Thinking about summer BBQ's

[RDM83]

A little early I know lol...
Can anybody share some tips on how to keep costs down in the summer? I don't necessarily mean bbq parties, just regular weekend grilling. Maybe your favorite inexpensive cuts of meat, cheap snacks for the kids etc
We are really trying to stay within budget and we realized how much money we were spending in the summer.

Thanks in advance!

 

[barkley]

we use our bbq pretty much every night during the summer and what I've found is we have to remind ourselves not to cook more than we normally would if eating the identical meat cooked another way. it seems like all that open grill space just screams for throwing on way more burgers or chicken or ribs than we normally would plan for a single meal. to address this we continue our non bbq season habit of purchasing meat at Costco or when it's on a good sale and breaking it into single meal size packages for our household. i know how many pieces of chicken or how many ribs each person should have for a meal so we batch the packages accordingly and use our air sealer to put them up in the freezer. if we were cooking burgers in the house no one would normally eat 3 and then also have hot dogs so we scale back and just do the number of burgers or dogs that are appropriate (or if we are doing up enough for dinner then lunch the next day, lunch's portion is put away before we eat dinner to keep us from snacking lunch away).

as for snacks and sides and such-bbq beans made from scratch are much less expensive than premade, same for coleslaw and other salads. we tend to go with whatever veggies are on sale-corn on the cob gets very reasonable around here so it's a fairly regular item, but whatever is on sale can get seasoned and cooked in a foil pouch on the grill. fruit prices get wonky here but watermelon is often decently priced and if i pre-slice and just put out an appropriate amount it doesn't get inhaled in one sitting. i personally think multi layer dip is one of the most inexpensive items to make-i always have canned refried beans on hand that i can top with a layers of salsa, grated cheese and sliced olives or ortegas (my kids aren't keen on sour cream or guacamole which is fine b/c it saves money). i get the large bags of tortilla chips at walmart for this or just to have with salsa (which i stock up on when it's on sale). when my kids were younger they loved those awful otter pops so i would keep the freezer stocked with them. apple crisp is one of the most inexpensive and easy desserts for me to make so it's usually on hand.

meat savings? i basically just watch, watch, watch the ads-seems like around memorial day there's always some good ones on hot dogs, all types of buns and condiments so i stock up (and freeze what i can). country boy ribs go on sale seems more often in the winter and spring here so i stock up ahead of time. chicken value packs go on sale frequently so i end up w/half meal sized packages so i can make it a mix of drumsticks and breasts (which we often butterfly b/c they can serve 2 people).

i would say to look at what you currently cook and figure out how to transform the proteins into bbq foods (the stew meat i get at Costco is plenty tender for kabobs, the pork chops grill up great....).

 

[RDM83]

we use our bbq pretty much every night during the summer and what I've found is we have to remind ourselves not to cook more than we normally would if eating the identical meat cooked another way. it seems like all that open grill space just screams for throwing on way more burgers or chicken or ribs than we normally would plan for a single meal. to address this we continue our non bbq season habit of purchasing meat at Costco or when it's on a good sale and breaking it into single meal size packages for our household. i know how many pieces of chicken or how many ribs each person should have for a meal so we batch the packages accordingly and use our air sealer to put them up in the freezer. if we were cooking burgers in the house no one would normally eat 3 and then also have hot dogs so we scale back and just do the number of burgers or dogs that are appropriate (or if we are doing up enough for dinner then lunch the next day, lunch's portion is put away before we eat dinner to keep us from snacking lunch away).

as for snacks and sides and such-bbq beans made from scratch are much less expensive than premade, same for coleslaw and other salads. we tend to go with whatever veggies are on sale-corn on the cob gets very reasonable around here so it's a fairly regular item, but whatever is on sale can get seasoned and cooked in a foil pouch on the grill. fruit prices get wonky here but watermelon is often decently priced and if i pre-slice and just put out an appropriate amount it doesn't get inhaled in one sitting. i personally think multi layer dip is one of the most inexpensive items to make-i always have canned refried beans on hand that i can top with a layers of salsa, grated cheese and sliced olives or ortegas (my kids aren't keen on sour cream or guacamole which is fine b/c it saves money). i get the large bags of tortilla chips at walmart for this or just to have with salsa (which i stock up on when it's on sale). when my kids were younger they loved those awful otter pops so i would keep the freezer stocked with them. apple crisp is one of the most inexpensive and easy desserts for me to make so it's usually on hand.

meat savings? i basically just watch, watch, watch the ads-seems like around memorial day there's always some good ones on hot dogs, all types of buns and condiments so i stock up (and freeze what i can). country boy ribs go on sale seems more often in the winter and spring here so i stock up ahead of time. chicken value packs go on sale frequently so i end up w/half meal sized packages so i can make it a mix of drumsticks and breasts (which we often butterfly b/c they can serve 2 people).

i would say to look at what you currently cook and figure out how to transform the proteins into bbq foods (the stew meat i get at Costco is plenty tender for kabobs, the pork chops grill up great....).

