Grilled foods are always perfect for picnic outings. Kids and adults alike love hot grilled foods grilled foods for picnic lunches or dinners. Barbecued meat or fish (or any kind of seafood like shrimp and squid) tastes better when cooked with grilled vegetables as side dish. Fresh air is the best seasoning for these picnic food recipes to grill. No meal is more enjoyable when shared with family and friends. Make sure to choose the right wine and vegetable side dish for grilled foods you bring to the picnic.

Two Grilling Methods

Two types of grilling when using charcoal or barbecue briquettes: direct and indirect grilling  methods. Thick cuts of meat usually require cooking over indirect heat; while easy-to-cook picnic foods can be grilled directly over charcoal embers. For indirect grilling method, create an empty space in the middle by scraping the hot charcoals to opposite sides of the grill.

BBQ Tips and Techniques

Here are some grilling tips and techniques to make your picnic food grilled dishes yummy and tasty. Do not burn or overcook because charred meat is not healthy for the body. To avoid overcooking, picnic grilled foods are microwaved or boiled in marinade. To avoid charring, apply sauce or marinade on barbecued meat when cooking time is almost over. To avoid losing the delicious juices while grilling the picnic foods, do not press the meat (like steak or hamburger patties) while cooking. Rub cooking oil on the clean and dry surface grill grate to keep food from sticking. Round-shaped grill has equal distribution of heat.

How to Prepare the Charcoal Grill

Clean the grate grill with steel brush, rinse well, and let dry; then brush on some vegetable oil. Remove ashes in the grill. Arrange the charcoal or briquettes like a mountain with a small cave opening at the bottom. Roll and twist a piece of paper to form a long and thin shape. Light one end and carefully insert into the “cave”. Smoke should be free to escape through the pile of charcoal so that oxygen can get inside to keep the fire alive. Use a metal utensil or thick stick to spread the hot coals.

Grilled Shrimp with Tomatoes (Credit given to sean dreilinger from flickr.com)

Picnic Grilled Shrimps

Shrimps are quick-cooking and best grilled over direct heat.

Ingredients:

20 pieces large shrimp (without head), peeled and deveined but keep the tails intact
1 piece small lemon
2 Tbsp honey

Marinade Ingredients:

2 cups barbecue sauce
½ tsp ground pepper, fine
¼ tsp fine salt
¼ tsp garlic powder

How to: In a small bowl, mix all ingredients for marinade. In a large bowl, squeeze lemon over shrimps. Set aside for 2 minutes; then, wash quickly and drain well. Marinate shrimps for 1 hour. Drain well before grilling to avoid burning. Stick 5 shrimps to each barbecue bamboo sticks, horizontally or vertically. Arrange on pre-oiled grill grate and cook over a single layer of red-hot charcoal or white bbq briquettes. Shrimps cook for 6 to 10 minutes; or 3 to 5  minutes for each side. Brush marinade on shrimps only once and when almost half-done. Drizzle or brush honey on grilled shrimps and serve hot on top of sliced ripe tomatoes and shreds of green lettuce.

Chicken Barbecue (Credit given to thebittenword from flickr.com)

Picnic Barbequed Chicken Drumsticks

Dark-colored chicken barbecues are caused by the sweetness in the marinade. If light color is desired, pre-cook the chicken drumsticks with the marinade to shorten the grilling time.

Ingredients:

6 pieces medium chicken drumsticks or legs, thawed and well-drained
¼ cup soy sauce
1 Tbsp honey
1 Tbsp lemon juice, freshly squeezed
1 Tbsp hot sauce
1 Tbsp brown sugar
½ tsp garlic powder
¼ ground pepper
¼ fine salt

How to: Combine all ingredients and set aside for 1 to 2 hours. Using a fork, prick chicken legs on different parts so that meat will absorb the marinade. Cook chicken over indirect heat. Braise the marinate on the chicken

Pork Ribs on Grill (Credit given to Joe Perez-Green from flickr.com)

Picnic Pork Ribs on Hot Grill

Pork is tastier when cooked slowly. Braise with some barbeque sauce while cooking over indirect heat to make it smell delicious. Pork ribs are the best choice for picnic grilled meat recipes because pork meat is more tender than beef.

Ingredients:

2 pounds pork ribs, washed and drained
2 cups barbeque sauce
¼ cup vegetable oil
½ cup chili sauce (optional)
½ cup brown sugar (optional)

How to: Arrange the hot charcoal on the grill to create a vacant space on the middle. Grilling over indirect heat requires longer cooking time and frequent turning to avoid burning or charring. To keep the meat moist, brush with barbeque sauce and vegetable oil on each turning.

Summer Picnic Idea

Summer picnics are more fun when picnic foods are grilled right before eating. Remember: quick-cooking recipes are better cooked over direct heat; while large slabs of meat need to be slow-cooked using indirect heat to keep the meat tasty, juicy, and tender.

