How to Really Impress at the Garden BBQ This Summer
It’s March! Finally, we’re seeing the mornings earlier. It might even be sunny when you step outside. And the temperature is lifting, just a little. Before you know it, the summer will be here, and we’ll all be gathered outside to enjoy the sun for as much time as we can.
Sure, there’s still spring to get through, but there’s no harm in practicing some recipes in the house beforehand, right?
Go Indian with tandoori
If your crowd isn’t afraid of a few spices, you can’t go wrong with tandoori. Add some heat to the British summer by marinating some chicken and adding it to the grill with your steaks and hot dogs for a little something different amongst the many meats.
But if you want authentic Indian taste, you need to look into the Baba Clay Oven. Impress the neighbours by rolling out this outdoor tandoor, which will give you massively high temperatures due to its clay oven to keep the moisture in your food while you cook.
Go Moroccan with tajine
Along the same lines, you can add some tajine to your menu. The problem with barbecue food is that it’s often lacking in flavour, or some would argue the meat is the flavour. That isn’t enough for some people, so add some Moroccan spices to the mix. Try some apricot and lamb tajine, or Moroccan chicken.
Serve it as a side dish like the corn or chips, and show off your clay tagine cooking pot, which allows steam to cool and drip back into your food for much more succulent meat and full flavour. Or serve a spicy Tunisian tuna salad in it just to show it off.
Go Greek with kebabs
Kebabs are a staple of the barbecue, so we couldn’t forget them here. The great thing about Greek kebabs, however, is how creative you can be with them. What meat are you going to go for? Beef, lamb, chicken, fish, venison, kangaroo? Whatever you feel like.
What is really important is the marinade. You’ll want some garlic, oregano, paprika, parsley and a few other staples to make it authentically Greek.
Go Arctic with a snow cone machine
The kids, big or small, will love you when you crack out the snow cone machine. It is simply crushed ice with some colourful flavouring involved, but boy does it taste like heaven on a hot day.
A lot of them are very affordable, and in fact you can get a few machines that are smaller versions of slushy machines. Again, just crushed ice and flavouring. It has the added perk of adding the flavouring you feel like, so if you don’t fancy chasing the kids around from their sugar high, go for a squirt of lime juice or diluting juice in the mix instead of the usual uranium coloured flavouring.
Go wild with a bar
There was one interesting trend taking over the country as lockdown went on. A combination of B&Q being the only place open, the hatred of staring at the same four walls, and looking for an excuse for a drink in a miserable time, resulted in a lot of people building bars in their back gardens.
These bars ranged in size and elaboration. You could start with a simple bar trolley to be bought for less than £20 from B&M and stock it full of bottles, plus a bucket of ice and sit it tastefully nearby, or you could go the whole hog and build a bar, complete with stools, roof, and kegs in the garden. Add a fridge, some neon lights and decoration, and you’ve got the hottest beer garden in town.
