15 Dishes No One Wants At Your BBQ

Pulling the grill out of hibernation is a beautiful tradition that gets everyone excited for warmer weather. Not only can a grill breathe new life into your weeknight dinners, but it can also help you host incredible cookouts. The simple appliance offers an excuse to gather friends and loved ones to chat, play lawn games, swim, and celebrate life while sharing some tasty food.

Hosting barbecues is sweaty work though, even when you're not manning the fiery grill in summer heat. So much planning goes into curating the perfect menu that doesn't break the bank or make your friends swear off your cooking for good. Thankfully, there are dozens of BBQ and grilling recipes perfect for your next cookout, and they can help you get organized.

Ultimately, barbecues don't have to be fancy. You just need to make sure the dishes you prepare suit the outdoor setting and cooking method. Read on to make sure that you never prepare any of these 15 dishes no one wants to eat at a BBQ.

Chicken breast is always a thoughtful protein option to offer at gatherings, because some folks still want to enjoy barbecue flavors without going overboard. Chicken breast is a protein powerhouse that's low in calories, and with the right marinade, it can still be extremely satisfying. The issue is that chicken's low fat content can also bite inexperienced grillers in the butt.

Poultry also has way less wiggle room for safe internal temperatures. According to the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service, poultry must reach 165 degrees Fahrenheit, while beef, pork, and lamb only need to reach 145 degrees Fahrenheit. When you're grilling ground-beef burgers, the temperature should reach 160 degrees Fahrenheit. No one blinks an eye when a steak is a little pink in the middle. In fact, that's how most people want it. 

Pink chicken will make everyone lose their appetites, and rightfully so, because eating it could lead to a bad case of food poisoning. As a result, nervous grillers can go too far and scorch their chicken breasts. If you learn how to grill chicken the right way based on expert advice, you can ensure it's always juicy and safe to eat.

Shish kabobs are such a whimsical idea, but they're rarely executed right. To make sure the meat is safe to eat, the poor veggies often get scorched beyond recognition. Also, if the chunks are unevenly sized, the smaller ones won't come into contact with the grill to develop a tasty char.

One Redditor shared a brilliant hack that provides the best of both worlds. Always assemble each skewer with the same ingredient. This means that some skewers just have chunks of meat, while others only contain onions, bell peppers, mushrooms, zucchini, and anything else you like. Doing this makes the griller's job easier. They can still reap the benefits of flipping a handful of skewers rather than flipping dozens of loose chunks individually. Since the skewers are homogeneous, the griller can also better assess when to flip because each ingredient will be on its own timer.

Once everything is off the grill, slide the contents of the skewers onto a plate so folks don't have to gnaw around the skewer. Your guests will appreciate being able to choose the ingredients and the quantity they prefer, which will reduce food waste.

Some may view the opinion that pasta salad doesn't belong at a barbecue as a criminal offense. It's one of the most beloved side dishes commonly served at outdoor get-togethers. Don't get us wrong: Pasta salad is nostalgic, refreshing, and flavorful when seasoned correctly. However, some folks don't pay enough attention to the temperature.

Pasta salad gets its iconic creaminess from an abundance of mayo in the dressing. As soon as you take the bowl out of the fridge and set it outside under the beating sun, illness-causing bacteria can flourish in no time. This doesn't mean that you have to say goodbye to your beloved pasta salad forever; you just have to be more mindful.

Try to avoid setting out the pasta salad until everyone is ready to dig in, and set up your serving table in the shade, if possible. Most importantly, place the dish on a tray filled with plenty of ice to keep everything chilled.

Americans love their chicken wings, and grilling them can unlock phenomenal new textures and flavors. Some of us like to test our spice limits thanks to popular social media challenges and shows like "Hot Ones." A barbecue isn't the place to show off, though. Even if you love wicked spicy wings, the rest of your guests may find them unpalatable.

If you're not sure which recipe will please even the most diverse crowd, try making the foolproof chicken wings that Andrew Zimmern swears by. All you need is Greek yogurt, Dijon mustard, apricot jam, and lemon juice. The wings will be sweet, tangy, tart, and a teensy bit spicy from the Dijon. You can also set up an array of hot sauces that guests can splash on their wings if they're so inclined. Plus, who doesn't love gussying up their plates with special condiments and accouterments that are suited for their unique taste buds?

Barbecues are all about going into a salty, greasy meat coma. Burgers, hot dogs, steaks, kielbasa, chicken, and ribs are just some of the many indulgent proteins you could whip up. As a result, it's wise to include some lighter side dishes to cleanse your guests' palates. Salad has been a go-to refresher for generations, because lettuce is loaded with water and the dressing is cool and zippy.

