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. 
Long before the advent of charcoal briquettes and propane people were cooking their meals over wood fueled fires.
From the days of cave-men to less than one hundred years ago wood was the fuel of choice when it came to cooking. In this modern age we are constantly looking for a faster, cleaner and easier way to do everything, including preparing our meals. This has led to the development of bigger accessory laden gas fueled grills lining the isles of home improvement stores and showing up in our backyards.
But for the barbeque purists out there nothing tastes quite the same as preparing their favorite barbeque dish over a wood fired grill.
Why is this? What could possibly work better then the latest and greatest in barbecue technology?
Depending on the type of wood used the “Grill-Master” (that guy who hovers over the grill creating barbecue master pieces) can create flavors in the meat, poultry or fish that just cannot be had over a more modern gas fueled grill. This flavor can further be adjusted just by the amount of wood used, how hot the fire is, and how much smoke the meat is allowed to marinate in.
There are several types of wood fired barbeques on the market today. They are sometimes referred to as smoker grills. The offset firebox is the one most of us are used to seeing. These come in all sizes, from small family sized units to large trailer born monsters capable of feeding several hundred people.
The distinguishing characteristic of the offset firebox is, well the offset firebox. Set off to the side and slightly below the main cooking chamber is the firebox. This separates the food from direct heat and allows for a nice slow cooking temperature.
The bullet style smoker is not actually a smoker but more of what is called a cold smoker or water smoker. They use a pan of water between the heat source and the meat, thereby blocking any direct heat that would cause any overcooking. In a sense they are not really considered a barbecue because of the way they work.
The main chamber cooker is the third type of wood fired barbeque. These are barrel shaped and allow the fire to be built off to one side with the meat offset from the wood allowing for an indirect cooking method. You do need to be careful with how large of a fire gets built because there is no physical separation between the heat source and the meat. The fire need to be kept small and tended in a timely manner throughout the cooking process.
Of course all this is a moot point if you do not select the right type of wood.
For a wood fired barbecue nothing works better than a fruit bearing hardwood such as oak, hickory, pecan, maple apple and of course from Texas mesquite.
Do not use softwoods or the wood from evergreens or conifers. Aside from burning at a lower temperature they are loaded with sap which will leave a bad taste on anything you cook.
Cooking meat over a wood fire has been something humans have been doing for thousands of years. With the newer and more modern wood barbecue smokers on the market today it is possible for just about anyone to enjoy real wood fired barbecue.
Andrew Bicknell is a barbeque aficionado with a website about barbequing. For more tips and trick about wood fired barbecues visit his web site Backyard Barbeque.
Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/food-and-beverage-articles/cooking-with-a-wood-fired-barbecue-952127.html
Filed under Uncategorized by on Jun 3rd, 2009. Comment.
