Explore eight showstopping and unique grilling ideas beyond typical BBQ fare, including making your own bacon and grilling unconventional items like rabbit and bone marrow. This post provides simple instructions and tips to elevate your grilling skills and wow your guests with gourmet dishes.
When it comes to grilling, there’s always room to elevate your game and try something new. Whether you’re a grill newbie, a weekend warrior, or a seasoned grillmaster, exploring unique grilling ideas can take your culinary skills to the next level.
In this post, we’ll dive into some cool grilling ideas that may require a bit more work, technique, and general knowledge, but are guaranteed to impress anyone who sits down at your table. These aren’t your typical burgers and hot dogs—instead, we’ll look at elaborate recipes and upscale versions of BBQ classics that will impress even the most discerning guests. But don’t panic—some recipes do take a couple of days, but nothing on our list is overly difficult to prepare.
From curing and smoking your own bacon to unconventional options like rabbit, Cornish hens, or bone marrow, we’ll cover some of the most unique things to grill, including:
- Bacon from start to finish
- Montreal smoked meat
- Tomahawk steaks
- Whole duck
- Prime rib roasts
- Rabbit
- Lamb ribs
- Cornish game hens
- Bone marrow
We’ll share some simple instructions for how to prepare all of these items to help you decide which unique grilling ideas you want to pursue, along with links to detailed recipes from experienced grillers. So, fire up your grill and get ready to embark on a journey through some of the most impressive and cool grilling ideas. Let’s turn those backyard barbecues into gourmet feasts!
1. Tomahawk Steak
Difficulty:
Easy
Time Required:
3-4 hours
Recommended Grill Type:
Any type of grill
Tomahawk steaks are actually the same cut as the beloved ribeye, but with the long rib bone left attached. Not only does the bone add flavor, but it seriously amps up the impressiveness factor. It also means a Tomahawk will be thicker than a traditional ribeye—so thick that this cut is usually meant to feed 2-4 people.
Here’s how to grill a Tomahawk steak:
- Salt your steak and let it dry brine for about 2 hours before cooking. Dry brining adds flavor and helps draw moisture back into the steak.
- Prepare your grill for two-zone cooking and preheat to a temperature of about 275 degrees.
- Start by grilling your steak over the indirect/unheated side with the lid closed till it reaches a temperature of about 120 degrees for medium rare, about 45 minutes to an hour depending on the thickness of the steak and temperature of the grill. Flip it once around the 20-minute mark.
- Once you reach 120 degrees, move the steak over to the direct heat side and sear with the lid open for 3-4 mins per side. Position the bone away from the flame so it doesn’t scorch.
- Remove from the grill and top with pats of salted butter and some freshly ground pepper. Let it rest for 20-15 minutes before slicing.
Follow these detailed instructions by Hey Grill Hey.
2. Bacon (from start to finish)
Difficulty:
Medium
Time Required:
7+ days
Recommended Grill Type:
Pellet grill or smoker
Ever tried bacon on the BBQ? We’re not talking about just grilling your store-bought bacon—we’re talking about making your own bacon entirely from scratch, starting with a slab of pork belly that you’ll season, smoke, and cook to perfection.
Making your own bacon is a several-day-long process, but it’s worth it. Here’s how to make your own bacon:
- Start with a good cut of pork belly. See if you can get your butcher to remove the skin, then divide larger portions into smaller cuts so they can fit into a gallon-sized zip-top bag.
- Cure each portion in its own sealed plastic bag. It should take about 7 days for every inch of thickness, but you’ll know it’s done when you slice through and it’s pink throughout with no gray parts. The texture will also feel like a well-done steak.
- Once cured, you can smoke! First, air dry your cured pork belly in the fridge for up to 24 hours, then smoke at as low a temperature as possible for about 6 hours until the internal temperature reaches 155. A pellet grill or dedicated smoker tends to be best for smoking bacon.
- Slice and fry as usual!
For detailed instructions, follow this tutorial by Hey Grill Hey.
Shop for grill thermometers:
3. Montreal Smoked Meat
Difficulty:
Medium
Time Required:
7+ days
Recommended Grill Type:
Pellet grill, smoker, or charcoal grill
Montreal smoked meat is made using beef brisket—a classic cut for grill enthusiasts. Like DIY bacon, Montreal smoked meat is a bit of an involved recipe, but it’s not a terribly difficult one.
Montreal smoked meat is both smoked and steamed. Smoking adds that quintessential smoked meat flavor, but steaming offers a couple of other benefits: The smoke flavor won’t be totally overwhelming, and you’ll avoid “the stall”, which occurs around 170 degrees and is caused by moisture evaporating from the surface and cooling the meat.