Iceberg, romaine, butterhead, and other leafy greens like arugula can work magic during mealtimes, but you may not want to serve them at your cookout. Under the sun, the leaves will wilt and taste depressing. Of course, you can keep the salad bowl on ice, but there's only so much you can do to fight the elements.

Instead, you should steer toward hardier salads that still bring some brightness to the barbecue. A summer pea salad made with resilient cabbage, peas, radishes, and scallions tossed with an acidic dressing will light up your guests' mouths.

Potato salad is another dreamy side dish that folks love eating outdoors. The boiled chunks of potatoes are creamy and almost melt in your mouth, the seasoned dressing brings some richness, and the array of crisp veggies offers delightful bursts of sweetness. A good dressing should have acidic components such as apple cider vinegar, white wine vinegar, and Dijon mustard. Of course, you can't forget the fresh chopped dill and parsley to cut through the decadence.

If you're trying to save time preparing a giant feast, buying some store-bought foods can feel like a lifesaver. Premade potato salad should never be on your shopping list, though. Lots of folks hate the taste of it because the recipes are always heavy-handed with both sweet and salty ingredients. The potatoes are also mushy from sitting too long, and some people report a metallic aftertaste that comes from preservatives. 

Considering how easy it is to make potato salad that packs a lot of personality, you're better off spending your money buying ingredients for a large homemade bowl instead of a small store-bought container. Like pasta salad, don't forget that this mayo-based dish needs to be kept at a safe temperature when outside.

Chances are high that you've been grilling corn on the cob all wrong. Presenting a pile of corn on the cob with the right amount of char on it will impress your loved ones, but you have to avoid common pitfalls.

Some folks boil their corn first to ensure that each kernel is juicy, but this takes away from the show-stopping smoky flavor that develops on the grill. Others throw corn on the cob directly onto the hottest part of the grill without taking any precautions, which results in kernels as black as charcoal. In fear of burning it, you may think that leaving the husks on can shield the corn while it cooks.

The truth is that the tastiest corn on the cob that even novice grillers can nail involves removing the husk, plucking out all that pesky silk, and then carefully shimmying the husk back on before grilling. This lets more smokiness come in contact with the kernels without torching them. Plus, guests don't have to worry about getting silk stuck in their teeth.

Most of us can agree that raw veggie platters are the bane of our existence. And yet, they're still the go-to thing people buy at the store when they're trying to present several appetizers or "help" the host feed a crowd. The problem is that no one touches the darn platter throughout the whole party.

There's a time and place for raw veggies and maybe even ranch dip to bring some intrigue, but barbecues should be exciting and bold. This doesn't mean that your guests will resent you for serving vegetables. You just need to jazz them up.

You could grill all kinds of vegetables to make them more alluring, but you may not want to waste precious grill real estate. For a simpler cooking method, fill a giant sheet pan and make the best roasted vegetables in the oven. They'll still caramelize beautifully without needing a babysitter to flip them. By tossing the veggies in a yummy spice blend, you don't even need to rely on dips to make them more palatable, but feel free to go wild if you want.

Certain food crimes are serious enough to question actual legal action. Ruining a perfectly good steak on the grill is one of them. Sure, it's a little annoying if you requested a rare steak and it's more in the medium range. It's a whole other story when you receive a steak that makes you wonder if you're going to get sick because it's so black and filled with carcinogens.

One egregious story shared on Reddit recalls a horrific barbecue where the original poster and their spouse watched their host add a whole bag of briquettes to the grill, squirt an entire bottle of lighter fluid, then toss some tri-tip steaks on the grill, which the Redditor hilariously described as an oil rig fire. Of course, with the temperature that high, the outside of the steaks got annihilated before the insides even had a chance to cook. The griller removed the steaks, cut them, then threw them back on the grill to ensure the middle wasn't raw. It's safe to say the couple never accepted an invitation to the man's house again.

Most casual grillers aren't this wild. Still, it's best to read up on the top mistakes people make when grilling steaks so all of your friendships can remain intact after your barbecue.

Truth be told, I have never been to a barbecue where casseroles were involved. However, this has happened to enough people that it's a talking point on social media platforms. One Instagram user was revolted by a pineapple-and-cheese casserole someone brought to a barbecue they attended, and it seems like an experience that will haunt them for decades.

Casseroles are an odd addition to any cookout because they rarely match the vibe. They have a reputation for being old-fashioned and extremely rich, which could detract from the simplicity of grilled meat.

