Im Having a bbq for my birthday!!!?

Question

Any ideas on what to serve? Im feeding lots of people prob 20-30 ppl. I am on a low budget. I am really looking forward to entertaining people but just cant think of what to serve!! lol

Answer 1

stick to the basics, bangers, burgers, diced meats for skewers (but watch your white/red meats dont mix untill you cook them) etc, but good idea to have something like veggie skewers as well, mushrooms, onions, tomato, honeydew melon (yep you heard right), go down a treat.

Make sure all is cooked thoroughly.

Answer 2

I hope that these ideas aren't too late for your party.

You can buy cheapo barbeque burgers from Tesco. Also consider saussages, very inexpensive and taste great barbied. Avoid prawns.

Get some diced chicken from Iceland (it's cheaper) and some wooden skewers. Pop 3 the chunks of chicken on the skewer, alternating with chunk of potato/cherry tomato. Make sure that they're very well barbequed (slice a lump of chicken, if there is any red or pink AT ALL then pop it back on the grill) before you let your guests eat them.

Don't have it exclusively barbequed stuff. You can save money and wastage (very important) by turning the party catering into a sort of super "ploughman's lunch" with the bbq meats supporting the meal. Arrange it all on a sort of self-service buffet table if you can. You'll probably have to use disposbable crockery and cultlery, sorry about that.

Have a big bowl of mixed salad to bulk everything out. Big bag of bbq rolls shouldn't be too costly. Also a small range of dressings - include pickle but not expensive stuff like Branston. Asda's probably best for this lot if you have one nearby.

Some cheese (cheddar is good enough) should be available. Hard boiled eggs in their shells should be popular and you can use the ones that aren't eaten. This is all bulk fro the meal and costs less than the meat.

Consider a bowl of mashed potato, with butter and herbs mxed in. make some sort of arrangement for keeping it warm.
Don't provide "designer" expensive drinks. I.e. do not spend your money on fashionable lagers like Stella or Budweiser (yuk). Your guests probably will not know the difference between them or the less expensive stuff (except for the Budweiser - almost anything is BETTER). Get in some bitter too, not everyone has to drink lager, but not the "creamflow" stuff - it's all gas in the can and will inevitably make a mess over someone.
Same goes for the wine (within reason - don't serve £2/bottle stuff, sorry but you do want to keep your friends). Look out for special offers in the supermarket. Remember to have soft drinks available for the drivers.

Make sure that you have enough bbq fuel handy for the duration and have arranged a roster of bbq monitors. That's very important or you'll spend all your time 'cooking'.

Happy birthday.

Answer 3

To start with, Happy Birthday.
Now for the menu
Salsa and chips to give people something to nibble while the cooking is done.
Get the hamburgers pre-made, you can get some good ones at Sam's Club. The American brand is a good one.
Add a pack of hot dogs.

Kitchen slaw (cabbage, ranch dressing and any and all veggies you like -everything in the kitchen) or a pasta salad

Corn on the cob

Keep the meal light and simple. Most people try to make too many things and that blows their budgets.

And unless you want a birthday cake, for a great finish serve warm brownies with icecream and chocolate sauce!

Answer 4

Try something different! When I go to BBQ's I always see the same old things: Chicken (burnt most of the time), Hamberger (yuk), steaks, (ok, but burnt a lot), Sausage (yuk!), hot dogs (ALWAYS burnt). Even on a low budget, there are other meats that you can BBQ. You are only limited to your imagination. lol. Just be sure you turn the meat a lot!!! Cook the meat until JUST DONE... so as not to burn it. Watch the flame ~ keep it low!!!

Also try roasting Corn on the cob; and whole potatoes in foil. Have some cream cheese mixed up for those. Veggie trays are popular as well...

Good luck! Have fun! lol

Answer 5

If you've got membership to a wholesaler go there because it's really cheap.

You'll obviously need burgers and sausages and rolls to start with.