Budget-Friendly Picnic Food Recipes for Kids

Kids are the easiest to please because they like picnic foods that are bite-sized, delicious—and sweet. Packing the picnic basket with goodies for kids is such a breeze and not so expensive. Just make sure that the kiddie foods are colorful and appetizing to look at.

Picnic food dishes for kids need not be expensive and elaborate to prepare. Just throw in lots of munchies in the picnic basket and cold drinks in the ice chest, the tykes should be chirpy and happy. Children love to play picnic games so don’t forget to bring along the frisbee or volleyball for the picnic.

Barbecues are all-time favorite picnic foods. Barbecued steaks and chicken legs are popular as picnic foods for adults; and hotdogs with roasted marshmallows for kids. Bring them raw and marinated so everyone will have fun cooking the food. It is more exciting to eat fresh-from-the-grill meat or hotdogs. You don’t have to buy a new grill for the picnic to save space for those big jugs of ice-cold drinks. Just don’t forget to bring a bagful of dry charcoal and matches along with the good ole iron grill. Light your charcoals at the center of several pieces of like-sized rocks to create a makeshift grill stove.

Hotdogs on the Grill (Credits given to TheBusyBrain from flickr.com)

Picnic Hotdogs On-The-Go

Ingredients:

1 bag/kilogram jumbo-sized hotdogs, sweet and cheesy variety
Bamboo barbecue sticks

Ingredients for Basting Sauce:

1 medium red onion, peeled
1 cup ketchup
½ cup brown sugar
¼ cup vegetable oil
¼ tsp Iodized Salt
1/8 tsp ground white pepper

How to: Skew one hotdog per stick. Make sure at least 3 inches length of stick is visible for easy handling. Using a sharp knife, make light diagonal lines on both sides of the hotdog. Set aside. (Optional: Hotdogs can be cut into bite-sized cubes before skewing.) In a blender or osterizer, combine all ingredients for basting sauce and blend for 3 minutes. Pour in a container and cover tightly. This baste mixture can also be used to meat barbecue recipes.

Pork Barbecue (Credits given to Ced from flickr.com)

Simple Pork Barbecue

Pork is easier and quicker to cook over hot coals. Unlike beef, pork is juicier even when over-cooked—just don’t forget to baste the meat with sauce while grilling. Marinate pork cubes (or steaks or pork chops) in soy sauce, lemon, and seasonings overnight to make the meat more savory. To make kebabs, skew the pork cubes with your choice of vegetables or fruits in between (i.e., cherry tomatoes, pineapple chunks, onions, and peppers). For kiddie picnic barbecue, make it all-meat with shorter stick.

Ingredients:

2 pounds lean pork meat, cubed to 1/2-inch thick
1 cup soy sauce
1 piece lemon
5 cloves garlic, crushed and chopped finely
½ tsp each of salt and ground pepper

How to: Thoroughly mix all ingredients, except the pork meat. Arrange the cubes in the marinade mixture and set aside in the refrigerator for 1 hour, or overnight. When placed in the freezer, the marinated meat can remain fresh up to 3 days.

Honey-Dipped Chicken Nuggets (Credits given to my_amii from flickr.com)

Tasty-and-Delicious Chicken Nuggets

Chicken nuggets are so easy to make even kids can help prepare them. Or you can just buy ready-to-cook nuggets from the supermarket. But, hey,  homemade picnic foods are tastier and cheaper so get your aprons and head to the kitchen. Fried or baked, these nuggets are tender to eat.

Ingredients:

2 cups flour, sifted (alternative: cornflakes, roughly crushed)
½ tsp salt, fine
¼ tsp ground pepper, fine
1/8 tsp garlic powder
1 cup grated cheese
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 pounds chicken breasts, washed and well-drained and cut into desired-size rectangles

How to: Combine all dry ingredients and blend thoroughly to make breading mix. Dip each piece of nugget in beaten egg and roll in the breading. For frying, heat 2 cups of oil in an iron skillet until smoke appears on the oil’s surface. Lower the nuggets one by one into the hot oil. For baking, arrange the breaded nuggets on a greased baking pan and bake in the pre-heated oven until cooked. Serve with ketchup or mayonnaise or any kind of salad dressing, or even honey.

Fruit Juices: Watermelon, Lemonade, and Strawberry (Credits given to charmednblum from flickr.com)

Icy Lemonade Drink

Picnic drinks are usually canned or bottled soft drinks and water. Why pump your kids with artificial sweeteners or tasteless liquid? Fruit juices are rich in Vitamin C, like the lemonade made from lemon juice. Place them in jugs full of ice or pour them into containers and keep cool in the picnic ice chest—to keep the kids asking for more of the revitalizing fruit juices.

Ingredients:

5 cups lemon juice, freshly squeezed
5 cups white sugar

How to: Blend all ingredients well and mix with water, according to taste. To preserve the tangy and fruity taste of lemonade, add only ice.