It’s a hot summer day and you want to plan a party. What should you do? Really, there is only one thing that you can do. Throw a barbeque. But what should you serve, how should you serve it and what will you need for your guests? Find out in this article.
First of all, you should really plan farther ahead than just one day. Realistically, you should start by looking at the weather and making sure that it isn’t going to rain or snow or something. After that, invite the best, most fun-loving friends that you have. If you don’t have any friends, then this is the perfect way to make some.
After the invitations have been sent it is time to decide on things to eat. You can’t have a barbeque without some sort of food. I would recommend that you have a least a few different choices for people. Things like hot dogs and hamburgers are simple, cheap and effective. If you want to get a little fancier, there are always kabobs or possibly fondue that you could make. Whatever you choose, be sure that your grill is ready to go and that you have enough propane or charcoal.
After the food is done, you will need a way to serve it. Obviously paper plates are a great thing for the bbq crowd, but you might want to consider heavy duty plates if you are serving items that could get messy like burgers or kabobs.
Seating is another thing you will want to look into. You can’t just have your friends all sitting on the ground. Be sure to invest in nice patio dining sets that will add to the atmosphere of your party. You wouldn’t want to have sets that are uncomfortable or ugly, so it is crucial that your patio set looks and feels great.
With these things all set up and in order, your job as host or hostess will be much simpler. In fact, you will probably get to know your neighbors really well if you do too good of a job at hosting a backyard barbeque as they will never want to leave.
Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/food-and-beverage-articles/summer-barbeque-planning-1532142.html
Filed under Techniques by on Dec 4th, 2009. Comment. 
The time had come to light up the barbeque grill! There was only one small problem. With all the preparations he had made for the cookout, Frank had forgotten charcoal lighter! Not to be detoured by such a small detail, he entered the tool shed at the back of his yard and returned with a large can of gasoline.
Frank had built a gorgeous new backyard barbeque pit, whom, to the disgust of the brick masons, supervised every detail of the project. It was a beautiful fireplace style grill with the chimney just about head, high built of the same brick that covered his home.
Proud of owning the best looking barbeque pit in our neighborhood, Frank’s grill featured an arched flat black steel bonnet for enclosed cooking; with a warming tray built into the side of the brick pit to keep rare steaks from getting cold while others cooked longer. There was even a compartment built on the opposite side to house starter fluid for the charcoal.
After dumping a large amount of charcoal into the bed of the grill, he picked up the can of gasoline. By now the neighbors had begun to realize what Frank was about to do and began hollering at him to put down the gas can!
Several friends offered to run to their homes and get charcoal lighter fluid. No Way! Frank was determined to kick off this celebration with a big fire! He also guaranteed everyone that he knew what he was doing! He was enjoying the spotlight; being the center of attention!
He dumped the container of fuel over the charcoal and continued pouring even after the briquettes had been thoroughly drenched. Now came the moment of truth! He lit a match and with a melodramatic flair and tossed it onto the charcoal! Whoooomp!
Brick mortar is very porous and does not always bond perfectly to a surface without leaving a tiny crack in the joints between bricks. When gasoline fills that fissure, it will flow into the base of the structure, such as a barbeque pit.
Vapors from the gasoline that had flowed into the grill did what they do when they come in contact with a flame. The grill exploded! Bricks and mortar blasted into pieces and rained down from the sky onto all of us who had observed the big bang! No one was hurt because most of the crowd had run for cover when they saw what Frank was about to do.
He was slightly hurt by a fragment of brick skimming across the top of his head. Nothing serious, but his grill was destroyed! A few seconds before, it was a magnificent example of craftsmanship; something to be proud of and enjoy for years to come. Instantly it was just a pile of trash!
Although Frank has recovered from last year’s calamity, he has made plans to build an even bigger charcoal cooker than the last one. I doubt he will ever use gasoline to start a fire again!
Bob Alexander is well experienced in outdoor cooking, fishing and leisure living. Bob is also the author and owner of this article. Visit his sites at:
http://www.redfishbob.com
http://www.bluemarlinbob.com
Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/food-and-beverage-articles/dont-use-gasoline-to-light-up-the-barbeque-grill-1330160.html
Filed under Techniques by on Oct 12th, 2009. Comment.