I'd also go with chicken drumsticks and marinade them in different marinades. Spicey barbecue, chilli, tikka, etc. Cook them in the oven to make sure they're done and also cos you probably won't have much room on the barbecue.

Barbecued vegetable kebabs and nice and add some hullumi cheese too. Also corn-on-the-cob is delicious barbecued.

If you can stretch to it, king prawns and delicious on the kebab as is salmon. You can marinade prawns in chilli seasoning and the salmon in cajun spice.

Then just do loads of salad dishes that people can pick at:
Rice salad
Pasta salad
Potato salad
Coleslaw
Cous cous
Crisps
Tortilla chips
Dips - hummous, salsa, guacamole, sour cream

Also, get something sweet for later on - Cheese cakes or cookies, dogunuts, corn flake cakes, flap jacks.

It's also worth getting some paper plates and cups and napkins too. Get a large box (recylcing box?) and fill with cold water and ice as there won't be enough room in your fridge for all that alcohol. And make sure you've got plenty of bin bags for the morning!

Answer 6

We have a bbq every year in July for roughly the same amount of people. For a low budget I would just do hamburgers, hotdogs or brats and for something a little different I also do some chicken wings. I may make one side dish but normally have everyone bring something to share. Low budget sides for you may be watermelon, macaroni salad, or a simple poke cake. Have fun!

Answer 7

Meats - Assortment of hamburgers [frozen patties or handmade], hot dogs, and if you can catch it on sale throw in some sausage/chicken [drumsticks esp]/ribs. Being summer lots of stores have sales on this sort of thing.

Sides - You can make your own Baked Beans pretty easily, just get pork & beans, add a bit of brown sugar, and if you have it some cooked bacon and/or a tiny bit of molasses... let it simmer a bit and YUM. Potato salad isn't all that complicated, tators, mayo, mustard, etc. Google for recipes. Add some chips [cheetos and pretzals are $1/bag at Dollar General] and you're good!

Misc - Keep an eye out for sales on drinks, IE when coke/DrP/pepsi goes on sale for 5/$10 go ahead and buy 5, then you're set. OR offer iced tea/lemonade. Dessert wise, get a watermelon, or two. Cut melon in two lengthwise, then do it again. Then cut into 1-2 inch slices [not counting ends]. You can do this before everyone arrives and save oodles of time!

Answer 8

I'm having BBQ this sunday for house warming and in same boat as you with a low budget.
We have ordered our meat from local butcher as works out lots cheaper than supermarket. Burgers, sausages, chicken drumsticks and ribs.
Do a big salad, coleslaw, buns can be used for burgers and sausages.
Do garlic potatoes (nice but cheap) peel potatoes, cut into small bite size roast potatoes boil them for 10-15 min then place in roasting tin lots of olive oil, mixed dried herbs and loads of crushed garlic. Hope that helps a bit. Have a nice Birthday.

Answer 9

Keep it simple, that's what people expect of a bbq. First of all, ask all your guests to 'bring a bottle', that way, you can keep the expense of alcohol down.

As for food, Burgers and sausages always go down well. Plenty of bread rolls and cheese slices and you can spruce it up with a yummy salad. Make your own kebabs with some peppers, onion and maybe some pork. Buy own brand label's, no one will know the difference.

Enjoy your party!

Answer 10

If I was you I'd send "bring something for the bbq and bottle" invites. That way everyone gets to bring something for the bbq and something to drink therefore helping to keep the costs down. We did this for our wedding anniversary and found that there was more than enough food for the bbq. Just supply plenty of crisps and nibbles. Also go down to the supermarket last thing at night and get your bread rolls ect whilst they're marked down and put them in the freezer for the big day. Good luck and happy birthday!

Answer 11

Cheeseburgers, Hot Dogs, Corn on the Cob, Homemade Macaroni and Potato salads and Ice Tea. Cupcakes and Watermelon for dessert