Ideas for Entertaining Outdoors with Grill Parties & Barbeque

It is so much fun to do casual entertaining outdoors. Whether you're entertaining a small group or a large gathering, this is one of the most low-stress ways to feed and play together. When planning any size party:

A Few General Tips

  1. choose only two or three dishes that require detailed or complex preparation on the day of the event
  2. Make your other food choices low-effort and easy to prepare
  3. You can also add dishes that can be prepared several days in advance

Roasted red peppers keeps well for up to a week, in fact tastes better after a few days. 'Several days in advance' is important, because the day or two before, you'll probably have plenty of other preparations to make.

If you're going to do smoke cooking or BBQ be sure to plan appropriate time for marinading your meat and total smoke time well ahead. The best barbeque is the result of good planning and plenty of time. Barbeque can also be less time specific. Be sure to give yourself extra time - the barbeque will be able to stand well. Better to give yourself a little extra time in case you want to keep it on the heat or smoke longer than you first anticipated.

Another good idea is to get together your outdoor accessories. It's helpful to have a nice basket with 'outdoor' napkins in which you can place the utensils to be used.

If you use paper napkins and plastic utensils, this will help keep them from blowing off the table in a breeze. If you use cloth and regular flatware outdoors, this will keep everything together and ready to go. The basket can be put together a day or two in advance, or if you have dedicated napkins and utensils just for outdoors, you can store them in the basket with a plastic grocery bag cover to keep the dust off.

You will perhaps also want to have some outdoor activities while food is grilling. For those of us who don't have a pool in the backyard, there are some great options.

  1. If you have a lawn, things such as Croquet or Bocce Ball are entertaining for adults and children.
  2. If you don't have a lawn, but have some deck or patio space, ping-pong competitions can bring out hidden traits in your guests that you never imagined they had!
  3. If you have a more staid and conservative group, well chosen appetizers with carefully selected wines or specialty beers will keep a conversation going for hours.

article continues below



Tips about the menu

Keep it simple! The best parties and social events are those in which the complexity, creativity or cleverness of the food is a subtle backdrop to an exceptional social experience. Food is a critical element to the event, but it is the underpinning of the reason you're together. Make it delicious and unintrusive. The best way to start making your food delicous and easy to prepare is

  1. Purchase high-quality ingredients.
  2. Don't try new brands.
  3. Buy foods you already know have excellent flavor.
  4. Know what fruits and vegetables are in season so you will get outstanding taste.

If you start with excellent ingredients, you don't have to do much work to make them turn out delicious.

Menus are very easy to manage when you keep the list of dishes short. Some ideas:

  1. Make cocktails serve-yourself and set them up in an area that won't interfere with food preparation or people sitting around chatting.
  2. Unless you're having a Tappas party, two or three appetizer selections with bread, cucumber dippers or crackers is all you need.
  3. The main course should consist of three items at most. Even if you can prepare most of the food earlier in the day, everything will need last minute presentation or serving. Don't spend all your energy at the start of the main course.
  4. Avoid green salads as part of the main course. They are cumbersome to keep fresh and dress at the last minute. Instead, have some cleaned greens prepared in advance and add to each of your serving dishes (including appetizers). Set out a decanter of olive oil and a plate of lemon, lime and/or orange wedges (can be prepared in advance and chilled in the refrigerator) so guests can dress their own greens if desired.
  5. Desserts for a group are best if they only need serving. Avoid things like Soufflé, Sabayon, Bananas Foster, etc. Grilled fruit is fine if it can be done ahead and served at room temperature or lightly chilled.

New Menu Ideas for Those Tired Old Backyard Barbeques

Are you sick to death of those burgers, dogs, potato salad and slaw? Here are some interesting menu ideas that won't stress you out. Be sure to accompany your dishes with fresh greens as described above.

Northerner's Barbeque

  1. Appetizer Course
  2. Smoked Cheese
  3. Avocado 'Tillas
  4. Main Course
  5. Beef Brisket
  6. Baked Potato Salad
  7. Spicy Green Beans
  8. Sweet Course
  9. Apple Pie

Southerner's Barbeque

  1. Appetizer Course
  2. Crab Cakes
  3. Stuffed Eggs
  4. Main Course
  5. Barbeque Pork Shoulder
  6. Smoke Cooked Potatoes
  7. Sweet Cole Slaw
  8. Sweet Course
  9. Peach Cobbler with Peach Ice Cream

Seafood Savvy

  1. Appetizer Course
  2. Mussels in Wine Make ahead
  3. Giardiniera from a jar (easy and very good)
  4. Sourdough Baguette or French loaf, sliced
  5. Main Course
  6. Herbed Salmon
  7. Grilled Vegetables
  8. Sweet Course
  9. Fruit and Cheese Plate
  10. Port Wine or Red Wine such as Merlot or Zinfandel

Mediterranean Feast

  1. Appetizer Course
  2. Dolmas Make ahead
  3. Hummus with Red Pepper Make ahead
  4. Cucumber Dippers (English or Persian Cucumbers, sliced about 1/4 inch thick on the diagonal)
  5. Flatbread or Crackers (optional)
  6. Main Course
  7. Smoked Leg of Lamb very easy
  8. Stuffed Tomatoes
  9. Lemon Basil Couscous
  10. Sweet Course
  11. Grilled Figs Prepare ahead, and grill when ready to serve
  12. Dessert Wine

Costa del Sol

  1. Appetizer Course
  2. Roasted Red Peppers Make ahead
  3. Cheese: Mahon (spain), Idiazabal (spain), Garottxa (spain) or Chevre (french, american)
  4. Sourdough Baguette or French loaf, sliced
  5. Main Course
  6. Grilled Shrimp Skewers
  7. Grilled Sirloin Steak
  8. Smokey Baked Potatoes
  9. Sweet Course
  10. Grilled Fruit chilled, Make ahead
  11. Sangria Make ahead

Questions about this page?

Not the recipe you want? Enter an ingredient in the box below: