Learn from our BBQing mistakes!

It’s at the end of BBQ season, although, I personally think, it’s perfectly acceptable to have a BBQ any time of the year!

My parents recently celebrated their Ruby (40th) Wedding Anniversary & we had a BBQ.

Richard done the cooking. He’s done a few BBQs overs the 5 years I’ve known him & he loves doing them & will only cook on a coal BBQ, NOT GAS. In my opinion, if I’m honest, coal gives the best BBQ flavour!

If I could tell you to get 1 thing that would save your life when having a BBQ (well, when having any kind of get-together really), it would be a food warmer……………here’s one similar to ours, it’s been amazing.

This time however, we found the BBQ a little more stressful than usual, here’s why……………………..

What I realised –

• Should of made sure EVERYTHING was prepared in advance – even the salad!
• Blow & tie the balloons the day before.
• Should of put the decorations up the day before.
• Needed a second food warmer.
• We needed some kind of drinks cooler, there was no room in the fridge for the drinks due to the food!
• I need more tupperware boxes for the mushrooms, onions, sliced tomato & cucumber (I didn’t do sliced tomato or cucumber because I didn’t have anything to put them in).

What Richard realised –

• He should’ve made sure he had a water spray bottle to control the flames, which will control the cooking temp! He always uses one but for some reason, he couldn’t find it this time.
• He wished he’d had more disposable gloves
• He needed another BBQ, one just never seems enough cooking room & Richard always ends up using disposable ones aswell!

Summary……………………

Here’s a list of OUR BBQing essentials –

• 2 food warmers
• 2 BBQs (coal & not gas)
• Water spray bottle
• Plenty of disposable gloves
• Drinks cooler of some kind

Here’s a list of things I need to do next time –

3 days before –

• Get the belly pork out of the freezer.
• Get the chicken breasts out of the freezer.
• Soak the wooden skewers overnight.

2 days before –

• Get all the corn out of the freezer.
• Coat all the belly pork in the herbs (gives it time for more flavour to come through) – we do smoked paprika, mixed herbs & plain.
• Do the chicken & chorizo skewers.
• Go through everything & make sure there’s nothing else you need that you may have forgotten!

The day before –

• Wrap the corn in foil.
• Do all the salad.
• If you’re having the BBQ at another venue, take all the sauces, bread rolls, & stuff that’ll fit in the venues fridge round.
• Blow up & tie ANY balloons.
• If it’s not planning on raining over night, put ANY decorations up.
• Set up everything how you want it – taking into consideration any safety issues – we had a fish pond to contend with but my dad put some pebbles around the back of it to make a pathway because the front of it was where the BBQ had to go (space issues!).

The day of (not necessarily in this order –

• Put up ANY balloons.
• Make sure everything is ready.
• Make yourself look occasion appropriate! I love to feel all dressed up for any occasion!
• Put on the food warmer & light the BBQ.
• Cook off the mushrooms & onions for going in the food warmer.
• Cook off things like potatoes, sausage rolls & cocktail sausages if you’re having any.
• LET THE PARTY BEGIN!
• HAVE LOTS OF FUN & take lots of pictures!

If you do or have anything that saves YOUR life when you have a party/get-together, then please let me know, I may be missing an essential I’ve overlooked!

I hope you find this helpful, I know that I will when it comes to doing our next BBQ.

Bye for now.

Love Sarah Mx

♥

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