Great 'cheap BBQ tips' Hunt

jamesyp21

In the run up to summer, I always buy anything that is vaguely bbq food from the reduced section in the supermarket. I take it home, put a marinade on it, and bung it in the freezer. That way I don't have to do any prep before I go somewhere, or have a bbq.

Then, through the summer, I only buy the reduced stuff, to keep topping up my stores!

Using this to buy mince, and making your own burgers is generally a winner, they taste good, can be as big as you want, and you can put in whatever you like. None of that Birdseye muck!

thebigbosh

great one for making your own burgers is throw all the mince in a bowl, add some seasoning (think salt, maybe some herbs), and mix it up (MUST use your hands, it's great fun and necessary too!) with a blue cheese like gorgonzola until you can no longer see large lumps of cheese. I recommend about 100g cheese for 500g meat ratio. Fashion into meatballs that easily fit into your hand and then flatten out on the grill whilst you're cooking. I assure you, they're amazing!

danny_mudd

My top tip if cooking a small amount of food, ie for one !, then do this...... use a disposable bbq again and again - empty the old coals and reload from a bulk bag. You will find that you use up less charcoal and therefore save loads of money over the bbqing season - its easy to do just flip up the sides that hold the grill bit in and reassemble- dead easy!

Moleie

I suppose it all depends on how much you're going to use the BBQ (depending on how good the weather is!) you can buy decent robust bbq's for as little as £30 and they will last all summer round..If you're serious about BBQ's and host them reguarly go for something a little more expensive then you know it will last.

Take a look at the following guide on planning a Summer BBQ Here

Hope this helps guys.

rozmister

This may be a tip exclusive to where I live (the rough end of town) but if where you live has a weekly market with a Meat Van go down about half 3/4 and lurk near the meat van. They sell off all their meat REALLY cheap. I got a pack of 20 marinated chicken drumsticks for £1 the other day & they're fine to freeze. Stock up on market day freezing the lot then just defrost it the day of the bbq!

surfsister

hayleythedaisy wrote: »

Get large white potatoes, cut lines into the top, mix crushed garlic with olive oil and wrap individually in tin foil, put them on early as they take an hour or so, when they're cooked they're filling and simple but the novelty of them being off the barbie works.
Go to a good butcher for your meat... You'll get better quality that doesn't shrink and isn't that dear, we got enough sausages burgers chicken drummers ribs and chicken breast for skewers efor over20 people for £45.
(And the butcher will marinade for free)
don't go mad on leafysalad, it rarely all goes and is hard to save.
Let other people bring a dish!

would the potatoes cook on an open dish type BBQ burning charcoal lumps? Any idea? I've coked small new pots on kebab sticks but not larger ones.

harryhound

If you have a nice thick layer of ash underneath the layer that is smouldering, just like a November 5th bonfire party.
Though you might need to turn the foil package, as the bottom of the fire is just a thin sheet of steel so cannot retain or spread the heat well.
You are really only aiming to get the spud inside up to 100 centigrade - the temperature where spitting on the coals would sizzle.

Otherwise cheat - do them indoors and put them in the coals to get a bit of that crispy BBQ effect.

red_devil

re chicken wings there is hardly any meat on them and in my butchers the thighs are the same price and you get more meat. Our butchers also marinates for free does anyone else get that?