2025 BBQ Recipes

National Barbecue Day is May 16! 

According to Statista, 75% of those in a recent survey stated that burgers were a must-have barbecue food, followed by hot dogs and steaks.

To celebrate National Barbecue Day, Yelp recently released a list of the Top 10 BBQ Cities across the U.S. Texas dominated with the #1 (Austin) and #2 (San Antonio) spots. Kansas City, Missouri rounded out the top three.

But your bar or restaurant doesn't have to be in a top city to serve great barbecue. Try adding some of these BBQ recipes (and complementary cocktails!) to your menus.

For the Grill

Smoke-Grilled Chicken with Bourbon Peach Glaze

Ingredients:

8 chicken thighs (about 2 pounds)

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

3 tbsp of your favorite barbecue rub or salt and pepper

For the glaze:

¼ cup peach preserves

¼ cup Bib & Tucker The Classic Six Bourbon

¼ cup of your favorite barbecue sauce

1 tsp freshly grated lemon zest, plus 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice

2 tbsp unsalted butter

You’ll also need: 2 chunks of hickory or other hardwood or 1 ½ cups of wood chips (if using the latter, soak in water to cover for 30 minutes, then drain), or pellets if using a pellet grill.

Directions:

1. Set up your grill for indirect grilling and heat to medium-high (400 degrees). Just before cooking, add the wood chunks or chips, following your grill manufacturer’s instructions.
2. Season the chicken thighs on all sides with barbecue rub or salt and pepper. Arrange on the grill grate, skin side up, away from the heat. Indirect grill the chicken until sizzling, browned and cooked through (the internal temperature will be 165 degrees), 30 to 45 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, make the glaze: Combine the peach preserves, Bib & Tucker 6-Year-Old Bourbon, barbecue sauce, lemon zest and lemon juice in a saucepan and whisk to mix. Bring to a boil, whisking steadily, and simmer for 2 minutes. Whisk in the butter.
4. Start basting the chicken with the glaze after 20 minutes and baste two more times as the chicken cooks. Transfer the chicken to a platter or plates and spoon any remaining glaze on top.

Spicy Mango BBQ Sauce

Ingredients:

1 cup bbq sauce

1/4 cup Monin Spicy Mango Syrup

Directions:

1. Combine all ingredients into a mixing bowl and whisk until fully incorporated.
2. Serve immediately or store in a tightly sealed container in the fridge.

Bib & Tucker Double Char Bourbon Brisket

Ingredients:

¼ cup Bib & Tucker Double Char Bourbon

1 brisket flat (4-1/2 to 5 pounds)

Coarse sea salt

Cracked black peppercorns or freshly ground black peppercorns

Hot red pepper flakes (optional)

16 thick-cut strips artisanal bacon, such as Nueske’s

Directions:

1. Douse the brisket in Bib & Tucker Double Char Bourbon for 30 minutes while your Big Green Egg or grill heats up. Drain off the bourbon. Place the brisket in a foil pan and generously season the top, bottom and sides with salt, black pepper, and if you like your brisket spicy, hot red pepper flakes. Finish with the lean (fatless) side up.
2. Set up your Big Green Egg or other smoker, following the manufacturer’s instructions and heat it to 250°F. Add hardwood chunks or chips as specified by the manufacturer. Place a metal bowl with 1 quart of warm water in the Big Green Egg—this creates a humid environment that will help the smoke adhere to the meat and keep your brisket moist.
3. Place the brisket in its pan in the Big Green Egg next to the water, and smoke for 1 hour, getting smoke into the underside of the meat.
4. Using tongs, invert the brisket so the fat side is up. Neatly drape the top with half the bacon slices. Cook the brisket until the bacon on top is darkly browned, about 2 hours or so. Remove the bacon, dice and eat it as a reward for your patience.
5. Lay the remaining bacon strips atop the brisket. Continue cooking until these new bacon strips are darkly browned and the and the internal temperature of the brisket registers 205°F on an instant-read thermometer. There should be a nice pool of bacon and brisket fat in the bottom of the pan. This will take another 3 to 4 hours, for a total of 6 to 8 hours in all. Note: There is no need to wrap the brisket in butcher paper or aluminum foil as the foil pan covers the bottom; the bacon covers the top.
6. You can eat the brisket immediately, but it will be much more moist and tender if you rest it, loosely covered with aluminum foil in an insulated cooler for 1 to 2 hours.
7. To serve, uncover the brisket and transfer it to a cutting board. Remove the bacon or slice it along with the brisket. Cut across the grain into 1/4-inch-thick slices, or as thickly or thinly as you desire. Serve with any condiments or accompaniments you like.

