It wouldn't be a British summer without BBQs with your loved ones in the garden. Few things can beat an early morning trip to the supermarket to stock up on supplies as you prepare to welcome your guests. But how do you make sure your BBQ is a resounding success? Here are five tips that will help your first BBQ of 2022 live up to the hype.
Keep your BBQ clean
You will almost certainly burn your meat if you try and grill it on a dirty BBQ. Equally, preparing lunch for your friends on a dirty grill is far from hygienic. So, make sure you keep your BBQ clean throughout the year and give it a deep clean the day after you use it. Ultimately, there's little point in spending hundreds of pounds on a flashy grill if you don't even keep it in good shape. Check out this blog post for our top tips on keeping your BBQ spotless this summer.
Precook your meat
One mistake many people make is forgetting to precook their BBQ meat. Pre-cooking not only saves you time, but also ensures the meat is cooked to perfection. The best way to do this is by simply oven-cooking your sausages and burgers before finishing them on the barbie. This means you can spend more time socialising with your friends rather than hanging over the grill checking on your meat.
Understand how to check for doneness
Cooking your meat to perfection will make or break a BBQ. But how do you know when your meat is done? The best thing to use is a meat probe or thermometer. This allows you to check the meat's internal temperature before serving it up. Meat should be at least 75C before it's safe to serve, and your temperature probe can tell you when it's good to go. The last thing you want to do is cut into your meat, as it will drain all of the juices and cause your delicious burgers to dry out!
Cover all bases
For your BBQ to really stand out, you need to cover all bases beforehand. Make sure your meat is top quality and your buns and salad options are fresh. You also need to consider vegetarians and vegans, be it with delicious halloumi burgers or spicy vegetable skewers. Finally, round your menu off with a selection of summer beverages, and your BBQ will be a memorable event for all the right reasons.
Use the right fuel
Last but not least, you need to give your BBQ the best chance of burning true throughout the afternoon. Our BBQ Essentials are just what you need to get things up and running, be it our Instant Light Charcoal or BBQ charcoal briquettes. You can also grab a bag of our Natural Firelighters to help you get your BBQ smoking without running through an entire box of matches. Ultimately, if you don't pick the right fuel for your BBQ, you're setting yourself up for a summer failure.
We hope you're now armed with all the insider information you need to crank your BBQ up a notch this summer. So whether you're cooking up lunch on an instant BBQ or firing up your prized garden possession, make sure you do it right in 2022.