Wow! So many great tips!! I can relate to the open grill space and not calculating what we would normally eat. Thanks again!

 

[Mizzoufan]

following

but here mine we are going to do lots of fresh veggies and lot smaller meat portions.

 

[shoney]

We use the BBq all summer long.
I'll roast a whole chicken on the grill. The next day I'll use the leftover meat to make a Boboli pizza with veggies and chicken right on the grill.

If you slice potatoes in quarters and par cook potatoes in the microwave, toss in olive oil, s&p and some garlic powder, you can toss them on the grill for a side dish.

 

[powellrj]

I stock up on ice cream treats for when we have kids visit. I always keep the cheaper things like fudge bars, ice cream bars ice cream sandwiches.

I make sure I have pitchers of ice tea and lemonade on hand along with pitchers of water.

I will put marinade on my meat and put it all in the freezer so it's ready to use.

I will clean the fruits and vegetables when I get home from the store so everything is ready for nights I'm too tired to cook.

I make extras when I am grilling so I have the meal for the next night ready. Last nights meat becomes tonight's sandwiches.

 

[LJSquishy]

Make kebabs with chunks of meat plus lots of veggies instead of just grilling big hunks of meat. We like Greek-inspired chicken kebabs (marinated) and I skewer red onion, zucchini, and yellow/orange bell pepper with the chicken. You could do teriyaki kebabs with chicken and pineapple, etc. We also just tend to eat lots of veggies in general which means we eat less meat.

 

[LovesTimone]

We grill all the time, its just the way we eat. I will say we grill at least 4 to 5 nights a week and have be known to grill 7 nights.

Portion control as PP stated is important, so this is a big saving right here.

Seasonal fruits and veggies check your AD's and use coupons.

Corn on the cob on the grill is one of our favorites - We leave in the husk, pull the husk down, pull out the silk and pull the husk back up, soak overnight if possible ( if not at least 3 to 4 hours)in water, salt and sugar, put on the grill not on direct heat, and roll it often so not to burn when you smell popcorn its done, use the husk as the handle, I use a empty jar for melted butter, I add garlic salt into the melted butter, you can add other seasoning if you like.

Pound cake and Angel food cake on the grill completely changes the taste, just heat through and get some great grill marks, you can add some fresh berries on top.. YummO..

If you do extra meat like chicken know what you are going to do with the extra, chicken fajitas for dinner the next night, chopped up for salad for lunches, make chicken salad, white bean chicken chili, make sure to have what you need for the extra dish, this way it get used and doesn't go to waste.

You can do whole roast on the grill and have lots of leftovers to create other meals. Original meal - Pork Roast with potatoes and grilled corn - shred pork for slider, use left over potatoes to make potato salad, cut corn off the cob for a corn salad or add into corn muffins.

Use marinades to change up the flavors or theme of each meal.

One of the best resource I have found is talking to your meat guy ask him if this will work on the grill if not he will point you in the right direction. Bobby Flay ( food Network) has lots and lots of good recipes for meals on the grill.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

My favorite low buck cut is chicken breasts. I make a baste from lime juice, (lots of) fajita seasoning, and cholula hot sauce and baste frequently.

I usually cut the chicken up into small bites (I call it lazy man's kabobs), but you can grill 'em whole. When we make them whole, sometimes we'll toss on some shredded cheddar-Jack cheese near the end & some pico de gallo. Either way, serve with fresh lime wedges to squeeze on top.

 

[Jake&IzzyLand]

I think something about a BBQ makes you want a big variety of sides. Avoiding that will help, plus you don't always need desserts.

Try slicing potatoes and onions and cooking in foil packets with a little olive oil and seasoning and a big salad. Or a big salad and grilled garlic bread. Or make potato salad or Cole slaw yourself and have at a few different dinners.

Remind yourself most nights it's just dinner, not a party lol.

 

[barkley]

Try slicing potatoes and onions and cooking in foil packets with a little olive oil and seasoning

we do this to cook fish on the bbq. generally not potatoes but onions and other veggies-they steam the fish and the olive oil and seasoning gives it a nice flavor (easy to serve too-everyone gets a packet/no grill clean up to deal with).

 

[jsmla]

Down here people are practically dumping tomatoes, peppers, zucchini and yellow squash on our doorstep daily. I like to cut them up, toss them with garlic, onion and olive oil and grill everything in a perforated pan.

When pork shoulder is on sale we smoke one and use it to make pulled pork.