From juicy burgers and marinated steak tips to ratatouille salad and old-fashioned baked beans, these tried-and-true cookout recipes are sure to make your next New England summer bash a smashing success.
By Katherine Keenan
Apr 04 2023
Outside-In Homemade Burgers
Photo Credit : Mark FlemingFrom juicy burgers and marinated steak tips to ratatouille salad and old-fashioned baked beans, these tried-and-true cookout recipes are sure to make your next New England summer bash a smashing success.
There’s something homey and endearing about slab pies, which makes them perfect for a summer party. It also helps that they’re portable and easy to cut up and serve. This apple-cranberry slab pie offers the perfect combination of sweet-tart flavors.
Thanks to a boozy-sweet marinade, this recipe for brown sugar bourbon steak tips is a flavorful addition to your grilling repertoire. It’s also the most popular steak tip marinade recipe in the Yankee archives. Serve with grilled veggies.
This gooey skillet s’mores dip couldn’t be simpler: You just melt some chocolate in a skillet, top with marshmallows, cover, and cook. To eat, dip the graham crackers into the sauce. If you want a nicely browned top, it does help to have access to an oven’s broiler, a small kitchen torch, or a carefully wielded flaming branch.
In this easy New England clam dip recipe, sour cream and cream cheese pair with tender clams, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, and onion to form a tasty concoction you won’t be able to resist. Why settle for store-bought when homemade tastes this good?
The word coleslaw comes from the Dutch koolsla, meaning cabbage salad. This version, studded with carrots and celery, is a New England church supper crowd-pleaser. You can switch it up by adding raisins, chopped nuts, or bits of fruit, such as apple or pineapple.
This recipe includes all the traditional ingredients for true New England chowdah – fresh shellfish, bacon, potatoes, and cream – yet it’s rich and thick without turning gloopy.
This creamy, zesty pasta salad with peas and arugula is a modern take on a summer classic. We love the bright lemon zest and shower of crunchy, buttery bread crumbs for texture.
A recipe for “Hot Deviled Eggs” in Yankee’s February 1950 issue gave rise to these piquant spin-offs, which feature ginger and sriracha, bacon and caramelized onion, and baked-potato fixings including jalapeño.
Fresh herbs and crisp bacon elevate buttered, grilled corn to delicious new heights in this easy summer recipe.
Celebrate the bounty of summer with this ratatouille salad, an update on a classic French dish.
This simple grilled swordfish topped with a fresh tomato and pepper salsa is fast and flavorful. It’s also delicious on fish tacos or grilled chicken.
In this flavorful and fresh summer zucchini salad, zucchini slices are lightly browned, then tossed with fresh herbs, almonds, Parmesan, and lemon.
This award-winning wild blueberry pie recipe from Maine cook Mary Blenk is juicy, not runny; the berries sweet (yet just a bit tart); the crust flaky and light. In short, it’s everything a blueberry pie should be. Don’t forget the vanilla ice cream!
Even though condiments are actually incorporated into these patties, don’t hesitate to top these homemade burgers with the usual fixings. You’ll enjoy an even richer flavor. And feel free to double or triple the recipe for a crowd — it’s quite flexible. Other New England grill favorites include Fenway Franks and “red snapper” dogs, served on a top-split hot dog bun.
These buttery skillet garlic pull-apart rolls are a major crowd-pleaser. They’re easiest to bake in a lidded charcoal or gas grill, but you can also make them in a covered skillet over a fire pit.
Grilling over lower heat is perfect for bone-in chicken thighs. Alabama white sauce is a simple vinegar-mayonnaise blend white BBQ sauce that’s fantastic on chicken and pork. If you think barbecue sauce should always come in shades of red, you’re in for a delightful surprise.
A traditional beachfront clambake is a signature New England experience, but it’s an effort reserved for only the most special occasions (unless you’re in possession of a stretch of private beach and ample free time to dig a pit and build a fire). You can, however, reproduce the flavors at home with a stovetop clambake — all you need is a large pot, some seafood, and aromatics like fennel and lemons.
Use fresh summer berries to make this delightful strawberry tart inspired by the classic Italian cannoli. The crust is a simple press-in dough that tastes like sugar cookies but crunches like a cannoli shell.
Inspired by the iconic New England clambake, these grill packs replace lobster with quick-cooking shrimp, along with spicy sausage, corn, and potatoes. Smoked mussels are optional but add a wood-fired flavor.
Beanhole beans, or beans-in-the-ground, are New Hampshire cook Tom Curren’s specialty: 25 pounds of beans baked the way they were in the logging camps of the Great North Woods, where they had no ovens. Here’s a scaled-down version, adapted for your home oven. This recipe still makes a generous amount, but the beans freeze beautifully.
In this comforting side dish casserole, baked potatoes are mashed with cheddar cheese, bacon, sour cream, and roasted garlic and topped with scallions. Delicious.
This colorful combination of watermelon, cucumber, mint, and lime juice makes an ultra-refreshing summer drink.
Here’s a classic homemade whoopie pie recipe for this favorite old-fashioned New England dessert. Soft chocolate cookies with Marshmallow Fluff cream filling never had it so good. If you prefer New England–inspired cookies, try chewy molasses hermit bars or the classic chocolate chip Toll House cookies.
What’s your favorite recipe to make for a summer cookout? Let us know in the comments below!
As the Associate Digital Editor, Katherine writes and edits content for NewEngland.com and promotes Yankee Magazine on social media channels. A graduate of Smith College, Katherine grew up in the White Mountains of New Hampshire and currently lives in Maine.
More by Katherine Keenan