25 Main Dish Dinners for People Who Claim They Can't Cook

Our all-staff Slack room is where we instant message (and constantly distract) each other for the entirety of the day. It's full of ho-hum office ins-and-outs (leaking sinks, urgent desk clean-ups), but also lots of fun food-related questions and answers that—here's a wild guess—probably don't come up at many other companies.

Like this one, from our Operations Manager Olivia Bloom: "What would be your #1 Food52 recipe to suggest to your little brother who doesn’t cook?" Requirements: Must include meat. Doesn't necessarily have to be impressive (but hey, that helps).​

Here's the list we came up with, adding in some seafood, too. (And a special shout out to Merrill, whose recipes appear here over and over again.) Share the list with your little brother—or older brother, or aunt, or friend—who doesn't cook. Then invite yourself over for dinner (but bring a bottle of wine).

Beef

If you don't have a grill, use a big, heavy skillet or grill pan to make this steak:

Chicken

This could be you:

Pork

Cook these chops on the stove (best option: in a grill pan) if you don't have access to a real live grill.

Sea-dwellers

Beginners, you don't have to choose the 3-hour smoking option—simply bake the cod at 350° F for about 20 minutes skin side down, then broil the top for 2 minutes:​

What recipes do you suggest to friends and relatives who don't cook? Tell us in the comments below!