6 Useful Tips For Hosting A Great Backyard BBQ

by HexClad Cookware

There are few more joyous occasions than a great backyard BBQ. With your favorite friends or family gathered, all there is to do is figure out the menu and gather drinks. There are a few key things to keep in mind when planning your backyard barbecue to make everything go as smoothly as possible. We’ve got a few tips to help you host a laid back, fun, and easy backyard BBQ this year.

6 USEFUL TIPS FOR HOSTING A GREAT BACKYARD BBQ

GATHER THE RIGHT TOOLS

A BBQ master is only as good as their tools, and so grabbing the right BBQ tools for the job will ensure you can flip, turn, and shuffle everything from ribs to corn to salmon without losing anything to the grates. You’ll want to make sure you have a few things on hand: a grill brush to clean the grates, long-handled tongs to avoid burning your hands, a grilling fork for turning large pieces of vegetables or fruit, a flexible slotted metal spatula for flipping burgers and fish, a basting brush for slathering sauce over meats, and a thermometer to check when things are cooked, and our HexClad Hot Mitts to avoid burning yourself. It’s helpful to bring out some heavy-duty rimmed baking sheets to corral tools and to transport seasoned raw meat and cooked meat (use separate sheet pans for each), too.

MAKE THE MOST OF THE GRILL WITH YOUR HEXCLAD BBQ GRILL PAN

A barbecue pan is a perforated pan with handles that allows you to grill small pieces of food on a gas or charcoal grill. It can help keep the various bits and bobs you want to grill from falling through the grate with a BBQ grill pan, which corralls small ingredients like shrimp, chopped vegetables, fruit, and cubes of bread from falling through the grates. A grill pan is ideal for delicate food like fish fillets, halved tomatoes, and rounds of polenta, too. If you’re setting up a cool zone on one side of the grill for items that you want to infuse with flavor and heat up without charring, the grill pan is your friend, too.

DON AN APRON!

If you’re grilling, setting out food, or still cooking when guests arrive, you’re going to want to put on an apron. Yes, it sounds kind of lame and like it’s going to mess up your outfit, but with HexClad’s new Eco Modern Aprons will keep you covered in style. In fact, an apron will protect both you and your clothes from inevitable splatters from hosting and grilling, plus you can tuck helpful things into the pockets, like a thermometer, phone, tongs, and wine opener.

**CHOOSE A MENU THAT IS BOTH DELICIOUS AND DOABLE**

The point of a backyard barbecue is to host a low-key gathering that everyone can enjoy, and that means the hosts! Rather than go above and beyond, stick to classics you already know how to make. Plan to have more of each dish–consider doubling up on sides–rather than going for many different recipes. If you tend to lean toward elaborate menus and don’t know where to start by paring things back, check out our easy menu for summer entertaining.

DECIDE WHAT TO DELEGATE AT LEAST A WEEK IN ADVANCE

Guests love to help! If you’re going to ask people to bring a dish, give them a heads up at least a week in advance of what you’d like them to contribute. Be specific, and if you’d prefer they bring utensils, cups, tablecloths, napkins, coolers, ice, or drinks, ask for those, too.

BOOST YOUR OUTDOOR SPACE

Consider whether you’ve got enough seating, lighting, shade, and bug-deterrents ready for guests. If you want to offer some outdoor-friendly games, set those up in an open area of the yard, and while you’re at it, give your neighbors a heads up that you’ll be having friends by so they aren’t surprised by extra cars and noise.

Looking for recipes to make for your backyard BBQ? Here are some ideas: