Regardless of whether you’ve planned barbecues before or not, it’s normally good to think of several things before you should really take off in the organizing process. Initially, it is important to figure out how many people you’ll be asking to the bash and where your event will be held.
This info must be determined first, as it sets the stage for the future details to come. After you have gotten an excellent idea of the amount of people will come and also have a place secured, it is important to move on to the rest of the planning process.
If you can arrange for it, try to make it so you are only responsible for the barbecue and another individual has to keep the attendees busy with other fun-based activities. That way you can focus on making sure you have enough food for everyone and another individual can concentrate on the other details of the social event.
Food choices should be figured out, as well as the volume. For hot dogs, don’t forget to calculate about two per person, presuming you’ll be serving burgers or chicken. For burgers, calculate four burgers per every three guests. If you serve chicken, estimate about three portions per individual.
Prepare side dishes like potato salad or pasta salad, that you can make ahead of time and store in the fridge until it’s necessary. If you expect to see as many as 100 people, you’ll need 6-8 pounds of each of them. If you plan to include a salad, anticipate at least two ounces per person, plus dressing. A fruit salad could be included with 6-8 melons, 3 pounds of grapes, two pineapples and four to six pounds of strawberries to generate enough for 100 people.
If you really feel as if the side dishes are going to be too much to address, think about creating a party where you supply the meat and buns but your guests each bring a side dish. This will allow you to have even more time to focus on the grill.
Additionally, you will need to remember condiments as well as paper plates, napkins, eating utensils and trash bags to help clean along the way so the clean up crew isn’t stuck collecting empty plates and leftover food from the lawn. You might even think about having some wet-wipes available for people to make use of after they eat.
Try to remember, going through the organizing process for a barbecue cookout isn’t very challenging. In fact, it really is quite fun to get your family and friends together for an afternoon of eating and mingling!
This is really good advice. It’s also very hard to work out just how much space you need and have in conjunction with the amount of people coming. I’ve just bought a new charcoal grill from Weber and I’m pleased to say it has a large warming shelf because I always wind up cooking somethings too fast and putting other things on too late.
I think your comment about focusing on the cooking whilst someone else entertains the guests is the way forward, so long as I’m the one entertaining the guests!