Enjoy this VERY funny story by Weekend Griller, Bob Alexander
Backyard Barbeque Blunders
by Bob Alexander
http://www.bluemarlinbob.com
Stupidity isn’t one of the essential ingredients in the perfect back yard barbeque. As much fun as grilling can be, it can be dangerous at times. It can also be quite amusing, unless you’re the one being the idiot. But then, life is made up of idiotic acts that we all have been fortunate enough to survive. God must really have had a sense of humor when He gave the first cave man the idea to cook his meat instead of eating it raw.Trouble begins when one of questionable intelligence, starts playing with matches, charcoal lighter and gas. A friend of mine who had a gas grill tried to start the burner with a match after turning the propane on and then going into the house to use the bathroom. He then took the time to get a drink before he went back outside.
It was a calm day with no breeze, so the gas sort of settled around the grill. When he struck the match, you could hear the whoomp all the way to the house. Luckily the fireball only singed the hair on his head, his arms and his eyebrows. It shouldn’t have to be said, but never leave the gas line open for any length of time before igniting the gas.
Unfortunately, most barbequing mishaps are not due to carelessness, but to stupidity. Charcoal grills are especially fun to work with and only an idiot would use gasoline to start the fire. Another friend of mine, Joe, did just that. He didn’t start off that day being stupid; that came later in the afternoon.One Saturday afternoon in June, Joe invited all the neighbors over for the first cook out of the season. Everyone was in a festive mood, especially Joe. This was his big chance to show off his grilling skills to the neighbors. Now he has always struck me as being a brick shy of a full load, but I was always willing to give him the benefit of the doubt, until that Saturday afternoon. Joe proved my theory correct when he came very close to burning down his house.Joe’s stupidity wasn’t readily apparent at the beginning of the evening when he prepared to light the charcoal. Not one to do something half way, he used an entire twenty pound bag of charcoal. He had converted a 55 gallon drum into a smoker grill that was big enough to serve the entire neighborhood. Almost a full can of charcoal lighter was used to ensure that all the briquettes were burning brightly.
It didn’t work. While Joe went into the house to supervise the preparation of the meat and side items, the fire outside in the grill went out. Such a dilemma! He had just used all his charcoal lighter. One of his neighbors went next door to get a can of fire starter but it wasn’t fast enough for Joe. After all, this was his party and it was up to him to get things rolling again.
I’m sure somewhere deep inside Joe’s mind he knew that pouring gasoline on charcoal, especially when that charcoal had already been burning, was not a brilliant idea. Sure enough when the gasoline hit the charcoal, a briquette that was still burning and hiding underneath the mound of charcoal, ignited the gasoline! Whooomp! The gas can start spouting flames.
Joe threw the gas can as far as he could; right on top of his brand new treated wood deck. When the can hit the deck, the top came off, pouring the gasoline out of the can onto the wooden deck. There was a big blaze this time. By now we had the garden hose going and the next door neighbor was soaking down Fred’s deck too. In a matter of minutes the fire department arrived and extinguished the fire. Luckily nothing but the deck was burned. Someone was looking out forJoe that day!
Electric kettle type smokers have become popular lately because they keep a constant heat and they’re easy to cook with. A great tip is to always keep the smoker in the garage and out of the rain. If the lava rocks in the bottom of the tray are wet, when you turn the electric wand on and it’s buried in wet rocks; guess what? The sound this time won’t be whooomp! It will be bang! The electric wand will blow apart, ruining a perfectly good smoker and cook-out.
The moral to this story is simple. If you’re stupid, don’t play with matches!
Bob Alexander is well experienced in outdoor cooking, fishing and leisure living. Bob is also the author and owner of this article. Visit his sites at:
To Read More of Bob Alexander’s Funny BBQ Stories visit The Weekend Grillers and Check out Fred’s BBQ Blowout and BBQ & Ice Cream.
Filed under BBQ Stories by on Aug 10th, 2009. Comment.
