7 Dishes That’ll Turn Your Backyard BBQ Into A Gourmet Spread

Don’t believe anyone who tells you that a BBQ cannot be a gourmet affair. You don’t need perfect, white starch tablecloths or a candlelit evening to achieve a gourmet experience. In fact, you might actually be able to blow the minds of your dining guests with a few simple BBQ dishes. 

If you don’t believe us, here are 7 dishes that will undoubtedly turn your backyard barbecue into a gourmet spread, and the perfect menu to enjoy with champagne or a full-bodied Australian shiraz wine. Now, let’s preheat that BBQ.

1. Barbecued prawns

Prawns can be enjoyed any which way, but our favourite way is to barbecue them. All you need is to get a great local supplier of prawns and coat them in butter garlic and a tiny bit of chilli before you throw them on the grill.

Remember, you are not buying pink prawns, but actually cooked prawns that will be grey or green in colour. Put a couple of bowls on the table so your guests can put the prawn shells in them, and scatter a few bowls of water around your backyard space so that your guests can wash their hands. Once all these helpful aids are in place, this dish is sure to be a party favourite.

Also See:

Hot And Spicy Barbecue Sauce

Recipe by Plattershare Food

When Barbecue is fired, expect a great meal and get-together. Marinating the meat and veggies in various barbecue sauces is the key to enjoying. Smoky and crispy outside and juicy inside is the symbol of great barbecue.

Chef Ashish Massey who co-owns the "The Ancient Barbeque" Restaurant shares a hot and spicy barbecue sauce recipe.

Check out this recipe

2. Toasted Turkish bread

We all love going to a restaurant that has a breadbasket on the table. So why can’t you do the same at your barbecue? Find some fresh Turkish bread or even bake some yourself! Once your bread is ready to plate, give it a light toast so that all your butter can melt into the fluffy bread.

Turkish bread is also a fantastic addition to any table with a wide spread of different slow cooked meats and dips, as your guests can use the bread to mop up those sauces, dip it in some tzatziki, or enjoy it however else they would like to.

Doesn’t that sound fabulous? If you want to level up again, consider drizzling olive oil over the bread instead of butter and a few rosemary leaves or even some minced garlic for good measure.

Also See:

Turkish Stuffed Pide

Recipe by Rekha Joseph

Pide and its various varieties are wide spread through Turkey,also known as Turkish pizza but shaped in the form of a boat. The base is a flat-bread of a similar style to pita, chapati, or western pizza crust. Toppings vary widely and include but are not limited to: cheese, onions, peppers, tomatoes, eggs, mushrooms, minced meat , and parsley.

Check out this recipe

3. Seasonal salad

Salads are so much more than throwing a few greens and vegetables together. A beautiful seasonal salad should be curated to include different textures, flavours and colours to attract the eyes and tantalise the taste buds.

We love using fruit and nuts in our salad, as it can really surprise people. Some of our favourite seasonal salad ingredients to get you inspired are pomegranate seeds, walnuts, sweet potato, goat’s cheese and even watermelon. Yum!

4. An incredible cheese platter

If your family is anything like mine, the cheese platter really does turn into its own course. There are so many delicious cheeses out there to choose from, but a good rule of thumb for any backyard party is to make sure that you have a hard cheese, a soft cheese, a gooey cheese and then a stronger, smelly cheese. 

If you really want to delight your guests, why not try some baked cheese recipes? All you need to do is wrap your cheese, for example, a wheel of camembert, and put it in the oven for a few minutes with herbs and other garnishes to really bed into the flavour of that baked, gooey cheese.

Then all you need is some crunchy bread or crackers to enjoy all that warmth and gooey-ness. A well-baked cheese is truly the perfect dish for a winter get-together.

5. Gourmet sausages

Why not put a fancy spin on a classic and bring some gourmet sausages to your barbecue? You don’t need to go overboard, and you might find that even choosing a different cut of meat may just be enough to wow your guests.

You can find chicken sausages, lamb sausages, vegan sausages and a whole host of other variations which are sure to please your hungry guests. Remember to label them all to ensure that your gathering is considerate of dietary restrictions or special dietary requirements.

6. The humble fruit salad

You might think you’ve seen it all with the fruit salad, but there are some seriously decadent ways you can display fruit at your next barbecue. Go beyond the standard fruit that you see on a platter, and choose something that is bright, sweet, flavoursome and fresh.

Fruits like mango, rockmelon, and even some grilled pineapple can never go amiss at an outdoor BBQ. If you want to be extra fancy, however, then look no further than a fondue stand or two. This will be enjoyed by parents and children and can be enjoyed with a cheese platter, entrees, mains and desserts. 

7. A crusty, seasonal pie

We truly cannot get enough of seasonal produce, and it can bring such a gourmet spin to an otherwise ordinary barbecue. It’s always recommended that you find some very ripe seasonal fruit and make a crusty pie for dessert.

The cherry pie can be a really beautiful thing to make in summer, but a traditional apple pie is hard to go past too. There are so many different types of pie dishes out there, so it definitely helps to do a little independent research in order to find a dish that best compliments your existing spread.

Whatever kind of pie you do decide on, be sure to also put out some simple but delicious ice cream to accompany your fruit pie!

Recommended:

Baked Apple Cinnamon Hand Pies

Recipe by Antara Navin

Baked Apple Cinnamon Hand Pies are delicious, irresistible and comforting. Apple Cinnamon Pies are American classic dessert but these individual hand pies is quiet different from the basic fork-and-plate experience.

A bite through the crisp pastry, sparkling with sugar, reveals a thick filling of sweet-and-tart apple cinnamon mixture and every bite make you feel like a taste of heaven.

Check out this recipe

We hope this article has both helped you tick off a few items on your barbecue party planning checklist, as well as proved to you that any dish can have a gourmet angle to it.

Just like the barbecue itself, a typical dish can be infused with different flavours and preparation styles to have your guests wondering why they haven’t tried to make these dishes themselves.

Also Read:

• Learn To Barbecue From The Barbecue Expert Chef Ashish Massey
• 15 Best Vegetables For Grilling
• How Lump Charcoal Make The Best Grilled Meals