19 Aug 5 Best BBQ Tips
Last week we shared with you our top tips for pulling off the perfect picnic and this week we’re giving you our best advice for doing another event that is an essential part of any British Summer, of course it’s a BBQ!
When we see a sunny weekend we’ll usually jump at the chance to get together for a BBQ but if you’re the one organising it then you follow our top five tips to make sure you make the most out of your next BBQ.
- A great place to start is your menu because until this is decided you can’t really do any shopping! When considering your menu it’s important to think of who you’ve invited, what are their dietary requirements? Do any of them have any allergies or intolerances? Do you have guests that don’t eat meat and in that case what will you prepare for them and will you need to prepare their meals separately? We can help you get started on your menu with our Jerk Marinade recipe which is great for the meat eaters and our Aubergine Puree and BBQ Veg recipe which your veggie and vegan guests will love. You could even check out our BBQ menu for a bit of inspiration too!
- Once you have your menu sorted and you’ve done your shopping make a list of all the things you can do before the big day. By getting as much prepared as you can in advance you will make things a lot less stressful on the day of your BBQ. One thing you can do in advance is prepare any marinades you intend to use on meats and it’s usually worth adding the marinade to the meat and leaving it overnight for all the flavours to be absorbed so then when it comes to the day of your BBQ you can just pop it on! Another meat hack is precooking, did you know you can keep your sausages juicy by poaching them before you BBQ them?
- When it comes to cooking on the day of the BBQ, you need to be able to recognise when the coals are ready and it’s safe to add your meat and veg. Wait for the flames to die down and the coal to have a grey coating on them, now you’re ready to get cooking! It’s worth bearing in mind that once you’ve lit the BBQ it will probably take around half an hour until it’s at this perfect point for cooking. Make sure you allow for this prep time and perhaps light the BBQ 15 to 30 minutes before your guests are due.
- Don’t think that you can only prepare savoury dishes on the BBQ, they’re also great for making sweet treats! Adding fruit to your BBQ can be great once all the meat and veg is done, just make sure it’s wrapped in some tin foil to avoid it being contaminated with any meat juices. Bananas are a great addition to the BBQ, you can keep them in their skin and add them, turning them so that their skin is evenly black on each side, then serve with ice cream or yogurt, the hot with cold combination is so satisfying! Or why not get some toffee sauce, peel your banana, put it with the sauce in some tin foil onto the BBQ to create a banoffee style dessert.
- Our final tip is that if you’re having a BBQ where you’ve invited your family and friends and you’re manning the BBQ then don’t forget to also enjoy yourself! Don’t bite off more than you can chew when it comes to the amount of food you’re making for your guests, you still want to be able to spend some time with them. Maybe you can even share BBQ duties with someone else so not only will you get a chance to chat with those you’ve invited but you’ll also be able to enjoy some of the food!
We hope our tips will help you in organising your next BBQ but if you truly want to make your next event 100% stress free then why not get in contact with us? Whether you’re thinking of having a BBQ, Dinner Party or Cooking Lesson we’re able to meet all of your chef needs and we’ll do all the organising, so you don’t have to!
To see about getting Chef’s Compliments on your next event, contact us today.
