The Elements That Make For A Successful Gathering Are Few But Vital
A few elements have to come together to make a successful bbq party happen. The 1st of these is the people, obviously, although it won’t matter that it’s a bbq, good friends and family members mixing together could make any occasion memorable and amusing.
The next factor is the weather. Naturally the ideal is to have glorious sunshine in cloudless skies and a gentle cooling breeze is a bonus, though not critical. However, if the meteorological conditions are not as desired , even rain doesn’t need to put a spoiler on the event since it can add to the topic of conversation. Above all if the host is struggling to cook over charcoal grills because the rain will make his task harder unless he has got the coals burning fiercely before the rain starts. But as most bbq grills come with with a lid, as long as the fire pit can be kept dry, it should be possible to get the bbq going in any eventuality.
Refreshments are critically important obviously. They must of course be kept cold to counter the warm sunshine, and to this task I have seen wheelie bins, baths and washing machines filled with cold water and ice to add to the fridges and freezers with the task of ensuring that drinks are kept as chilled as possible before they are drunk. Traditional summer drinks are fun, mixing a punch is generally down to the recipe and kindness of the host and can contain as much or as little in the way of ingredients as is considered necessary.
A Pimms on the other hand is a fairly closed book. What goes in it should be 1 part of the Pimms No 1 itself or a suitable alternative (Austin’s is more than acceptable) to three parts of lemonade, lots of ice and then cucumber slices, strawberries, preferably halved or quartered, chunks of orange and a sprig of fresh mint. The amount of fruit should be enough to completely fill the jug, and then time given for the ice to cool everything down and then poured out. Make the next batch at once to allow the ice to do the good work ready for the next pouring.
The main component of course is the food. The bbq itself will mostly be used to cook the meat on the bbq grills and a worthwhile tip here is to oil the food, not the grills themselves. This is because in many cases, particularly with charcoal grills the width of the grill is small and so when the oiled meat comes into contact with them, the oil itself will sear into the meat and any dripping oil will cause the coals or gas burners to flare which will help to seal the meat and shut in the juices and so the flavour.
Marinades will flavour the meat and someone aiming to provide the best cooked and flavoured meat should try to get a good selection suitable for each type of meat being cooked. They are generally simple to do but the difference will be out of proportion to the effort that goes into them.
Most people don’t realise that many vegetables can also be done on the bbq and among the best to do are asparagus and carrots. They only need a quick blast for a few minutes and they need to be turned well to make certain that they are fully cooked.
Finally a wide selection of salads and sauces will complete the board and ensure that the meal part of the party is a success, at least as far as the tuck is concerned.
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categories: bbq,bbq grills
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