Simple BBQ Plans

[mcbook]

I'm hosting a barbecue for my son's 1st birthday (not a kids party, mostly adults) and want to keep it simple but still lay on a good spread. My plans for food are as follows;

Burgers (lettuce, tomatoes and condiments nearby to complete the bun)
Sausages
Chicken breast (sliced in half for quick cooking, spicy bbq marinade)
Veggie kebabs (pepper, red onion, haloumi cheese, courgette)
Veggie burgers

Fatoush salad
Waldorf salad
Potato salad
Coleslaw

Maybe fruit salad or something for desert but not sure.

How does that sound? Suggestions greatly appreciated and also your tips for cooking and preparation. Charcoal barbecue btw.

Cheers

[mcbook]

SilverSixer said:

Make a zaatar marinade for the vegetable kebabs.

Good idea. Would actually like to do a full middle-east theme at some point but not ready for that just yet.

[mcbook]

Swervin_Mervin said:

One thing that we sometimes do, but always goes down a treat, is gem lettuces cut in half and cooked for 5mins or so (cut side down only). Sprinkle of feta on top and maybe some mint once done. They go very sweet and even the most ardent meat eater friends have really enjoyed them

Bonus is they're dead easy to do.

This sounds very interesting. I'm having a small trial run this weekend so will give it a try :-)

[mcbook]

SHutchinson said:

Taboulleh

Job jobbed.

I'm a big fan of taboulleh but chose to give it a miss as I prefer fatoush and didn't want to have too many things to prepare. Will it keep if I prepare it the night before?

[mcbook]

BRISTOL86 said:

I'm afraid Chef has just opened the tin....

OP - chicken on the bone is always a winner. Drizzle with oil and M&S Latino rub (or any dry rub of your choice!) and leave on an indirect heat for an hour or so. I like doing whole legs that way - BBQ finger food at it's best!

I'm not the biggest fan of chicken on the bone but would probably be good to have some. I'm sure legs would be very popular.

[mcbook]

OK, menu now shaping up to be something like this...

Burgers (lettuce, tomatoes and condiments nearby to complete the bun)
Sausages
Chicken breast (sliced in half for quick cooking, spicy bbq marinade)
Chicken legs with dry latino rub (sounds slightly deviant)
Veggie kebabs with zaatar marinade (pepper, red onion, haloumi cheese, courgette)
Veggie burgers

Fatoush salad
Waldorf salad
Potato salad
Gem lettuces with crumbled feta
Coleslaw

Might be slightly too much going on now... shall I ditch the waldorf salad? I do like the freshness of the apples.

[mcbook]

louiebaby said:

If you have space to stand one up:

http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/chicken-recipes...

I've seen a few variations of this and it does look good but just won't have the space. I have a 57cm Weber and about 10 adults to cook for so can't tie up so much space for such a long time.

[mcbook]

TIGA, you make a good point. I will probably slim things down a bit but don't think I can live without burgers AND sausages! Might be ok to ditch the burgers though. However, they are very easy to do and kids will eat them without complaint.

I should have around 8-10 adults and 4-6 kids.

Maybe I could farm out some of the salad making to others. Friends already asked what they could bring so potato salad and coleslaw could be covered that way. However, I might risk getting pre-packed stuff that way...

I reckon if i can get all the salad stuff ready in the morning the actual cooking should be fine. Quite good fun standing at the barbecue with a beer all afternoon!

[mcbook]

TIGA84 said:

have a big bowl of green salad and some nice breads/flatbreads on the table, you've got plenty there, it doesn't need the obligatory burgers and sausages.

This could definitely be a solution. But I do love fatoush so will need to keep that!

[mcbook]

Thanks to everyone for their comments and advice. I've simplified things a bit but not too much... here's the final plan;

Beef burgers
Sausages
Chicken breast in bbq marinade
Chicken legs with dry latino rub
Veggie kebabs (peppers, courgette, haloumi, red onion)

Fatoush salad
Potato salad
Coleslaw
Gem lettuce with feta

Bread selection

[mcbook]

TIGA84 said:

So delete Waldorf and Veggie Burgers and added bread.

Its almost the same man!

I'm sure it'll be lovely, good luck!

I also added the chicken legs so not really simplified at all! I'm sure it'll be fine thoug... just like Brexit ;-)

[mcbook]

DELETED: Comment made by a member who's account has been deleted.

Agreed. Everything will be fully cooked over the coals :-) Even if it means a few guests get food poisoning.