Here’s a primer on how to make your own:
- Cure your brisket for 7 days in the fridge using pink curing salt (not pink Himalayan salt—pink curing salt and pink Himalayan salt are not the same thing). And don’t be tempted to substitute regular kosher salt—pink curing salt is enriched with sodium nitrate to keep the meat that signature pink hue. If you use any other type of salt, you’ll end up with an unappetizing gray brisket and inaccurate curing time and process.
- Soak your cured brisket in a water bath for a couple of hours to temper the saltiness.
- Season your brisket liberally with Montreal smoked meat seasoning. Montreal smoked meat seasoning is a mashup of nine different dried spices: ground black pepper, ground coriander, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, dried dill weed, ground mustard, celery seed, and crushed red pepper flakes. You can buy a premade spice mix (just choose one that doesn’t include added salt), or create your own.
- Smoke your brisket. Montreal smoked meat is only smoked for part of its total cook time, so instead of smoking it to completion, you’ll only smoke your brisket to an internal temperature of about 170 degrees to start softening the connective and build flavor. A smoker, pellet grill, or charcoal grill are best here, but you can smoke on a gas grill as well.
- Once you get to about 170-180 degrees, pull your brisket off the smoker and finish it by steaming till it reaches an internal temperature of 200 degrees. Transfer the meat to a roasting rack set inside a water-filled roasting pan, covered with a foil lid, and steam over a stovetop burner. You could also tightly wrap the brisket in multiple layers of foil, then add it back to the grill (this method is called the “Texas crutch”).
- Rest and serve warm or cool!
Serious Eats has you covered with detailed instructions.
4. Duck
Difficulty:
Easy
Time Required:
3+ hours
Recommended Grill Type:
Any type of grill
Tired of your usual rotisserie chicken? It’s time to try your hand at grilled whole duck. Grilling a duck isn’t much more difficult than grilling a whole chicken, but there’s an extra prep step required to render out some of the fat and help achieve that delectable crispy skin.
Here’s how to do it:
- Boil the duck whole first. It may sound odd to boil your bird, but this is how you achieve maximum skin crisp. Bring a large stock pot filled with enough water to cover the duck to a boil, then gently lower the duck into the water and place a lid over it to keep it submerged (ducks float). Lower the heat to a simmer and let it cook for 15 minutes.
- Remove it, let the liquid drain back into the pot, and then pat dry inside and out.
- Set up your grill for indirect cooking over high heat (about 450-475). You can also place a drip pan full of water under the duck to help regulate the heat and collect fat drippings.
- Season the duck according to your recipe of choice, truss, and grill the duck over indirect heat for 1-1.5 hours with the lid closed. Flip the duck and cook for another hour till it reaches an internal temperature of 165.
- Rest and serve!
Check out Jess Pryles’ detailed instructions for crispy-skinned roast duck on the grill.
5. Prime Rib
Difficulty:
Easy
Time Required:
4+ hours
Recommended Grill Type:
Any type of grill. A rotisserie is strongly recommended.
Also known as standing rib roast, prime rib is a quintessentially impressive cut of beef. If you’re looking for a showstopper recipe that’s sure to please even the pickiest eaters (and largest crowds), prime rib is the winner.
Prime rib is best cooked by rotisserie so you can get a flavorful sear on all sides of the roast. Here’s how to do it:
- Season your roast with your seasoning of choice (or just salt and pepper), then cover and let it rest for 2 hours prior to cooking.
- Set up your grill for two-zone cooking and preheat to about 450 degrees. Mount your prime rib onto your rotisserie and place the rotisserie on the grill.
- Cook over the rotisserie till your roast reaches an internal temp of 125 degrees, about 2 hours for 4-6 lb roast or 3-3.5 hours for a 6-10 lb roast.
- Remove the roast, rest, and serve.
Hey Grill Hey has you covered for prime rib on the grill as well.
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6. Rabbit
Difficulty:
Easy
Time Required:
About an hour
Recommended Grill Type:
Any type of grill
Looking for unique things to grill for something a little less conventional? Try rabbit! If you’ve never tried it before, rabbit has a slightly sweet flavor and it pairs well with any kind of BBQ sauce. It’s also quite lean and doesn’t have a fatty skin, so you’ll get fewer flare-ups.
It may sound intimidating, but grilling rabbit is actually not much more complicated than grilling chicken thighs. Here’s how to do it:
- Prepare your rabbit. You can either cook it whole and butterflied, or break it down into parts. Either marinate the pieces, or slather the butterflied whole rabbit in your sauce of choice.
