The Ultimate Summer Cook-out Checklist – Here’s What’s Cooking

    Summer is an excellent time to savor homemade delicacies with friends and family. The weather is perfect, giving you the chance to host a memorable outdoor barbeque party. Even then, you need to get the basics correct right from the start.  Of course, you’ll start by planning the menu. What will you cook? How will you delight and satisfy vegetarians as well as meat lovers? What follows is a party checklist that’ll get you sorted. Check it out!

    A Week Before the Cook-out

    • Send invitations – you can make calls, create a WhatsApp group or use emails
    • Make sure that you get enough propane for your grill
    • Ask family members and friends how they can help (for example, serve drinks and so on)

    A Couple of Days Before the Party

    • Make sure that you have enough utensils and platters
    • Create a shopping list for your groceries and other supplies
    • Clean the grill, if you have to

    A Day Before the Party

    • Shop for the groceries
    • Stock up drinks and enough ice
    • Prepare marinades for kebabs, beef, and sauce to go with chicken thighs
    • Bake brownies

    The Day of the Cook-out

    • Decorate your outdoors
    • Mount the buffet
    • Install your barbeque tool
    • Prepare the salsa, salad and taco dip
    • Mix meats with marinades.  Be sure to refrigerate about five hours before the party
    • Make last minute preparations

    Appetizers and Snacks

    For starters, appetizers are a must-have at every summer outdoor party. And, you don’t have to go for anything complicated. You can try out a layered Mexican dip to accompany tortilla chips. Or, you can opt for cheeses, crackers, and veggies. The idea is to make sure that there’s enough choice for kids and adults alike.

    The Meat

    A summer cookout party isn’t complete without meat dishes. Yes, meats have a way of filling the air with a sweet aroma that leaves everyone craving for a bite.

    You can prepare and all-American burger, with some veggies on the side. Add seasoned grilled beef on the toasted buns to make it tastier. You can also go for the Hawaiian Beef Teriyaki if your budget allows you. Prepare some rice as an accompaniment. And, with some of the best rice cookers on your list of appliances, you shouldn’t have a problem preparing a delicious dish.

    Chicken is a good option for your barbeque outdoor party. The only thing that you need to do is to make sure that you prepare the sauce in advance to go with the smoky grilled thighs.

    The Side Dishes

    You can mix and match your side dishes with the grilled meats on your meals. The best way to go about it is to allow your guests to serve themselves from the buffet. That way, everybody can customize their meals, making the party even more thrilling.

    Get grilled vegetables for the vegetarians in the house. You can marinate with a Dijon-herb mixture to add a burst of flavor. Consider grilled corn if you want to be a little bit more creative with your recipes. And so you may know, it shouldn’t take you more than 15 minutes to grill fresh cobs on the BBQ.

    The Condiments

    Make sure that you get enough supply of traditional summer cook-out condiments. Include hamburger toppings for your invitees to enjoy. Pile your table with mustard, ketchup, onions, pickles, mayonnaise, and tomato slices. You can also get some lettuce and cheese slices.

    The long and short of it is that you should arrange your condiments in a way that gives your guests something to talk about months after the party. So, try to make your condiments as tasty as possible.

    The Drinks

    It is essential that you know your guest and their preferences when it comes to drinks. As a rule of thumb, you’re better off having a mix of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverage. Consider having drinks table, with soft beverages, beer and wine arrange separately.

    Or, if you want to raise the ante, you can mix up a pitcher of tasty, fruity, wine-based sangria and present it your buffet table.

    In conclusion, work hand in hand with party planner if you want to pull off a cook-out event that will linger on your guest’s minds for months.