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 Ultimate Summer Grill Guide
Memorial Day to Labor Day — this is everything you need for grilling season. I’ve organized it by what goes on the grill first.
The Long Cooks (Start Early)
Texas Brisket — start the night before.
Pulled Pork — 8-10 hours. Start at dawn.
The Medium Cooks (Midday)
Baby Back Ribs — 5-6 hours.
Grilled Chicken Thighs — 30-40 minutes.
Grilled Ribeye — 10 minutes total.
The Quick Hits (Last Minute)
Grilled Hot Dogs — 8-10 minutes.
Elote — 12-15 minutes.
Grilled Corn — 15-20 minutes.
Carne Asada — 10 minutes on the grill.
The Sides
Smoked Mac, Nachos, Street Corn Salad.
Dessert
Banana Pudding — made the day before, always.
Run this list from Memorial Day through Labor Day and your family will never want to eat inside again.
The Holiday Grill Calendar
. The ultimate project cook. Start the night before, serve for a late lunch.
, , , and . The classic American cookout.
and . Close out summer with a proper BBQ.
Grilled Ribeye Steak
Ribeye, salt, pepper, screaming hot grill. Two minutes per side. Rest it. Eat it. Steel beach picnic — the day we grilled steaks on the deck of a surfaced sub.
Grilled Corn on the Cob
Charred, buttered, and the easiest side you’ll ever make on a grill.
Texas-Style Brisket
Low and slow. No shortcuts. This is a weekend commitment and it’s worth every hour. First thing I did stateside — bought a smoker.
Grilled Hot Dogs
Spiral cut, grilled until charred. Sounds simple because it is. Execution matters.
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.
Banana Pudding
Nilla wafers, vanilla pudding, fresh bananas, whipped cream. The BBQ dessert that matters.
Weeknight Grilling
Not every grill session needs to be a production. take 30 minutes including heat-up time. marinates during the day and grills in 10 minutes. are 8 minutes from grill to plate. The grill is a weeknight tool, not just a weekend toy.
Grilled Chicken Thighs
Thighs over breasts. Every time. Juicier, cheaper, and harder to overcook. Chicken thighs are superior. I will die on this hill.
Carne Asada Tacos
Thin-sliced marinated steak, charred on the grill, corn tortillas, onion, cilantro. Simple. Perfect. San Diego changed my life. First liberty, first taco stand, first real carne asada.
Essential Grill Equipment
A chimney starter (no lighter fluid ever), a good instant-read thermometer (the single most important tool for not ruining meat), long-handled tongs, a wire brush for cleaning, and a two-zone fire setup. That’s it. Everything else is optional.
The Summer Mindset
Grilling season is the best season. The kitchen stays cool. The house doesn’t heat up. The backyard becomes the dining room. Food tastes better when you eat it outside — I’m convinced of that. From the first on Memorial Day to the last sandwich on Labor Day, make the most of every weekend. The grill is the one piece of equipment that makes cooking feel like recreation instead of obligation.
Every recipe on this list has been tested on my backyard grill. Most of them started on a Navy base in San Diego. All of them belong in your summer rotation.
The Grill Maintenance Routine
A clean grill produces better food. Before every cook: heat the grill for 15 minutes on high, then scrub the grates with a wire brush. The carbon burns off and the brush removes the residue. After every cook: while the grates are still warm, brush again and oil the grates with a paper towel dipped in canola oil (held with tongs). This prevents rust and maintains a natural nonstick surface.
Once a month during grilling season, do a deep clean: remove the grates, scrub with a stiff brush and soapy water, rinse, dry, re-oil. Empty the ash catcher (charcoal) or drip pan (gas). Check gas connections for leaks with soapy water. A maintained grill lasts 10-15 years. A neglected one rusts out in 3-4.
The Summer Protein Rotation
Variety prevents grill fatigue. Rotate through these proteins weekly:
— the premium cook. Salt and pepper, screaming hot grill, 4 minutes per side for medium-rare. Pair with and a cold beer.
— the weeknight workhorse. Marinate for an hour, grill over medium-high direct heat for 6-7 minutes per side. Serve with and .
— marinated flank steak, grilled hot and fast (4-5 minutes per side), sliced thin against the grain. The San Diego taco that changed my life.
or — the weekend project cook. Start early, eat late, enjoy the process.
and — the classic quick cookout. Spiral-cut dogs for maximum char. Smash burgers on a cast iron griddle set on the grill grate.
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.
Street Corn Salad
All the flavors of elote but scoopable. Perfect side for tacos, BBQ, or just a spoon.
Building a Cookout Menu by Effort Level
+ . Total cost: $12 for 4 people. Active time: 20 minutes. This is the “I’m home from work and want to grill” level. Minimal prep, fast cook, quick cleanup.
or + + + . Total cost: $35-50 for 6 people. The Saturday evening cookout for family or friends.
or + full side spread. Total cost: $50-75 for 10-12 people. This is the cookout you invite the neighbors to.
+ + + + every side. Total cost: $100-150 for 20 people. This is the cookout people talk about for weeks.
Grilled Tri-Tip
Reverse seared: low heat first, then a hard sear. California BBQ at its best. San Diego style. This is how they do it on the West Coast.
Smoked Mac and Cheese
Mac and cheese + 30 minutes in the smoker = the best BBQ side that exists.
Essential Grilling Tips
before grilling — 30-45 minutes for steaks, 20 minutes for chicken. Cold meat from the fridge shocks on a hot grill and cooks unevenly.
Every time you press a burger with a spatula, you squeeze out juice and flavor. Smash burgers are the exception — they’re smashed once at the beginning when the meat is still raw, which is a fundamentally different technique.
Internal temperature is the only reliable way to know when meat is done. Poking, pressing, and cutting are unreliable. Invest $15 in an instant-read thermometer and never overcook anything again.
5 minutes for steaks and chicken, 15 minutes for roasts, 1-2 hours for brisket. Resting allows the juices to redistribute throughout the meat. Cut too early and those juices run out onto the cutting board instead of staying in the meat.
End of Summer Traditions
Labor Day weekend deserves the best cookout of the season. Pull out all the stops: started Friday night, Saturday morning, alongside them. Full side spread. in a massive bowl. Invite the neighbors, the friends, the family. Make it the cookout people remember all winter.
Then clean the grill one final time, cover it, and start counting the days until Memorial Day. The offseason is for planning next summer’s menu, trying new rubs and sauces, and building anticipation. When that first warm weekend hits, fire it up and pick up exactly where you left off. The grill remembers, and so do you.
Summer grilling isn’t just a cooking method — it’s a way of life from Memorial Day to Labor Day and beyond. Every weekend, every warm evening, every holiday. The recipes on this list cover every occasion from a quick weeknight chicken dinner to the full-production Texas BBQ. Start simple, build skills, and by next summer you’ll be the neighbor everyone hopes gets invited to the cookout.
From Memorial Day through Labor Day and every warm evening in between, the grill is the center of the kitchen. These eighteen recipes cover every level of effort, every type of occasion, and every protein worth putting over fire. Light the coals and get started.
More From This Collection
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.