The post Eid-ul-Adha season is all about get-togethers that include a lot of chilling and grilling. During this time of the year, households all over the country organise rooftop and backyard barbecue parties inviting their friends, neighbours and families over.
So, if you are also planning to organise a BBQ party at home anytime soon, then you have made it to the right post. In this blog, we are going to give you some of the most useful tips to plan and host a memorable event, helping you make the most of this exciting barbecuing season.
How to Organise a BBQ Party at Home: the Ultimate Checklist
Here are all the important tips that you should keep in mind if you want to be a host of a memorable and fun-filled BBQ party.
- Make a Guest List
- Marinate the Meat
- Prepare to Grill
- Take Safety Precautions
- Check for Other Essential Items
- Come up With Ample Lighting Arrangements
- Serve Your Guests With Refreshments
Make a Guest List
The first thing you should do if you are looking forward to planning a successful barbecue party at home is to prepare a guest list. Your guests may include your family members, friends or neighbours. You can even invite your office colleagues or other people you work with to the event.
Besides, if you have plans to call your boss or a person that holds a senior position than you, you should invite them in a formal way like sending an email or a proper message on the messaging app you use at work.
Whoever your guests may be, it would always be best to prepare a list of them beforehand. This way you would also know how many people you would be hosting at your place on the day of the event and come up with arrangements accordingly.
Marinate the Meat
Barbecue parties that are organised during the post Bakra Eid season are mostly based on the cooking and grilling of mutton and beef. Both of these types of meat need to be marinated for a good amount of time to be cooked properly.
So, it is better to marinate the meat for at least 7-8 hours. The longer the meat is marinated, the more tender it becomes while being cooked or grilled. You can also add a little amount of meat tenderiser to the marination mixture to make the meat even more soft and chewable.
Prepare to Grill
It is very important for you to have a proper barbecue or grilling kit that you can safely use while hosting a BBQ party. If you don’t have one, you can easily buy it from your nearest hardware store. However, buying a barbecue kit will cost you more than making your own at home.
Here are some of the best DIY barbecue grill ideas that save you from the hassle and expense of buying a new one.
- DIY Aluminum Grill: It can be created using simple household items like an aluminum foil food container, a cooking grill, and some charcoal.
- DIY Brick Barbecue Grill: Collect a few bricks or concrete blocks lying around your backyard, get a large piece of metal mesh, and a metal tray. In this way, you can make your own brick or concrete block-based barbecue grill at home.
- Terracotta Pot Barbecue Kit: This is one of the easiest DIY barbecue grills. It can be made with terracotta pots (the ones that are commonly used for plants). Terracotta pots are inexpensive and are available in almost every other household in Pakistan.
On a side note, if you want to learn about more interesting DIY BBQ grills ideas, read this blog.
Pro Tip: You can also set up a BBQ grilling station, which is one of the most trending outdoor kitchen ideas. It would let you have a permanent setup where you can enjoy cooking and grilling your food under the open sky whenever you want.
Take Safety Precautions
Dealing with charcoal and open fire is always risky. Make sure to be very careful when cooking and grilling on it. Keep it away from flammable substances and materials that can easily catch fire. If you have invited young children to your barbecue party, don’t let them go anywhere near fire or burning coal. Be prepared for the worst-case scenario and always have your fire emergency plan ready.
Check for Other Essentials Items
Cutlery, cookware, and a whole lot of other items may be required for you to host a successful BBQ party at home. If possible, prepare a list of each and every essential item so you won’t run out of supplies during the event.
You may also need seasoning, salads and different types of spices that would be used to properly serve the barbecued meat to your guests. You should also keep naans, chapatis, and parathas on your BBQ party menu, so people could conveniently enjoy their meal with any of their preferred bread.
Come Up With Ample Lighting Arrangements
The trend of organising BBQ parties after the sunset is very common in Pakistan and is preferred by the majority of people. Organising a barbecue party in the evening or at night means you would need to come up with ample lighting arrangements.
Make sure that you have kept the ingredients including the meat and all the other spices in a well-lit area. Also, arrange proper lighting for your cooking and grilling station. There are many different types of outdoor lighting arrangements that you can use to properly light up your rooftop or backyard while hosting a BBQ party at home.
Serve Your Guests With Refreshments
While your guests are waiting for the meal to be ready, you can serve them with different types of refreshments like fresh juices or hot beverages including tea or coffee, depending on their choice. You can also arrange some light snacks and appetisers to make your guests feel welcomed and delighted.
Now that we have given you some of the most useful tips on how to organise a BBQ party at home, it’s time for us to wrap up. We hope the checklist we have shared above will help you plan and host a memorable event. If you still want to ask us anything or have some feedback to share, feel free to drop us an email at blog@zameen.com.
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Happy barbecuing!
