Introduction   When we were boys, we'd run in through the front door after school, stop in the kitchen to grab a snack, then head right out the back door in about the time it takes to shout, "Mama, we're home!" Mama used to call us a couple of yard apes, we spent so much of our childhood outside. We don't have holes in the knees of our dungarees or scrapes on our elbows anymore, and our lives are a bit more complicated than they used to be, but we still love to fly straight out that back door as often as we can. The only difference is that now, we're not just tossing around a ball back there, we're cooking dinner at the same time.   For a couple guys like us, whose lives--at work and at home--revolve around food, cooking out in the fresh air is pure recreation. It's about the simple joy of being outdoors, taking it easy, and working up a major appetite. Whether we're doing BBQ chicken and Grilled Red Pepper and Bow Tie Pasta Salad for a weeknight supper, or we're gathering around with a bunch of friends for our Grilled Low Country Boil, cooking outside is our ideal way to end any day--even days spent cooking in the kitchen of The Lady & Sons! And over the years, we've grilled, picnicked, tailgated, and beach bummed our way into more than a cookbook's worth of favorite recipes. So we figure it's about time we shared them with y'all.   These aren't recipes for entertaining in grand style. Most of the food in this book is made for paper plates, not good china (well, you might want a nice platter for the Grilled Lobster Tails with Spicy Butter, but you don't need more than one hand to eat half the things in this book). Fancy or not, the foods we're sharing here make for special meals. Eating them is a memorable occasion because it's so fun just being outside.   Everyone loves a backyard barbecue, and we're no different. Just the smell of one of our neighbors out grilling is enough to get us going. You sniff that good smoke in the air and you know they're having fun. Then, before you know it, you're so hungry you've got to figure out a way to get invited, or head out and grill up something for yourself. The best thing about grilling might just be that it's the perfect excuse for kicking back and doing less work, since cooking outside almost always means more hands on deck, less mess, and more time to goof off and enjoy yourself. When else do you invite folks over, tell them to bring the beer, let them do the cooking, then send 'em home saying, "Best party ever, man!"   Some of our tastiest meals are the lazy ones that happen when we're sitting out back with a cold drink on a hot night. "What happens if you bust out a tube of biscuit dough and throw it over the coals?" we might ask. (The answer, on this page, is some completely awesome biscuit flatbread!) We do tend to get experimental whenever we find ourselves wondering what's for dinner. "Hey," we'll say, "why can't you give a nice big burger the taco-night treatment?" (You can! See Mexican Fiesta Burgers.)   We don't limit our grilling to the backyard either. As you may know, Jamie considers tailgating at a Georgia Bulldogs game to be a sporting event in its own right. From the back of his truck, he'll grill you up everything from Spicy Prosciutto-Wrapped Shrimp and Scallop Skewers to a Hot Buffalo Burger with Blue Cheese. Then there's the stuff we like to pack up the night before we leave, from our Game Day Breakfast to Go (think biscuit, ham, cheese, and eggs) to some pregame snacks that we bust out while the coals get going. Something about a sporting event seems to speed up everyone's metabolism, so it's never too early for Creamy Ham and Pickle Roll-Ups or Chili-Topped Overstuffed Potatoes.   Working on this book, we got to revisit all those memories of past summers and favorite recipes. Of course, the weather didn't always cooperate. Since we tested these recipes year-round, we had the opportunity to picnic indoors quite a bit, and we can tell you that while a big blanket on the grass in the warm sun helps set the scene, at the end of the day, it's the food that makes a great picnic. Whether you're packing up some TGIF Chicken Salad Wraps with Pimiento and a container of NOLA-Style Dirty Rice Salad for a day at the park or a brown bagger's workday lunch, you're bringing the good times with you wherever you go.   That's the spirit that inspired this book. To us, cooking outside is an opportunity to celebrate living in this beautiful country, our own beloved Southern landscape, and take the time to enjoy great meals with great people. We hope you'll make our recipes part of your backyard barbecues, picnics, tailgating parties, or beach trips, too. Now y'all go on outside and work up an appetite!   