Also, casseroles need to stay hot to remain safe to eat. Macaroni salad and potato salad can chill on some ice, but hot dishes are more problematic. You can't run a really long extension cord into the house to fire up the crockpot, and it would be odd to use grill space to try to keep the casserole warm without burning the bottom. Casseroles deserve lots of love, but they don't belong at barbecues.

Ribs delight guests at barbecues. Sometimes it's fun to dive in and bask in the sticky mess of eating with your hands. However, serving entire racks of ribs isn't the most ideal option. For starters, they take all day to prepare correctly so the meat is tender. Also, some guests may only want a couple of ribs to munch on, so plating portions can be complicated.

This is why every home cook should keep this tender grilled spare ribs recipe in their arsenal. You only need two hours to make fall-off-the-bone culinary magic, and it's prepared by first cutting the ribs into individual portions. Another benefit of cutting the ribs before cooking them is that the marinade has even more surface area to soak into.

The brilliance of this recipe is it calls for wrapping the ribs in a tinfoil packet to lock in the delectable flavors. You toss the packet on your grill for a couple of hours to cook slowly, then ditch the tinfoil for the last 15 minutes of cooking. Finally, glaze the meat with barbecue sauce and develop a tasty sear by grilling it directly over the heat.

Queso, spinach and artichoke, ranch, and 7-layer dips are a welcome sight at most gatherings. However, serving any dairy-based dips at a barbecue is a recipe for spoilage. Not only are they prone to bacterial growth in the sun, but some dips like queso or spinach and artichoke dip also aren't that great unless they're piping hot. Again, you don't want to mess around with extension cords or heating dips on the grill.

You can still give your guests something fun to snack on while the meat cooks by serving other appetizers. There are so many amazing salsa recipes that are perfect for outdoor settings because they're refreshing. Think about how scrumptious pico de gallo, salsa verde, and fire-roasted salsa would be with tortilla chips. Corn salsa is another fun addition, and you could even slice some grilled corn off the cob for more flavor. You could also keep some hummus on ice and toast pita on the grill.

Fruit salad is another dish that you should avoid buying at the grocery store. You can't tell if the different fruits are perfectly ripe, and you don't know how long they've been stewing together. More acidic fruits like pineapple suck the life out of delicate fruits like strawberries.

Chopping some fruit at home will definitely be a step up from store-bought salad, but there are some fruit salad mistakes you need to steer clear of. First, opt for fruit that's in season to ensure it's as sweet and juicy as possible. Second, you need to prepare fruit carefully, such as by removing inedible stems and pits. It's also wise to leave controversial fruits out of the mix. Bananas and melons have bold flavors that bleed too much into other fruits, which is off-putting for many folks.

You also have to be vigilant about browning. Some fruits, like apples, look unappetizing after they've been sitting out too long. To prevent oxidation, you could toss your salad in a honey-lime dressing.

Some people think that inviting vegetarians and vegans to a barbecue is awkward. Still, many of them are just happy to socialize and be included. If any of your plant-based loved ones will be in attendance, it doesn't take much effort to create a filling meal they can enjoy. Sitting at the table with a plate full of grilled vegetables can be isolating, and it certainly isn't satisfying. Nowadays, there are so many veg options at the supermarket. 

Learning about the types of meat substitutes and how to use them can help you craft your menu and even cook more wholesome meat-free dishes in the future. Health-conscious vegetarians would be grateful for grilled tofu or seitan. Those who are motivated by animal welfare but still appreciate meaty flavors will love an Impossible or Beyond burger on the grill. If you throw a slice of dairy-free cheese on top, they'll fit right in with the rest of your guests. It's nice to ask them about their preferences so you can choose their favorite plant-based protein. Also, cleaning your grill and cooking their food first can help them feel even more comfortable about participating.

Serving cake or cupcakes may seem like a no-brainer at first because these desserts have become the face of celebrations. Everyone is in a party mood once these sweet treats make their grand entrance. With thoughtful decorations and flavors, cakes and cupcakes can really be a centerpiece dessert that people won't stop praising. The only problem is if the sun is a real scorcher that day, the frosting will quickly turn into a depressing puddle. The treats will remain edible, but no one will want to take a bite with that appearance. It's better to opt for desserts that don't break a sweat, no matter how hot it is outside.

Brownies are always a crowd favorite because the crust is buttery and crisp, while the middle is fudgy and decadent. In fact, brownies can taste even better after sitting in the sun for a bit because the chocolate gets gooey. This is especially true if you sprinkle some chocolate chips into the batter.

Lemon bars are another beloved treat, and they taste just like summer. The tart lemon mellows thanks to all the sugar. The citrusy custard is smooth and satisfying, while the buttery shortbread underneath makes the dessert feel more sophisticated.