Summer Cookout Tips
Some of my tips for throwing or attending a summer BBQ
I am by no means a pro at throwing outdoor cookouts, but I have documented some of my tested tips so everything goes smoothly and you actually enjoy the party you’re throwing!
Tips
Think about your group of guests and make sure there is something for everyone to eat, augmenting recipes if necessary. It can be no fun being a vegetarian at a BBQ, so yes burgers and dogs, but think about adding veggie kebabs, some black bean burgers, or a robust fulfilling salad.
How much to drink do you need to supply? I learned a handy way to calculate how much that is from a friend of mine in the wedding industry, and I always use it as a rule of thumb:
(# of guests x 3 for first hour of event) + (#of guests x 1 for every hour after that). So for example 10 guests for 4 hours = 30 + 10 + 10 + 10 = 60.
Let people bring things! It is daunting remembering and preparing everything for a whole crowd. People like being helpful and involved more than you think, so if someone offers, dole out small items like ice, plates/napkins/cups/silverware, or bottled water. If you don’t have something like a tent, a speaker, or enough cooler space, ask friends to bring theirs to supplement. Likewise, if you are attending someone else’s function, always ask what you can bring.
Put out sunscreen and hand fans if it’s going to be a sunny day.
Set out lawn games! giant tic tac toe, giant Jenga, giant Yahtzee…regular-sized games are good too lol. You can make up free games – watermelon seed spitting contest!
Bonus tip from Brendon:
Don’t have your first drink until half of your guests arrive. You will be the last one at the party, so this is a safe way to make sure you don’t get schwacked. And have a water in between each drink.
Timing
1 week before:
Plan your food and drink offerings and shop for your ingredients.
I say 1 week before, because inevitably you will need to run back to the store the day before or of your party when you forgot something or if they were out of stock of something. If you shop right before, you won’t have time to get that thing.
Also, some of the best BBQ food and drinks can be prepped ahead of time (more on that later) and even taste better when made ahead of time. Why stress and make everything day of?
Check your grill materials – do you have a full propane tank? enough charcoal? an operational lighter? This is like showing up to the SATs with 3 pens. If your lighter is going to pick a time to run out of juice, it’s going to be 15 minutes before your guests arrive.
3 days before:
Clean out your fridge and freezer, condense containers, throw away old food, and make sure most of your tupperware are clean and organized. At the end of the party, you will want to send people home with leftovers so those containers should be handy.
Get all your serving ware, platters, and decorations out of the garage/basement/top shelf of the storage closet and wash platters, unfold/unroll banners & tablecloths.
If you are making anything marinated, like a mojo pork or carne asada, you can get those marinades mixed up in a strong zip top bag and get the meat in there.
If you are making any mulled drink like a sangria, go ahead and mix that up. It will get better the longer it mingles in the fridge!
If you are serving a cold pasta salad or potato salad, make that now as well. These get yummier a few days after being mixed up.
1 day before:
Buy ice, firewood, and other last minute forgotten items. Double check your guest lists and recount food/drinks.
Fill some tupperware containers with water and freeze to supplement bagged ice. It melts way slower so it will keep the temps in those coolers down for longer.
Mix up condiments and sauces, chop herbs, wash and prep fruit, chop vegetables.
Day of:
Lay out platters, buckets, coolers, flatware, etc on the main food/drink table so you know where everything is going. Lay out extra empty platters for guests’ dishes. Fill coolers and buckets with ice.
Set up a station near the grill with utensils, seasonings, clean knives and cutting boards, plates, and paper towels. You will need more of these things than you think about initially, and you don’t want to have to run into the house a bunch of times to grab odd things.
15 minutes before guests arrive:
Put out room temperature items onto the food table, light citronella candles, fill coolers with drinks.
Throughout the event:
Put out food as needed, no reason to have all the hot food ready at your start time if the whole group won’t realistically be there and ready to eat until an hour later.
Got any tips of your own? Send em my way on instagram @chefmcshane
