Critique my BBQ menu

[SaltandPepper22]

9 adults - one gluten free (intolerance). No other dietary requirements. One person doesn’t drink.

My friend has already offered to bring the dessert so not getting stuff for that and friends always bring something they would like to drink.

Currently sitting in my online shopping basket I have:

12 x gluten free burgers
12 x buns; 2x gluten free buns
12 x regular sausages
6 x gluten free sausages
1 x large block of halloumi for grilling

Skewers to make:

• At least 12 x chicken tikka kebabs
• At leas x Lamb kofta kebabs

(I am making these things because they are often not gluten free but easy to just make them naturally gf)

1 x sharing bag Doritos
1 x sharing bag of other crisps
1 x jar of olives
1 x pot of coleslaw
Ketchup
Mayonnaise
Burger Sauce

Cheese slices
Hummus

Ingredients to make:

• one large potato salad
• one large roasted vegetable cous cous

Drink (bearing in mind they will also bring their own)

15 cans lager
4 bottles of ale
1 bottle white wine
1 bottle sparkling wine
2 70cl bottles mixed summer gin drink thing
Ingredients for espresso martinis
3 bottles flavoured sparkling water

I’d add a caprese salad as they’re always so popular, corn on the cob or creamed corn (guests request our creamed corn!).

Did you try soaking and washing your quinoa before eating it? That removes much of the saponin and makes a reaction much last likely.

I second more halloumi. We had a bbq the other day and it was the most popular thing and me and dh didn't get a bit despite him being the cook 😳

I would probably do the halloumi grilled on skewers with cherry tomatoes, Courgette, peppers, maybe onion and mushroom. Makes it go much further and adds some variety. I would do these instead of the lamb skewers as you already have 2 red meats with the sausage an burgers so along with the chicken skewers adding the halloumi ones balances it out a bit better.
I would also just buy mince and make the burgers. Really don't need anything except mince, salt and pepper. Just shape them the day before and store in fridge with greaseproof between each burger. Taste much better than shop bought and no fillers etc that could contain gluten.
I would add a large green salad and would probably slice up tomatoes and onions for people to add to burgers.
I always do a big fruit salad usually has Strawberries, blueberries, chopped up Nectarine, grapes as I find after the main event people are not looking much pudding. I often add a large Watermelon sliced up into fans like you see in packs at the supermarket as it is very refreshing if it is a hot day.

One pot of coleslaw for 9 adults and 2 packets of crisps?

600g halloumi isn't enough either.

I'd want more salads too. I think it's a bit light tbh.

God i think i will get flamed (pardon the pun) for this but here goes....

I like to plan for at the very minimum 2/3 of everything each per person except burgers where i will account for about 1.5 per person so for me personally i would triple all your exisiting meat quantities and the bonus for this is thats your dinner sored for the next couple of nights.

My offering tends to be:

Burgers
Tesco chinese chicken thighs
Richmond sausages ( im funny with meat so its what i know and they cook beautifully on bbq)
A kebab of some kind generally beef or lamb koftas
Hallumi

I then have Cesar salad, potato salad, coleslaw and tilda lemon and herb rice.

All sauces including american mustard, plastic cheese and pickles for burgers.

Occasionally if numbers are smaller - below 10 ill make homemade wedges.

I always bbq the chicken thighs first and then put in a warm oven, then sausages burgers and kebabs are all in succession, if any are ready before their time they will be put in the oven to keep warm

I like to serve everything at the same time so its a meal and i have quite a large coal bbq so it can fit alot on it.

Pickles. Always pickles with a bbq, at least two types (burger gherkins and a homemade pickle, eg red onions).

I am obsessed with pickles though, to be fair, and will often bring my own if I know it's a pickle-hating house .

So a minimum of 7 pieces of meat plus sides? That is one hell of a lot!

Ahem DESERT!!!!!
Fresh berries are gluten free
Couple of merinques and you have eton mess or you could make some panne cotta in advance.
You can also make an easy GF roulade with chestnut puree like this
Chestnut & amaretto roulade recipe | Good Food (bbcgoodfood.com)
you can also make a baked cheesecake without a base
Crustless baked lemon cheesecake recipe (taste.com.au)

Yes it is, and we do have leftovers that probably amounts to around 2 dinners ( 2 adults&3 children)

But we have 3-5 large eaters at least in my family who would easily have 7 bits of meat.

Also im a chronic panicker when it comes to food so would rather have 20 more things than 1 less. The leftovers are never ever wasted.

Yes apparently.. but I am never trying quinoa again !!😂. Had it twice first time I just thought it must have been something else ..2nd time proved it wasn't .. ..

I appreciate that most people are drinking alcohol but I'm just thinking about those who maybe want to pace themselves. As some other posters are saying, the non alcoholic options are a bit sweet. There wouldn't be anything to drink there for me. I'd generally offer plain sparkling water and some elderflower cordial so people could mix it if they wished. I like non alcoholic beer when I'm going to have to drive later. I've been at a couple of parties recently where I've been driving that when I'm offered a non alcoholic beer, several others who are not driving will pipe up saying they'd like one as well.

I’d do some potatoes plain . Perhaps new potatoes baked with salt for crispy skins. Lots of people prefer plain to potato salsd with mayo .

Plastic cheese for the burgers

sounds lovely, what time would you like me to come? Actually I can bring the plastic cheese

Overall, your BBQ menu is well-prepared, with thoughtful consideration for dietary restrictions and variety. A few adjustments to the quantities and a slight expansion of side options could make it even better. Additionally, offering a few more non-alcoholic drinks would ensure everyone feels included.

@Breadcat24 somebody is bringing desert already!

Cheese for burgers
bowl of salad
carrot/celery/spring onion/cucumber sticks for dips

Big Portobello mushrooms are great when cooked on a BBQ !!
And also go pretty well in a bun with grilled halloumi

Mango chutney and cheese inside a bun wrapped in foil and bbq'd
.
Mmm.

You need to work on your skills. Still too obvious that your an AI bit

How about a BLT salad? It's very simple to make and delicious! It's just Lettuce, tomatoes, streaky smoked bacon cut up, finely sliced red onion and croutons. You can buy or make a garlicky sauce to add too.

I'd get more crisps, especially as there's drinking involved. Also hot dog buns?

Do you have an Aldi? Most of their sausages are GF and are really nice. I think a pack of 10 thick pork sausages are around about £3:49

Whenever we/friends have a bbq people bring something for the grill and a side. But that’s just the way we do things shares the cost and stress too

Some salad and something sweet? Otherwise a mighty fine bbq! 🙂 A few sauces and cheese of course. Xx

I’m coming back to this thread with an update on what people actually ate because I think it’s interesting:

• all the burger buns are gone
• nobody had a sausage bun so I might make a bread and butter pudding with those
• Nobody apart from DH touched my green salad that everyone here said was a must
• Very little potato salad eaten
• A dent was made in the cous cous but there is still a lot left
• as for the meat there is a smattering of skewers, burgers and sausages left so it was the right amount!