Barbecues are always a popular way of entertaining friends in the summer months. Whether you have a swanky Weber grill or plan on using a few disposable barbecues, food somehow always tastes better cooked outdoors.

If you want to make sure your barbecue party is a success planning is essential. First of all consider what you are going to be cooking on. If you have a gas barbecue make sure that you have plenty of gas left in your canister and if you are cooking for a crowd don’t underestimate how much gas you will need. If you have a traditional barbecue check that you have enough charcoal and lighter fluid. If disposable barbecues are more your thing, consider building a suitably high structure to place them on rather than having to kneel down at ground level to cook. If you have young children coming to your barbecue think about safety precautions to avoid nasty accidents.

The next thing to think about is what food you are going to serve. Chicken or pork with bones in it can be tricky and you certainly don’t want to give anyone food poisoning so choose boneless pieces instead or opt for steak. There are plenty of recipes on the internet for marinades to make your food even tastier but if you want to make life easy buy a ready prepared one from the supermarket.

If you have vegetarians coming to your barbecue bear in mind that they will probably want to have their food cooked separately from the meat so make provision for this. Vegetable kebabs or tofu products are a good alternative to the veggie-burger.

If you have room on your barbecue you might like to cook some jacket potatoes but they do take up a lot of room so either forget about the spuds and just serve a choice of salads or cook them in the oven.