When the sun is out, and your garden is looking glorious, it will be time to roll out the BBQ and start grilling during the summer months. The smell of barbecue's waft far and wide, making the neighbours join in as well! After many months of the BBQ being stored in the shed, it is time to give it a good clean and enjoy some family cooking time in the garden. Here are our top 5 tips for having the best BBQ fun.
1. Get your BBQ area well organised
Make sure you have plenty of space around the BBQ where you can place your utensils and plates of food safely. Make sure you can reach them quickly, and they are well away from your pets and playing children. When cooking meat, it is essential to keep the raw and cooked meat separate so ensure there are plates available for both. Being organised means your whole grilling experienced will be much more comfortable and enjoyable.
2. Give the BBQ time to heat up
Think ahead to what time you would like to eat because it is best to get the BBQ started and to heat up to perfection before that time. This is the best way to ensure everyone doesn't get covered in smoke and allows the coals to heat up correctly for your food to cook at the very best temperature.
3. Keep things basic
There is no need to complicate a BBQ spread because some of the best food grilled on the BBQ is with fresh fish, easy to cook meat and garden picked salads, fruit and vegetables. It can be really easy to prepare great-tasting food on a BBQ. You could even pick up a BBQ book with some guidelines for making tasty food from basic ingredients.
4. Stay with your barbecue
Try not to leave your BBQ to make sure you can keep a constant check on it and of course for safety reasons. You can keep a check on what's cooking, areas on the grill that are hotter than others, allowing you to move the food around as needed. Don't forget that having some kitchen foil on hand can be useful for slowing down cooking.
5. Clean up after your BBQ
It is much easier to clean up straight after you have finished your feast rather than the next time you pull out the BBQ. So you might want to relax after you have eaten your delicious grilled food, but the racks, plates and trays will need a good scrub. That way, the grease and char won't stick on the BBQ and make it much harder for you to clean up before the next family BBQ.