Grilling

Barbacoa de Cabrito This goat barbecue typifies a style where the meat absorbs an adobo, a fragrant, spicy marinade of dried chiles and other seasonings. I watched Zoyla Mendoza make this dish in her village, Teotitlán del Valle. Though she and her family can well afford to eat meat, they usually save it for special occasions, so they rejoiced when I asked them to teach me their favorite barbacoa. It was beautiful, breathing the scent of fresh avocado leaves and other herbs. The meat becomes unbelievably tender without drying out or getting mushy. When I came back to my New York kitchen, I set to work to find other methods close to the tender savor of a true pit barbecue. For the type that Zoyla showed me, I feel the best results come from packing the marinated meat in a tightly covered pan just large enough to hold the ingredients and baking it for a long time in a moderate oven. A turkey roaster is good. If you don't have a big enough pan with a tight-fitting lid, wrap several layers of aluminum foil very snugly around the pan to seal in the steam. I make the barbacoa as Zoyla made it, with young goat (kid). Goat is available in some Greek, halal Muslim, and West Indian butcher shops and can sometimes be ordered from other butchers. Ask the butcher to cut it into quarters. Oaxacans always include and specially value the head, which has some extra-tender nuggets of meat. (This is optional for the doubting.) If goat is not available, lamb is the best substitute. At my restaurant, we use lamb shoulder. The dish can also be made with a whole fresh ham or a pot-roasting cut of beef such as round, though you may have to reduce the amount of marinade slightly and experiment with a shorter cooking time. Of course true pre-Hispanic barbacoa was made with turkey—not used as frequently nowadays, but still a notably authentic choice. When the meat is cooked in an authentic pit it yields a lot of rich juices that never develop using the oven method. At my restaurant in New York we approximate this as follows: When the adobo (chile paste) is made, set aside 1 1/4 cup of the mixture and rub the meat with the rest. Cook as described below. When the meat is done, skim the fat from the pan juices and deglaze the roasting pan with 2 cups homemade chicken broth over medium-high heat, scraping up the browned bits. Stir in one 28- to 32-ounce can tomatoes, breaking them up with a spoon. Add the reserved adobo and simmer, stirring frequently, for about 30 minutes, or until reduced to about 4 cups. Let cool slightly and purée in a blender (working in batches as necessary) until smooth. Serve with the carved meat.

Grilled meatballs, grilled bread, and a peppery arugula-walnut pesto make this sandwich one to remember.

This is my go-to pizza. I don't need a lot of bells and whistles, but I need the best of the best ingredients on this kind of pie. A good dough, a great sauce, fresh mozzarella, and basil are really where it's at.

Tim Love, Woodshed Smokehouse, Fort Worth, TX: "Charred mustard and citrus make for a great combo, especially when combined with a marbled steak."

This recipe is part of the Epicurious Online Cooking School, in partnership with the Culinary Institute of America. To watch it being made, and to learn how to make other Mexican classics, check out the video classes.

The creamy peanut marinade comes together in just minutes. For maximum flavor, we like to soak the chicken for at least three hours.

Andrea Reusing, chef at Lantern in Chapel Hill, NC, cooks whole ears of corn in the dying embers of a charcoal fire after the burgers or pork chops have finished cooking. "I love the efficiency of it," she says. The waning heat produces some sweeter bites and others that are more charred. Keep the husks on to protect the corn, and soak the ears before they hit the embers so the kernels don't dry out.

In this delicious double dose of pork, the tenderloin stays juicy inside a crispy pancetta crust. Make sure to save any extra chutney—you'll want it for pork sandwiches the next day.

Of all the ways to prepare shrimp, the grill delivers the best flavor. Although unadorned "shrimp on the barbie" are great, an easily assembled gingery barbecue sauce makes them that much better. You can save time by buying already shelled and deveined shrimp, but our recipe developer, Alexis Touchet, who grew up in shrimp country in southwest Louisiana, thinks shell-on shrimp are better quality. Depending on where you live and what's in your market, you may not have much choice. Freshness trumps all, so don't hesitate to use your nose in deciding which shrimp to buy.

It's hard to imagine anything better than freshly picked ears of corn roasting to golden-brown goodness on the grill. One taste of our Honey-Ginger Barbecue Sauce and you'll be wondering why you ever stuck to plain ol' butter. This sweet and tangy sauce transforms the season's staple produce into a standout, flame-kissed favorite. Editor's Note: This recipe is part of Gourmet's Modern Menu for A Fourth of July Cookout. Menu also includes Grilled Shrimp with Honey-Ginger Barbecue Sauce and Red, White, and Blue Ice Cream Cake.

Toss the season's first ripe peaches into a tangy relish to spoon over smoky grilled pork chops for the first official day of summer.

Trust us: No one will complain if you double the shrimp and omit the lobster in this tart and beachy seafood salad. Just be sure to sear the shrimp quickly on a hot grill: The char plays nicely with lime juice.

No room on the grill? Cut the kernels from the cobs and char with 1 tablespoon olive oil in a cast-iron skillet on the stove.

With a dish this simple, you need the freshest possible fish—and good technique. Score the flesh down to the bone to encourage even cooking, and be patient when making the first turn: If you oil the grill grate well and give the fish time to cook through, the skin won't stick.

Five ingredients and five steps will get you to burger heaven.

A great summer salad requires three things: fresh greens, a tart, seasonal dressing (made here with grated tomato), and a light hand to toss the ingredients together so the lettuces stay perky.

These chewy-crisp flatbreads are just right for drizzling with chile oil and herb sauce or wrapping around grilled meat. Use this master recipe and topping combinations from our list below, or improvise with anything from guacamole to pesto. And yes, you can substitute store-bought pizza dough.

Choose baby backs or spareribs, then follow our three simple steps: Season, bake, and grill.