that’s miles from boring.

J. Kenji López-Alt, author of The Food Lab: Better Home Cooking Through Science, adapted this sandwich from recipes by his Serious Eats colleague Daniel Gritzer. It’s an excellent way to use grilled-chicken leftovers. López-Alt chooses a soft, mild bun that lets the fillings shine and adds crunch with potato straws—an ingredient borrowed from cooks in Colombia, who put them on hot dogs.

Half of this intense, hearty vinaigrette goes on the chicken right before it’s cooked—less a marinade than a “pre-sauce”—and the other half gets drizzled onto the grilled chicken, creating layers of flavor without a long marinating time.

After cooking chicken cutlets, throw corn on the still-hot grill to use in this unusual, delicious salad.

The paprika delivers great smoky flavor in this main-dish salad.

Quickly cooked chicken breasts get special treatment when served over fennel and onions charred on the grill.

Designed for cilantro fans, this Indian-style chutney gives chicken breasts loads of flavor and keeps them moist in their parchment-paper packets.

Marinate chicken breasts in lime, cilantro, and chicken, then grill and top with an absolutely addictive sweet and spicy tomato avocado salsa. This dish will knock your socks off.

If you can’t find packaged broccoli slaw, whirl broccoli stems in a food processor, using the grater attachment. Throw in a carrot and some red cabbage if you like.

Made with cashews, this romesco has a silkier texture and sweeter flavor than the classic sauce made with almonds.

These crowd-pleasing kebabs get an Indian kick from a marinade of curry, garam masala, and yogurt. Israeli couscous on the side is a nice change from typical pasta salad.

Poultry burgers have a reputation for being dry and bland. Not these: Jazzed up with sharp cheddar, parmesan, and garlic―then topped with crisp bacon, juicy tomatoes, and lettuce―they’re boldness in a bun.

A taste of summer in a bowl: barbecued chicken, sweet nectarines, tangy goat cheese, crisp salad greens, and toasted pecans.

Finger-lickin’ sweet replaces blazing buffalo as the flavorings for these tasty wings.

Tequila, orange juice, lime juice, and chipotle peppers add kick to this Mexican outdoor dinner party favorite.

Your family will love these extra-tasty chicken skewers, our version of a popular Japanese street food.

The Japanese dish chicken yakitori is traditionally made on skewers, but grilling thin chicken breasts instead is even more weeknight-friendly. Marinate a day ahead for extra flavor.

Stuff your quesadillas with sour cream, spicy chipotle peppers, and grilled chicken, and you’ll have a new family favorite. Grilling adds a mildly smoky note, the perfect complement to big flavors like lime, cilantro, and chile.

Fresh cilantro, lime juice, honey, and garlic add zip to this simple, healthy main dish.

Simplicity on the grill: This super-easy recipe puts a tasty spin on grilled chicken breasts, flavored with a hint of lime and a punch of pepper.

A sweet and salty sauce of roasted red peppers, nuts, and garlic tops this luscious chicken dish.

Give your chicken a 24-hour bath in dry white wine―it’s the key to this simple recipe’s delicate flavor.

“Spatchcocking” a chicken means splitting the bird down the back and flattening it out so it cooks more evenly and quickly (it’s also known as butterflying). This version is rubbed with flavorful Dijon mustard and a mixture of dried and fresh herbs.

Grill the perfect chicken breast―crunchy skin and tender meat―with a simple, foolproof method: Salt it beforehand to keep the meat moist, and give it a final toast over direct heat to crisp the skin up. Perfect results, with only two ingredients!

This chicken salad gets its wow factor from a dressing spiked with harissa, a Tunisian chile sauce. Cool yogurt balances the heat.

Sweet, slow-cooked onions and red peppers, laced with Port, capers, and thyme, make grilled chicken thighs your summer blockbuster.

The Kitchen, in Boulder, CO has a wine and beer bar upstairs with 100 beers as well as dishes from a wood-fired oven; this is one of them.

The classic roast chicken moves onto the grill, and a spice rub gives it extra kick.

Spicy, garlicky cream sauce makes this chicken special enough for summer entertaining.