What Food Should You Have at a Barbecue?

Barbecues just can’t be beat on a hot summer’s day. Enjoying a drink while chowing down on a freshly grilled burger and catching up with your buddies next to the grill.  It’s an experience everyone should have at least once in their lives. 

Choosing The Right Fare

If you’re new to barbecuing or just stressed out because you had to learn the essential steps for reporting a car accident in Texas or something. Then you may find the following information about barbecue food helpful or interesting. 

Plenty of Meat

Whether you like beef, chicken, pork or even seafood, you’ll find some tender, juicy meat on offer at every barbecue. The most common offerings will vary from place to place, but you can typically expect brisket, steak, hamburgers and hot dogs at the minimum. If you’re lucky, you may even get to enjoy some mouth-watering grilled seafood like shrimp, salmon or even lobster or tuna.

Meat of some kind is the main event at every barbecue, though it typically shares this spotlight with any alcohol on offer. Every barbecue is planned around it as a result. The sides and sauces on offer will vary wildly in recipe, seasoning, and flavor so they can complement the main meat as much as possible. 

For example, you may decide to follow up a spicy smoked brisket main course with some cool, sweet and slightly tart coleslaw or a cool summer salad. And, of course, a good drink or two that pairs well with the meat of choice is almost always on offer as well, though you should prepare your palate for a beer, bourbon or whiskey as opposed to a wine.

Salads

You will find two different types of salads on offer at a barbecue: the expected kind made with lettuce, tomatoes and other produce, and creamier ones made with potatoes or chicken. No barbecue is truly complete without either one, though if you had to choose, you’d probably pick something like a potato salad over the vegetable-based ones. After all, what could be better than chasing the deliciously greasy, heavy and sometimes spicy main offerings with the creamy, soft and typically sweet potato salad, chicken salad or even macaroni salad side?

That being said, there is still merit to a good garden salad. For one. It doesn’t just have to be the usual recipe.  You can spice it up with a specifically summer-themed salad change the recipe entirely so it’s a corn salad instead or even just ignore most vegetables and make a delectably sweet and fresh fruit salad instead. It’s hard to go wrong with any kind of salad so long as you have a tasty recipe on hand already.

Coleslaw

Once you’ve decided on what savory treats are going on the grill or in the smoker, you then must consider the coleslaw. This is the king of barbecue sides, and while no barbecue is complete without at least a potato salad, it’s hard to call a barbecue a barbecue if a good, homemade coleslaw is missing. Of course, the hard part isn’t deciding to add coleslaw to the menu; it’s picking the perfect recipe. 

There are hundreds, if not thousands, out there to try and each has its own unique twist. Everything about it can be substituted and changed, from what the main veggies are to what the dressing is made of. Every coleslaw needs to complement the main meat, usually by cutting through to provide cool tartness or sweetness. Keeping this fact in mind will tell you what recipe to make or who to assign its creation to.

Corn

If you’re new to the scene of serious barbecuers then you may at first be surprised to see corn on the grill next to the brisket, pork and hamburgers. 

Corn is another staple of every barbecue, and it just tastes so much better when grilled than any other way. You’ll find people of all ages excited to see the freshly grilled corn platter set on the serving table. Adults will rush slather theirs with butter while the children place the kernels on their teeth as a joke before digging in themselves. 

While the meats are planned long in advance and may even be smoked for hours until finally being served and each other side is carefully planned and hand-crafted, barbecued corn is so good that the only addition needed is butter. While it can be more complicated, such as by putting it into a salad, the pure simplicity of it is what makes it great.

Homemade Macaroni and Cheese

At least one barbecue guest will always bring a dish loved by all but especially fought over by children: homemade macaroni and cheese. There’s just something about that stick to your ribs comfort food that everyone tends to love.

While most sides complement the main meat by introducing its one mouthfeel, flavors and textures that are usually pretty distinct from the meat, macaroni and cheese does so by just being an almost decadent dish full of melted cheese and just generally being a delightful dish of carb-loaded, fatty goodness. 

Some include some veggies for extra flair or breadcrumbs for an added crunch. No matter the recipe, you’re sure to have issues controlling yourself around this dish.

Chips

While they may not be the first food that comes to mind when you think about a barbecue, you can’t really go wrong with having some bags of chips at the ready. There are so many varieties, brands and flavors that you can find at least one type for every occasion. If your menu is missing a hint of sweetness for example then you can fill that gap with some bags of chips. 

Plain salted potato chips can be a great palate cleanser, spicy chips can also cover flavor gaps, and you can never go wrong with a cheesy chip. If you prefer, you can get a variety pack that includes many small bags of chips in a few flavors. 

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