Off the Galley Mike
Mike — Off The Galley
Six years as a Navy cook on submarines and destroyers, feeding 130 sailors from a galley the size of your bathroom. Now I cook the same big-flavor, no-nonsense food for my family of four — and share every recipe here. No culinary school. No fancy plating. Just real food that works, tested on the toughest critics afloat and the pickiest ones at home.
The Backyard Burger Cookout
Not every cookout needs 12 hours of smoking. Sometimes you just want burgers, good sides, and cold drinks. This is the quick cookout — everything from first flip to dessert in under two hours.
Smash Burgers and Animal Style Burgers — run both on the griddle and let people choose.
Grilled Corn — husk on, 15 minutes, butter and salt.
Air Fryer Fries — crispy, golden, and ready fast.
Classic Coleslaw — make it the morning of.
Smoked Mac and Cheese — if the smoker is running.
Loaded Nachos — the appetizer while burgers cook.
Elote — charred corn, mayo, cotija, Tajín.
Banana Pudding — always banana pudding.
Total time: 2 hours. Total cost for 10 people: $40-50.
The Two-Burger Strategy
Run two burger styles simultaneously: on the flat griddle and for anyone who wants the mustard-grilled, caramelized onion version. Both cook in under 5 minutes per patty. Set up a toppings bar (lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles, jalapeños, multiple cheeses, multiple sauces) and let people build their own.
Smash Burgers
Thin, crispy, stacked, and better than the drive-through for a buck fifty. Six months at sea, dreaming about a real burger. This is that burger.
In-N-Out Animal Style Burger
Mustard-grilled patty, caramelized onions, and that sauce. San Diego muscle memory. First liberty in San Diego = first In-N-Out. Changed my life.
The Side Strategy
Start on the grill while the first batch of burgers cooks. run inside simultaneously. was made that morning and is cold in the fridge. gets assembled as the corn comes off the grill.
go on a sheet pan and into the oven as the appetizer while the grill heats up. By the time the nachos are gone, the first burgers are ready.
Grilled Corn on the Cob
Charred, buttered, and the easiest side you’ll ever make on a grill.
Air Fryer French Fries
Crispy fries with a fraction of the oil. Your air fryer was built for this.
Elote (Mexican Street Corn)
Charred corn, mayo, cotija, chili powder, lime. San Diego street food at its finest. Liberty in San Diego — the street corn vendor outside the gate.
Loaded Nachos
Sheet pan nachos loaded with everything. Layer the cheese between every level. That’s the secret. Midrats nachos — the 2am miracle. Now it’s football Sundays.
Dessert
. Made last night. Served cold. It’s the cookout constant. Every cookout, every season, banana pudding. Nobody ever complains. Nobody ever takes less than two servings.
Total time from grill-light to dessert: under 2 hours. Total cost for 10 people: $40-50. Per person: $4-5 for a full cookout spread.
Banana Pudding
Nilla wafers, vanilla pudding, fresh bananas, whipped cream. The BBQ dessert that matters.
The Quick Cookout Advantage
Not everyone has 12 hours for a brisket cook. The burger cookout is the accessible version — everything from first flip to final bite in under two hours. Fire up the grill at 4 PM, eat at 5:30 PM, clean up by 6:30 PM. It’s the weeknight cookout that feels like a weekend event. The kids play in the yard while the grill runs, and that’s the whole point — low effort, high reward, everyone outside and happy.
The backyard burger cookout is proof that simple food done well beats complicated food every time.
The Smash Burger Method
are the fastest cookout burger — two minutes per patty. Form 2-ounce balls of 80/20 ground beef. Place on a screaming hot flat surface (cast iron griddle or plancha on the grill). Smash within 30 seconds — before the proteins set. The meat spreads thin, maximizing surface area contact with the hot metal. The Maillard reaction creates a deep, caramelized crust that’s intensely beefy. Flip once, add cheese, done.
