With the promise of more scorching summer days to come, there’s never been a better time to dust off the bbq and show off your skills with the sausages and burgers.
Here at LE, we love a good barbie so have put together a few of our favourite tips for helping your bbq go with a bang. And we're even giving away one of our fabulous new bbq utensil sets to get you started - comment with your own bbq tip below to have a chance to WIN!
Top Tips
"If in doubt, cheat. No one will thank you for saddling them with summer food poisoning so if your culinary expertise is debatable, simply cook the sausages and burgers in the oven first then pop them on the bbq for a few minutes to give them that smoky taste. No one will know the difference!" Catherine, UK Copywriter
"Order twice as much alcohol as you think you will originally need. The only thing worse than burnt food is running out of booze…and let's face it, if the guests have drunk enough, no one will care about the burnt bangers anyway!" Mike, Footwear Merchant
“The self-lighting charcoal bags are a life-saver and so easy to use wherever you are. I’ve never yet been able to light one with the proper coals – it’s far too labour-intensive! I’d rather spend time enjoying the food than trying to light it” Lucie, UK Copywriter
‘I’m usually put in charge of the salad and the all-important jug of pimms so there’s no danger of me burning anything! If you have lots of guests coming over, it’s a good idea to assign different jobs so you don’t forget anything important.” Lui, Merchandiser
“For me, the accompaniments are as important as the meat so I always make sure there are potato salads, tomato salads and some couscous or pasta dishes to keep the guests going if there is a long wait for the cooked food” Barbara, Copy Support
“You don’t need to go to too much trouble with dessert as people tend to fill up on the burgers. We often put some chopped up fruit into serving dishes with a pot of icing sugar in the middle for dipping – it’s a real favourite with the kids and less messy than melted chocolate on a hot day.” Rebecca, Copy Support
“Always light the bbq at least an hour before you think you’re going to need it; it always takes far longer than you imagine for it to reach the correct temperature for cooking. Plus, stock up on paper plates and plastic cutlery – far better to throw everything away at the end than be left with a mountain of washing up.” Liz, UK Copywriter
The Lands' End BBQ utensil set.
Winner chosen at random at 12.00pm on Friday 11th of July.
Anthony, please check your email or get in touch with [email protected], many thanks
Posted by: Lands' End | July 17, 2014 at 11:23 AM
Anthony Webster, you have won, please check your email! Lands' End
Posted by: Lands' End | July 17, 2014 at 11:21 AM
best tip i have is to add some wood to your charcoal for that smoked flavor, and to use one cal spray on your meat and chicken for seasoning to stay on the food
Posted by: Marc Barnes | July 11, 2014 at 11:15 AM
Be as organised as possible- meat can be set out on trays in the fridge and covered until needed, salads can be made in advance, even bread rolls can be cut open ready. There is nothing worse than being stuck in the kitchen while your guests are enjoying the garden and those BBQ smells. I always make sure the baked potatoes are on, the sauces are out and drinks are in the ice bucket and then I am free to hand over the cooking to the men and relax- after all it's the only time I get away with not doing it!
Posted by: catherine killen | July 11, 2014 at 10:57 AM
Always line the base of the BBQ with turkey width foil before you put the charcoal on. This way, when you have finished and the coals are cold enough, you can just wrap the whole lot up in the foil and bin it. It will save you hours of scrubbing to clean the BBQ and add years to the life of it!
Also to help with the cleaning and to stop things sticking to the BBQ, always rub the grill mesh with cooking oil on a kitchen towel before you start using it.
Posted by: Sue Obrien | July 10, 2014 at 11:13 PM
Have a bucket of water and sterilising solution next to the BBQ for your utensils for when your not using them or to give a quick clean. I have a massive BBq this weekend 12/7 for my 50th love the BBQ.
Posted by: Anthony Webster | July 09, 2014 at 10:58 AM
Mix together the following ingredients for a gorgeous marinade, great for ribs but works well on anything!
Tomato ketchup, soy sauce, sweet chilli sauce, table spoon brown sugar.
The measurements don't really matter, it'll be lovely, just heat it up to melt the sugar and it'll thicken nicely.
Posted by: Emily Hutchinson | July 08, 2014 at 08:38 AM
Use a spray oil to both sides of the meat, it doesn't stick to the bbq that way
Posted by: frances hopkins | July 08, 2014 at 07:38 AM