Family BBQ Ideas for Your Backyard Picnics
Long summer nights with your family call for a classic backyard BBQ that everyone can enjoy and remember fondly. To pull off an amazing backyard barbecue, you need more than merely rolling out your grill. You can do much more to enjoy the experience even more and impress your guests like a pro!
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Elevating your backyard with décor, planning the essentials early on, and introducing fun interactive games to socialize with your family can transform your backyard BBQ into a memorable experience. You don’t need to spend the entire day cooking everyone’s favourite dishes with a few quick and delicious menu ideas that everyone can enjoy. You can even use pre-made dishes for your barbeque, so all that’s left is to grill your favourite meats.
Hence, we have curated a list of tips and tricks as well as menu items that should be on your next BBQ party agenda. Browse through our guide on how to include the best elements in your backyard as well as what to do during those fun-filled long summer nights.
Your Guide to The Best BBQs in your Family Backyard
With a few quick and easy changes as well as preparations that do not consume much of your time, energy, and money, you can have an impressionable BBQ in your backyard. If you’ve been looking to invite your friends or cousins over for a backyard party like olden times, this is the perfect opportunity to get started on this plan.
Décor
Décor is very important to pull off an enjoyable backyard BBQ and set the mood for your guests to get into the summer spirit and spend a memorable time together. Don’t just pull together some old chairs and call it a BBQ. Go a step further and install some festive lighting as the sun sets down and the backyard lights up with your beautiful fiery lights all around. String or fiery lights are the best to transition into an evening ambience.
Other than the lighting, opt for some outdoor torches to provide additional lighting sources around your garden. Add a few mosquito repellent incense sticks around your lighting area, and you will forget about the pesky bugs bothering you in the dark night. You can also try adding some aroma-based tealight candles to your table to create a beautiful setting.
As for the utensils and other cooking materials, keep the table setting minimal. Any foods other than your meat that you’re looking to reheat or cook, especially instant pre-made snacks like popcorn and toast pizzas, can be served directly on the plates. Just use your microwave to cook them as soon as the guests are seated and serve them hot.
Talking of seating, a picnic table is a perfect way to enjoy a backyard BBQ. Set up a picnic table with colourful table sheets and a beautiful candle holder, and you’re ready to go. Additionally, you can move some bean bags into the garden as well as spread out a few picnic sheets in your backyard for those guests who want to lounge and relax after eating. Folding outdoor chairs also work great when many people are invited.
Food
The most important element of a successful backyard BBQ is good food, and by good food, we essentially entail good meat. Since grilling the meat is the main fun activity of a backyard BBQ, make sure that the meat is of good quality to bring all the efforts to fruition. So, include meat patties for hamburgers as well as classic hot dogs. As for the steak, go for sirloin steak, T-Bone, or strip- all of which are perfect for those grilling and juicy steaks that perfectly melt in one’s mouth.
You can choose a variety of marinating sauces for your steak, ranging from honey soy garlic to a wide range of classic hot barbeque sauces to plain old olive oil and salt. Whether your guests are looking to enjoy spicy or plain meat, cook half of the meat with marinades and a half without. Make sure your outdoor grills are of good quality and the timer is set on the perfect score, so you don’t end up burning your meats while socialising.
Other foods to include in your BBQ menu can be corn on the cob, guacamole and chips, nachos and tacos, fresh summer fruits such as watermelons and papayas and summer salads as well. A fresh summer salad such as macaroni salad, Arabic Fattoush salad, or a classic potato salad to balance out the meat dishes is a must. You can also go for a corn salad or a garden-fresh salad. Make sure you prep these fruits and veggies in advance, so you can just pull them out of the refrigerator and serve them fresh at the BBQ.
Other than meat, you can also include some fish and seafood options to diversify the menu. Grilled seafood makes for a classic BBQ snack, especially shrimps, lobsters, and prawns. You can go ahead and include mussels and oysters to impress your guests with those savoury sea dishes. For the kids, salmon is a great option as well.
Drinks
For drinks, the must-have item to include on your list is a drink dispenser. A drink dispenser will make your BBQ bash much more convenient. All you need is to refill the dispenser when it starts running low, as guests will serve their own drinks according to their liking.
You can include options such as fresh fruit-infused water, orange juice, pomegranate, peach mojitos, as well as some lime and lemon sodas. For alcoholic options such as beers and other drinks, make sure to keep an ice bucket handy.
Lastly, for the caffeine addicts of the group, the best way to serve freshly brewed coffee, especially with ice on the cool summer nights, is to pull out your Nespresso coffee machine. Line up a few cups and some store-bought coffee capsules, and your guests can enjoy their own coffee making experience. Whether some want to go for the classic americano or others want to opt for a hazelnut latte, they can brew and make their own coffee drinks in a few minutes.
Hence, these are some of our recommendations for having your very own family backyard BBQ bash. Make these additions from our guide and create memories with your loved ones over the summer. These delicious recipes for the best food and drinks, as well as the design ideas, will transform your summer nights into fun and enjoyable BBQ parties that you will cherish and remember for a long time.
