Summer Barbecue Tips and Tricks: Plus a Honey Chicken Kabob Recipe

Pull off a successful summer barbecue using these few tips, tricks and a yummy recipe. Indulge a child's whimsy by putting legs on their grilled hot dogs. Use foil pans with ice to keep food items cold and safe. Also, at your next summer barbecue, treat your guests to honey chicken kabobs.

Summer Barbecue Tips & Tricks

Foil Pans With Ice - These (turkey pans) come in a variety of sizes, with or without handles and provide ideal cold storage for just about any food at a summer barbecue. Fill them halfway with ice and add food items (in tightly covered bowls or lock boxes) that need to stay chilled in the ice. Place foil pans of the same size, without handles, on top upside down for a cover. Refresh ice as needed.

Freeze Grapes - Add fruit salad to a hollowed-out, round watermelon. To keep extra chilled; freeze grapes before adding to the fruit salad. When ready to serve, place the watermelon in a foil pan filled with ice. If a a lot of people are expected to attend your summer barbecue, use a couple large foil pans that will hold several watermelons filled with the fruit.

Hot Dogs with Legs - My sister (who is a fabulous cook and big-crowd entertainer) introduced this nifty little trick when all our kids were little. On each end of the hot dog, carefully score an "X" using a sharp knife. As the hot dog sizzles on the grill, the ends open up and look like little legs. The deeper you score the "X," the bigger the legs. Kids get a big kick out of this novelty and it takes little persuasion to get them to eat.

Digital Meat Thermometer - For the sake of food safety and your guest's health, invest in a digital roasting thermometer before you host your next summer barbecue. Do not take the risk of serving meat not properly cooked to temperature. Purchase a digital meat thermometer at your local department store or a store that sells culinary items such as Williams-Sonoma. It is worth its weight in gold!

Summer Barbecue Recipe - Honey Chicken Kabobs

Ingredients You Will Need - Approx - 12 servings

½-cup vegetable oil
2/3 cup honey
2/3 cup soy sauce - low or sodium-free
½-teaspoon fresh ground pepper
8 skinless/boneless halved chicken breasts - cut in 1-2 inch cubes
2 cloves of garlic
5 onions - cut into approximately 2-inch pieces
2 red or green Bell peppers - cut into 2-inch pieces
Wood or metal skewers (soak wood skewers in water for 10 - 15 minutes before use)

Prep, Directions & Time-Saving Tip

To produce the ultimate flavor results and save time as well the day of your summer barbecue; prepare the marinade, chicken and veggies the day before and refrigerate in the marinade overnight.

1- Marinade- In a mixing bowl, combine oil, honey, soy sauce and fresh ground pepper. Whisk until thoroughly blended. Reserve some of the marinade in a separate container to use when cooking the kabobs on the grill. Prepare chicken as stated above and add to marinade. Add onions, garlic and peppers to marinade and mix, making sure all ingredients are saturated. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

2 - Make Kabobs - Soak wood skewers in water 10 - 15 minutes before preparing kabobs. Drain marinade from the veggies and chicken. Discard the used marinade. Gently thread chicken, garlic and vegetables (alternately) onto skewers.

3 - Grilling Kabobs - Grill heat should be high. Before cooking kabobs, oil the grill grate lightly using a long-handled barbecue brush. Put skewers on the grill and cook for about 12 - 15 minutes, using the extra marinade to baste (turn frequently) the kabobs while grilling.

These few tips, tricks and delicious honey chicken kabob recipe will help you breeze through your next summer barbecue. Remember; summertime food safety takes priority and timesaving shortcuts should never trump that important reminder.

Sources:

*Personal Experience

*Williams-Sonoma

*Allrecipes.com

*http://www.parents.com/kids/safety/food/summer-food-safety-tips/