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Summer is when restaurants know they’ve got you. The patio is calling, the food smells incredible, and somehow the bill always lands at $60 before you’ve even ordered dessert. Well, not this summer. These five copycat recipes bring the sizzling, smoky, restaurant-quality BBQ experience straight to your backyard — and every single one of them is ready in 30 minutes or less. Fire up the skillet, save that money, and let’s eat. 🔥

🍗🦐 The Sizzling Showstopper

​Applebee’s Bourbon Street Chicken and Shrimp — Juicy chicken and succulent shrimp sizzling in a rich, buttery Cajun sauce — just like Applebee’s famous sizzling skillet. This dish arrives at the table with a clatter, and your kitchen is about to smell absolutely incredible. At Applebee’s, it’ll run you $15–18. At home? You can feed the whole family for less than that, in about 25 minutes.

🍄 The One Everyone Requests

​Outback Steakhouse Alice Springs Chicken — Tender grilled chicken topped with sautéed mushrooms, honey mustard-marinated bacon, and melted Colby Jack cheese — this is the Outback dish that makes people close their eyes and just enjoy the moment. Restaurant price? Around $20 a plate. Homemade and on your table in 25 minutes for a fraction of the cost. This one always gets recipe requests.

🌮 The Fiesta Favorite

​Applebee’s Fiesta Lime Chicken — Chicken marinated in a zesty blend of lime juice and spices, grilled until perfectly charred, and finished with a cool Mexican-ranch drizzle and crispy tortilla strips. This is Applebee’s most crave-worthy summer chicken — bright, bold, and ready in under 25 minutes. The lime marinade is the secret that makes it taste so much like the restaurant. A summer keeper.

🍶 The Sauce That Goes on Everything

​TGI Friday’s Jack Daniel’s Glaze — The famous smoky-sweet Jack Daniel’s sauce that TGI Friday’s brushes on chicken, shrimp, and salmon. Rich with brown sugar, soy sauce, pineapple juice, and that unmistakable whiskey depth — this is the BBQ sauce upgrade your backyard has been waiting for. Make a jar on Sunday and brush it on everything coming off the grill all week.

🥗 The Light & Fresh BBQ Bowl

​Panera Bread BBQ Chicken Salad — Tender grilled chicken, sweet corn, black beans, creamy avocado, and crisp greens tossed in Panera’s famous BBQ Ranch dressing. When you want something lighter but still packed with that smoky BBQ flavor, this is the one to reach for. At Panera, it’s $12–$ 14 per bowl. At home, it’s on the table in 15 minutes and just as satisfying. Perfect for the backyard spread.

🔧 In the Kitchen

Three tools that help you nail every recipe in this BBQ lineup — and that make your summer cooking easier all season long.

🍳 Lodge Cast Iron Skillet — The Applebee’s Bourbon Street Chicken and Shrimp gets that beautiful restaurant sear from a screaming-hot cast iron skillet. Nothing else develops that deep, caramelized crust on chicken and shrimp the way cast iron does. A kitchen workhorse that gets better with every use — this is the pan you’ll reach for at every cookout.

🖌️ Silicone Marinade & BBQ Brush — Brush the Jack Daniel’s glaze onto chicken, shrimp, and corn right on the grill. A good silicone brush handles high heat, applies sauce evenly, and cleans up in seconds. One of those small tools that makes every BBQ recipe taste more polished and professional. You’ll reach for it at every cookout from here on out.

🌡️ Instant-Read Meat Thermometer — When you’re cooking multiple proteins on the grill or skillet, knowing the exact internal temperature means perfectly cooked chicken and shrimp every time — no more guessing, no more overcooking. Pull the chicken at 165°F, and you’re done. Juicy, safe, and restaurant-quality, every single time.

Your Backyard Is the Best Restaurant in Town 🍔🔥

Five restaurant-quality BBQ recipes, all ready in 30 minutes, for a fraction of what you’d spend at the table. That’s the CopyKat way — and this summer, your backyard is officially the best restaurant in town. Pick the one that’s calling your name tonight, or save them all for your June cookouts.