- Preheat your grill to 425 and place the rabbit on the grill. If you opted for butterflied rabbit with sauce, place it sauce side down. If you’re going with smaller pieces, begin adding them to the grill starting with the pieces that take the longest to cook (the legs and shoulder).
- Cover and grill the whole rabbit for 15-20 minutes. After 20 minutes, cover the top side with sauce, flip, and grill for another 15-20 minutes until the juices run clear and the internal temperature in the thigh reads 160 degrees. For smaller pieces, keep adding different parts to the grill according to their cook time. Add the belly after about 10 minutes, then after 10 more minutes you can add the saddle and ribs.
- Rest, carve, and serve.
We found two recipes we liked for grilled rabbit. For whole rabbit, try this recipe by Birdsong Farm. If you’d rather break your rabbit down into pieces, Jamie Oliver’s recipe is a great choice.
7. Lamb Ribs
Difficulty:
Easy
Time Required:
About an hour
Recommended Grill Type:
Any type of grill
If you’re looking for an extra decadent upgrade for your usual beef or pork ribs, we highly recommend lamb. They look fancy and they taste succulent, and they’re actually easier (and faster) to cook than pork ribs. Here’s how to do it:
- Prepare the ribs by scoring the fatty layer (to allow flavor to penetrate) and rubbing them with your dry rub of choice.
- Set up your grill for two-zone cooking and preheat to about 350. Place the ribs on the unheated side of the grill and cook for about 20 minutes with the lid closed. After 20 minutes, flip the ribs and grill for another 20 minutes or so.
- Move the ribs over to the direct heat side and sear for 4-6 minutes per side.
- Rest and serve!
Running To The Kitchen has the detailed directions you need for BBQ lamb ribs.
8. Cornish Game Hens
Difficulty:
Medium
Time Required:
4+ hours
Recommended Grill Type:
Any type of grill
Cornish game hens are a fancy alternative to a whole chicken. A typical roaster chicken weighs about 4-7lbs, but game hens clock in around 1-2 lbs, making them perfect for individual servings. Their smaller size also allows them to absorb marinade more quickly.
They aren’t difficult to grill, but the prep process is a bit more involved. Here’s how to cook your own:
- Start by spatchcocking your hens. This is the part that can be a bit messy and complicated, but the process is pretty straightforward once you get the hang of it. Once spatchcocked, rub each hen with your wet rub of choice. Let them reach room temperature before you start grilling.
- Set up your grill for two-zone cooking. Place the hens skin side up over direct heat for about 5 minutes, then flip and keep cooking over direct heat for about 15 minutes till the internal temperature reads 145. If the skin is starting to char, move the birds over to the indirect side of the grill.
- Rest and serve!
Follow these step-by-step directions from Serious Eats.
9. Bone Marrow
Difficulty:
Easy
Time Required:
30-45 minutes
Recommended Grill Type:
Any type of grill
If you’ve never tried bone marrow, you’re missing out on an explosion of flavor and one of the most truly succulent culinary experiences you could ever have. Whether you scoop the marrow out and enjoy it straight up or use it to enhance other dishes (such as slathered on a burger bun or melted over a steak while it rests), bone marrow will amp up any dish—even if it’s just toasted bread.
One bone is a perfect appetizer, but for a full serving, plan for 3-4 bones per person. The cost can add up quickly, and since there’s so much flavor, you can easily stick with a bone or two per person and serve it as an impressive appy.
Here’s how to do it:
- Start with the right bones. You want marrow bones from the center of the leg, where the marrow-to-bone ratio is highest. Ask your butcher for “canoe cut” bones, but marrow rounds will work as well.
- Clean the marrow bones with cold water and scrape away any extra tissue from the outside of the bone.
- Rub the exposed marrow with sliced garlic cloves or shallots, then sprinkle with salt and pepper.
- Preheat your grill to medium-high (about 400-450). Place the bones cut side up in a cast iron skillet. You can also place them directly onto the grill, but the skillet will help catch any drippings when the bones inevitably tip over, and it will also help you avoid scorching the bones if there are flare-ups.
- Grill for 10-25 minutes depending on the size of the bone and how much marrow there is. You’ll know they’re done when the marrow starts to gently bubble on the surface.
For detailed instructions, follow this recipe by the Grillin’ Fools.
Taking Your BBQ Skills to the Next Level
From curing your own bacon to finding unique things to grill, like rabbit and bone marrow, these recipes will challenge you to step out of your comfort zone and master new techniques. Each recipe offers you an opportunity to create gourmet dishes that go beyond the typical backyard barbecue fare, transforming your grilling experiences into culinary adventures. So, fire up your grill, embrace the challenge, and get ready to impress with your newfound grilling prowess.