Pineapple Rum BBQ Sauce

Ingredients:

(makes about 1.5-2 cups of sauce)

20 ounce can of crushed pineapple

¼ cup island teriyaki sauce

1” piece of ginger, peeled

½ cup Koloa Gold Rum

½ cup ketchup

¼ cup apple cider vinegar

¼ cup brown sugar

½ teaspoon salt

Directions:

1. Add crushed pineapple and juices, island teriyaki and fresh peeled ginger into a food processor or blender.
2. Blend until smooth.
3. Pour the mixture into a sauce pot on the stove.
4. Add the remaining ingredients and stir together completely.
5. Allow the sauce to simmer for at least 15 minutes, until the sauce thickens.
6. Transfer to a large glass jar.
7. For a smoother, creamier BBQ sauce, use an immersion blender (or put half of sauce into the blender) and blend until you reach a creamy consistency, about 30-45 seconds.
8. This tropical BBQ sauce is delicious as is, or served on any protein from fish, chicken, pork and beef. Use it for burgers, ribs, to dip french fries and veggies, or to grill fresh pineapple. Brush your favorite cooked proteins and veggies with a little bit of this sauce and sprinkle fresh scallions or cilantro on top for an herby punch at the end!

Cajun Marinated Rib Eye Steak

4 USDA Prime Bone-In Rib Eye Steaks

Cajun Spice Rub:

2 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon black pepper

2 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

2 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon white ground pepper

2 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon paprika

1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon chili powder

2 teaspoons basil, dried

1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon ground cumin

2 teaspoons thyme, dried, whole

Cajun Marinade:

1 cup salad oil

1/2 cup Cajun Spice Rub

1/2 Spanish onion

To Marinate Steaks:

1/2 cup Cajun spice

1 cup Cajun Marinade oil

1/2 Spanish onion

4 Rib Eye steaks

Directions:

1. Cajun Spice Rub: Combine all ingredients, mix well.
2. If not using in marinade, you can simply rub steaks generously with Cajun Spice Rub on both sides and cook.
3. Cajun Marinade: Place ingredients into stock pot and simmer for one hour.
4. Strain through a mesh fine hole strainer.
5. Store in a plastic container.
6. To Marinate Steaks: Use a fork to pierce the meat, pressing the rub into the steak.
7. Slice onions.
8. Place the steaks and oil in a plastic container just large enough to hold them.
9. Add oil to cover the steaks
10. Marinate in a refrigerator for two days.
11. For Cooking: Season steaks with a bit of salt.
12. Grill or broil to desired temperature.
13. Finish with a bit of Cajun oil before serving.

For the Glass

Gabagool Martini 

Ingredients:

1.5 oz Ketel One Vodka

1 oz Capicola and Spicy Salami-Infused Ketel One Vodka

0.25 oz Lustau Fino Sherry

0.25 oz Dolin Dry Vermouth

0.25 oz Dolin Blanc Vermouth

0.5 oz Water

Directions:

1. A cured meat fat-washed vodka, sherry and vermouth are stirred and poured into an extra-chilled martini glass.
2. Garnish with a sun-dried tomato, ricotta-stuffed olives and a pearl onion.

Circa 1856 Old Fashioned

Ingredients:

2 oz Chicken Cock Kentucky Straight Rye

1/2 oz Demerara Syrup

6 Drops Saline

4 Dashes Aromatic Bitters

2 Dashes Orange Bitters

Garnish: Orange Peel

Directions: 

1. Add all ingredients into a mixing glass with ice.
2. Stir and strain into a rocks glass with a large ice cube.
3. Garnish with a brulee’d orange slice.

NOLET’S Silver Firecracker Gin + Tonic 

Ingredients:

1.5 oz. NOLET’S Silver Gin

1 Bomb Pop (or other popsicle)

Frozen Raspberries & Blueberries

4 oz. Tonic Water

Directions:

1. Fill a Balloon glass with ice and frozen fruit.
2. Add NOLET’S Silver, tonic water, and a popsicle.

Ride On 

Ingredients:

2 parts Sailor Jerry Spiced Rum

½ parts fresh lemon juice

½ parts Sailor Jerry Ironsides BBQ sauce

1 part pineapple juice

3 parts IPA beer

Directions:

1. Add all ingredients to a cocktail shaker.
2. Shake and strain into an ice filled highball glass rimmed with GYAO Mango Habanero Seasoning.
3. Top with 3 parts IPA beer of choice.
4. Garnish with a lemon slice. 

Are you registered for our Crave and Crave on the Menu newsletters? Sign up today!

Plan to Attend or Participate in Our Events:

• 2025 Bar & Restaurant Expo Colorado, October 26-28, 2025, Denver, Colorado
• 2026 Bar & Restaurant Expo, March 23-25, 2026, Las Vegas, Nevada.

To book your sponsorship or exhibit space at our events, fill out our form.

Also, be sure to follow Bar & Restaurant on Facebook and Instagram for all the latest industry news and trends.