Organising a killer barbecue – everything you need to know

Posted on Aug 7 2015 - 10:57am by Charlie

Planning a barbecue makes for a great days entertainment during the summer months. It can be as lavish or as simple as you like and is also a good and fun way to get people to spend time together. Whether you’re a meat eater, a vegetarian, a summer lover or a lover of spicy and grilled foods, barbecues are a great past time that have a history of just bringing people together. However for the ‘head chef’ it can sometimes get quite stressful, particularly if you have to cater for a large number of people, meaning you spend most of the day in front of the grill.

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Organising your barbecue so that all the food is nicely cooked, but you still get some time to relax, is essential. This is where good organisation and working as a team really comes into play. As well as making sure that you have everything you need to keep the grill running, whether that’s getting some extra gas from somewhere like discount-propane.com, to having a backup plan should the worst happen and it not work at all. Take a look at our brief guide of how to prepare and host a great barbecue; whether you’re organising it for a family birthday party, a charity fundraiser or even conducting a barbecue at a hired event.

Dietary Requirements
Whether it is at an event or for the family, Dietary requirements are essential. If some of your guests have specific dietary requirements, you want to make sure that you have food available that is safe for them to eat. A good way to get around this and to make it safe for everyone is to cook certain foods in certain sections. Save the top grill for vegetarian foods while the meats go on the bottom grill, for example.

For condiments, seasoning, salt pepper and salads, it is a good idea to lay it all out separately so that your guests can help themselves. Provide ample plates and cutlery just in case you have any picky eaters, that way everyone is happy and nobody accidentally ends up with onions or peppers when they’re not that fond of onions and peppers!

Meat Preparation is Key
Half of making the meal is the preparation, so making sure you are fully prepared for your barbecue goes a long way into saving time when it actually comes to cooking the meat. For example, if some of your meat needs to be marinated or covered in a certain type of sauce, try to hire some helpers to prepare the meat before you cook it, so that it is perfectly ready for grilling straight onto the barbecue. Every little helps to save time and effort!

Get Everyone Involved
Who said construction lines were no fun? If you get a line going, then the ‘food construction and collection’ process will take far less time than if you were the only one handing out cooked meats and vegetables. Get a couple of helpers on board to hand out condiments, plates and hot dog buns and get another helper to plate up the meats and vegetables once they have finished cooking so as to save you time.

Larger Events; Hiring Facilities
If you’re organising your barbecue for a bigger event, such as a festival or a charitable organisation, you might want to consider hiring other facilities for your guests as well. Though you may have already enlisted the help of companies similar to Kelly Propane (https://kellypropane.com) to get your fuel needs to be sorted for this grand event so that the barbecue keeps running for all the guests you can accommodate, it is also important to think about keeping those people entertained throughout. Things such as portable toilets, photo booths, a live DJ, and popcorn or candy floss maker are also popular choices as they cover all the basic needs and necessities.

Clearing Up Afterwards
Once again, working as a team will help speed through this step in no time. If you have a hired venue, you want to make sure that all rubbish is cleared up, including any cans, leftover drinks or spills that might have occurred throughout the event. As an organiser, try to make sure that people know to let you know if they drop or spill anything during the barbecue, as then you can easily clean it up in good time. By working together and working to keep the space clean throughout the event instead of leaving it all to one person at the end, this will make the task of clearing up that much easier.

Of course, having a killer barbecue is all about attitude. Efficient organisation and preparation can only take you so far, you have to have fun and enjoy yourself otherwise you won’t be able to consider the event a real success. Taking time away from the grill to enjoy yourself and chat with friends is essential, after all it is your party too!

Article provided by www.servicedevents.co.uk, the luxurious and hygienic choice for portable facilities at events throughout the year.

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