The version adds mustard on the raw side before flipping (it caramelizes on the griddle), plus grilled onions and special spread. It’s a five-dollar restaurant experience for about a dollar per burger.
Burger Toppings Bar
Set up everything before the first patty hits the heat. Lettuce (shredded and whole leaf), tomato slices, onion (raw rings and grilled), pickles (dill chips and bread-and-butter), jalapeños (fresh sliced and pickled), cheeses (American for classic melt, pepper jack for heat, sharp cheddar for flavor), sauces (ketchup, mustard, mayo, , ), and toasted buns.
The toppings bar is what makes a burger cookout feel like an event rather than just dinner outside. When people build their own burger, they invest in it. They think about flavor combinations. They get creative. And nobody complains because they made exactly what they wanted.
Copycat Raising Cane’s Sauce
Mayo, ketchup, garlic, Worcestershire, pepper. The proportions are the secret.
The Side Game
serve as the appetizer while the grill heats up. Build them on a sheet pan, bake until the cheese melts, and set them on the table before the first burger is flipped. This gives hungry guests something to eat immediately — nobody hovers impatiently around the grill.
goes directly on the grill alongside the burgers. It takes 15-20 minutes with the husk on — start the corn, then start the burgers. Both finish around the same time.
run inside while you’re grilling outside. Cut, soak, dry, toss with oil, air fry. They come out when you’re ready to plate and everyone gets hot, crispy fries with their burger.
and are both cold or room-temperature sides that can be made hours ahead. They sit on the table ready to go without any last-minute prep.
The Numbers
Plan for 2 burgers per adult, 1 per kid. For 10 people (7 adults, 3 kids): 17 patties at 2 ounces each = about 2 pounds of ground beef ($8). Buns ($3), cheese ($3), toppings ($8), sides ($15), banana pudding ($8). Total: $45 for 10 people. Per person: $4.50 for a full cookout meal with appetizer, main, sides, and dessert.
A casual burger restaurant for 10 people: $150-200. The backyard version is better, cheaper, and everyone gets exactly what they want.
The Burger Science
The smash burger works because of the Maillard reaction — the chemical process that occurs when proteins and sugars are exposed to high heat. By smashing a ball of beef into a thin patty on a screaming hot surface, you maximize the surface area in contact with the heat. More contact means more Maillard reaction. More Maillard reaction means more flavor. That’s why a 2-ounce smash burger patty tastes beefier than a thick 8-ounce pub burger — the thin patty is almost entirely crust, and the crust is where all the flavor lives.
The technique adds another layer. Applying mustard to the raw side of the patty before flipping means the mustard hits the hot griddle and caramelizes, creating a tangy, savory crust that’s impossible to achieve any other way. This is the In-N-Out secret, and it works every single time.
Bun Selection
The bun matters more than most people think. For smash burgers, use a soft potato roll or Martin’s potato roll — something that compresses slightly when you bite, creating a bun-to-meat ratio that keeps the burger from being bread-heavy. Toast the buns on the griddle in the beef fat for 30 seconds. This adds flavor and creates a moisture barrier that prevents the juices from making the bun soggy.
For , the same toasted potato roll works perfectly — the soft texture lets the caramelized onions and spread shine without competing with a crusty artisan bun.
The Sides Make It a Cookout
A burger alone is dinner. A burger with , , and a scoop of is a cookout. The sides transform a simple meal into an event. Plan one hot side (fries or corn), one cold side (coleslaw or ), and waiting in the fridge. That’s the cookout formula.
Fire up the grill, set out the toppings, and let everyone build their perfect burger. That’s the whole cookout, done right.
The burger cookout is proof that you don’t need twelve hours and a smoker to host a great outdoor meal. Two hours, a hot grill, and good ingredients are all it takes.
Street Corn Salad
All the flavors of elote but scoopable. Perfect side for tacos, BBQ, or just a spoon.
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Smoked Mac and Cheese
Mac and cheese + 30 minutes in the smoker = the best BBQ side that exists.