Please critique my first ever bbq menu

[Liud]

Hosting my first bbq this weekend in my first home.
Sadly the weather looks a little iffy but we’ll have a laugh regardless.

This is my menu. We have a few vegetarians. I think it’s a very easy menu as I can give dh the skewers I’ve premarinated. And the rest can be prepared in advance.

The only thing that really requires effort is the focaccia (I don’t love making bread but I love the recipe).

Its probably a bit carb heavy but I’ve done it that way with the vegetarians in mind.

Pasta salad
Homemade focaccia
Greek salad
Bombay new potatoes (dishoom recipe)
Butter herb new potatoes (for ppl who don’t like coriander)
Halloumi skewers
Veg skewers
Tandoori style chicken skewers (tastes better than takeaways imo)
Mint lamb kofte
Corn on the cob

Homemade mint chutney
tamarind sauce
Mango chutney

Crisps and shop bought dips
Nuts

Key lime pie
Profiteroles

Wine
Beer

I think this looks fab. 2 kinds of potato!! Yum!! and pasta salad! I would include some standard burgers/hot dogs too. Bit bemused by fish on a bbq!!

I think your bbq looks wonderful.

I wish I was invited.

Mumsnet barbecue threads always seem to stretch the definition of barbecue further than Hubba Bubba – frozen sausage rolls, jacket potatoes with cheese (?!), hummus, dirty wedges – as some sort of culinary counterweight to the basic Wot No Sossidges crowd.

Sounds great to me also!

People don't have to have all of the carbs on offer.

Coriander tastes like soap to me also.

Also to my son.

Not to husband & daughter though.

It sounds absolutely divine!

I don't think those flavours will clash at all. It sounds so lovely and very similar to what I would cater.

Sounds absolutely delicious.

You could always marinade some courgette/peppers in oo, lemon and garlic, and bung them on the grill too for the veggies.

To the pp who is 'bemused by fish on a barbeque', you've clearly never been to Australia, or literally any Mediterranean country. They love a bit of fish or seafood cooked over the coals!

Where is the meat...

I love the sound of it, loads of side dishes to choose from is great!

But... my favourite thing at a BBQ is a big juicy homemade burger with cheese, coleslaw and chilli sauce, in a decent bun (not brioche). I also tend to stay away from chicken cooked on the barbie, just in case.

I thought that a braai was a BBQ? What's the difference?

@Headingtowardsdivorceallow me to answer for @whippy1981

Braai is usually made on a wood fire (ideally thorn tree wood). Purists would not dream of charcoal, and there is no such thing as a gas braai (shudder).

Typical braai foods include:

Boerewors (long beef sausage similar to Cumberland in appearance)
Lamb chops (compulsory, with the fat nice and crispy and salty)
Spiced chicken skewers
Steak if feeling fancy

No burgers or pork sausages

Sounds delicious! But I agree drop the boring potato dish, keep the Dishoom recipe!
I'd maybe swap the koftes for some nice marinated lamb chops if I was tailoring it to me but pricey I know.
I get what people are saying about burgers and sausages but you know your audience (they are an easy enough thing to add)

so its potatoes with potatoes and pasta

I would drop one of those and make a tomato salad at the very least

This sounds delicious but I would expect a bbq to feature more actual barbecued food, i.e. burgers, sausages as well as the chicken.

Thanks for answering! I've been to braais but had never noticed a wood fire, and they must have had steak else I'd have noticed the lack of beef. Love a boerewors, a superior sausage imo.

Looks great, plenty of salad and veggie skewers to balance a lot of cards.

As a vegetarian, I think it’s a lovely and considerate menu. I don’t get the carb heavy notes - just have a little bit. It certainly sounds more exciting than the usual quiche, lettuce and crudités!! I think it sounds lovely and your guests will have a fab time 🥂

It all sounds lovely to me and you can never have too many potato dishes!
I'm sure your guests will love it.

I've lived in various parts of the country, working class, snobby, all kinds, and never in my life been to a BBQ that didn't have Burgers and Sausages. Even some steak would do at a push. I'd be really really disappointed if I turned up to not no burgers and sausages, and I don't actually particularly like them! You can't have a BBQ without sausages..... It's just.....bizarre!!

This all sounds amazing! I'd be very appreciative if I was one of your guests.

OP: Critique my BBQ!
Posters: Erm....burgers and sausages?!
OP: You're being very critical!

🤷🏻‍♀️

Tandoori style chicken skewers (tastes better than takeaways imo)
Mint lamb kofte

Delicious, @Liud - and don't let anyone tell you otherwise!!

I'm guessing (hoping?) that your guests are a bit more adventurous than the 'burgers and sausages ' contingent here...

I mean - seriously??!!!!!

Do you only ever eat boring food all the time?

I would probably provide a bit more meat than the op, but burgers and sausages tend to be served because there is a crowd to feed and they are cheap. There are plenty of better, and UPF free alternatives:

Steak, chicken, pork chops, lamb chops, (in various marinades) as well as fish: salmon, tuna and sardines are great on the barbecue.

No, I never said JUST burgers and sausages. BBQs for me would also included marinated pork, chicken, minted lamb, potato salad, bombay potatoes, spicy rice dishes, steak in different rubs, paprika cauliflower (great wrapped in tin foil and roasted amongst the coals), grilled halloumi, mustard mash, garlic mash even. But having a BBQ without burgers, sausages, steak basics is like having a birthday party without cake and presents.

The sausage crowd remind me of both the Wall’s dog and an OP from a while back who insisted on bringing a large bottle of Diet Coke everywhere she went, calling it “my fizzy”. Emotional support sausages.