When it comes to recipes and cooking meals at home, marketers have in large part targeted women with their messages, as women have been known to be the primary grocery shopper. But now we are seeing a shift as men visit the grocery store more often than women each month and are doing more of the grocery shopping and cooking than before. So if men are the primary shoppers now, why aren’t we dedicating more of our content to reaching the hungry dads and dudes out there?

We talked about how to position your products and messages in a way that appeals to men, but what types of recipes are they searching for? We turned to Men’s Health Magazine for some insights into man-centric meals, and confirmed what we suspected: men love grilling, hearty meats and a little spice. Here are a few different types of “brocipes” that will help you reach this important demographic on a deeper level:

Marinate the perfect steak.

Fresh produce growers are actually in luck when it comes to carnivores – our fresh products are often included as part of the ideal marinade for rich cuts of meat. Citrus and tropical fruit growers especially can rejoice – products like lemon and even pineapple make incredible meat tenderizers that add a ton of flavor. Try creating a few amazing marinade recipes for steak, chicken, pork, turkey, fish – sky’s the limit – and share them with a male-centric audience on your social media networks.

Pair it with the perfect beverage.

And by beverage, we mean BEER! It’s no revelation that many men love beer – but the recent surge of the craft beer movement in the United States has given beer drinkers a LOT more choices than ever before. And while the popularity of local brews makes it hard to recommend a specific beer, you can score huge points with the guy crowd by suggesting that your recipe pairs well with a distinctive pilsner or a full-bodied porter of their choice. Take a look at this beer and food pairing chart from craftbeer.com to get some ideas flowing from the tap.

Put it on the grill.

Why do we have this idea that grilling is a guy’s thing? Smithsonian explored this cultural stereotype and attributes men’s love of the outdoor cooking space to the added elements of danger: fire! Sharp knives! Either way, we know men love to hang out by the grill, so incorporating more grilled recipes into your lineup is sure to attract this audience. We recommend stepping up the grilling recipes, like burgers and grilled veggies, around holidays like the upcoming Father’s Day and Fourth of July.

Include bacon anything.

While bacon is most certainly not a guy thing – we know bacon is currently on-trend in culinary circles. The great thing about bacon is that it can pair well with almost any FRESH centric dish, given the right ingredients. It’s second nature to pair tomatoes or potatoes with bacon, but consider getting creative with your pairings to pull off some killer unlikely pairs. Think sweet + savory if you’re a fruit grower or creative sandwich ideas if you grow leafy greens.

Add a little heat.

GQ tells us about a recent study that concluded men are more likely to enjoy spicy foods than women. The study suggests that there is a “cultural association with consuming spicy foods with strength and machismo.” With this knowledge, fresh produce marketers can feel compelled to add more spice to their recipes – a huge opportunity if you are a pepper grower! Even if you aren’t a pepper grower, consider recipes that incorporate tobacco, sriracha, or habanero peppers and similar ingredients to make a recipe HOT.

Make it a challenge.

For decades relationship experts have told us that men love a challenge – they love the chase. Well this may not only apply to men’s love lives. Phenomena’s like Man v. Food and Epic Meal Time are examples of how men become excited over challenges when it comes to seeking out and eating “epic” meals. For fresh produce marketers, you could consider creating recipes that play up the challenge factor with “epic burgers” or “epic salad” recipes.

Are your wheels turning? Fresh produce marketers that are able to apply these concepts to their recipes will be more-armed from a content perspective to target and effectively reach a male demographic on social media and through other digital marketing tools. Let us know how your “brocipes” perform for you by tweeting to @TheCoreBlog.