On the Grill   Growing up in Albany, Georgia, we were always outside kids. From an early age we were running around barefoot, making a mess of our clothes and being total boys. Considering that we love to be outdoors and we love food and cooking, it's no surprise that we're natural-born grillers.   As with a lot of families, our dad was the one who grilled. He'd be out there lining up barbecued chicken or ribs on a big old cooker that he'd fashioned out of a fifty-gallon oil drum cut in half and welded back together with some hinges and racks (also known as a Texas hibachi), and our mouths would just be watering while we tossed around a football or a baseball. So grilling has always seemed like play to us. You get yourself a cold drink in one hand, a pair of tongs in the other, leave the dirty dishes in the kitchen, and invite over enough friends, and you hardly know you're lifting a finger to make the meal happen. Plus, anytime there's more meat and less mess on the menu is a good time in our book!   Because we are lucky enough to have such great weather here in Savannah, we cook outside as often as we can, even when there's no special occasion. Bobby has been known to make Balsamic Cherry Pork Chops or Pesto Chicken Breasts with Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Mozzarella on his little charcoal grill any night of the week, and we both love to fire up the big gas grill if we've got a bunch of folks coming over and we're doing something more ambitious like Down-Home Baby Back Ribs.   In the great gas or charcoal debate, we're nonpartisan. We use both. Gas is convenient and cooks nice and clean, but we grew up with the flavors and smells of charcoal and wood smoke, and sometimes that's just what we want. Plus, we know a lot of grill masters who pride themselves on keeping a coal or wood fire going at just the right temperature; it's definitely an art. For those who'd rather push a button, or who want to know that the heat will stay low and slow for as long as it takes to get even the biggest Kielbasa-Stuffed Whole Turkey Breast perfectly cooked and golden, gas is nice and reliable.   Whether you're doing a Big, Fat, Garlicky Rib Eye for two or a Smoky Pork Butt for ten, grilling is about the least-fussy way to get your meat super flavorful. One of Bobby's favorites to throw on the grill is Herb-Rubbed Pork Tenderloin because it's nice and lean. And who wouldn't lust for a simple charred steak like our Cracked Black Pepper Skirt Steak?   Truth be told, Bobby inherited our daddy's preference for meat a little this side of well-done (Mama just called it burnt), while Jamie sides with Mama in preferring meat that's more likely to get up and walk off the plate. So the backyard grill is our peacekeeper: We can take a few steaks off first for the rare-meat lovers, then leave some on longer, and we can grill a big hunk of meat till the ends are brown and crispy, and still be sure to have some rosier slices at the center or closer to the bone.   But grilling up a great meal isn't always about hunks of meat. Maybe because we never felt the need to clutter our kitchen with a panini press, we discovered that a grill is actually the best place to cook up a bunch of hot sandwiches all at once. Not only does it add a nice smoky flavor and crispy browned texture, but you can also set up an assembly line and make enough for a party's worth of folks. You'll want to, because everyone loves a hot sandwich stuffed with meat, cheese, and maybe some coleslaw or pickles in there as well, all layered on buttered, grill-toasted bread. Try our Miami and you'll know what we're getting at when we say these grilled sandwiches are like a ray of sunshine breaking through a cloudy day.   Let's not forget that side dishes can taste just as good as the mains when cooked on a hot, smoky grill. From an elegant hors d'oeuvre like Prosciutto-Wrapped Asparagus to a familiar dish with a twist like Smoky Potato Salad with Horseradish Mayo, we love to use our imaginations to put the grill to use with whatever suits the menu and the season best. We always say you can serve the same burgers or chicken over and over--and Beer Can Chicken with Sweet and Spicy Pickled Vidalia Onions is certainly one we never tire of--because as long as you mix up the sides, it's a whole new ball game every time.   If you've got a great view from out back, like Bobby does, or an active five-year-old, like Jamie and Brooke do, you're probably outside most of the time already, so why not get cooking? If you've got friends on hand who want to help, hand them an apron; if they don't, hand them a margarita. We'll take both, please!   Excerpted from The Deen Bros. Get Fired Up: Grilling, Tailgating, Picnicking, and More by Jamie Deen, Bobby Deen, Melissa Clark All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.