5 Common Mistakes For Hosts And Guests On The First Big Cookout

It's almost here and Memorial Day is considered to be the first major cookout of the year and here are 5 common mistakes made by Hosts and Guests. Save the experimenting with grilling the food for the week before the big cookout, not the day itself.

#1.

Be sure to take into account how long it takes to get the grill up to cooking temperature if you are using charcoal. This is not a problem with gas as your grill will come up to temp pretty quick.

#2.

Be sure to pick items that can be cooked ahead of time on the grill, that will free up a lot of space on the grill for main dishes. Remember not everything needs to be grilled.

#3.

When you're cooking over a live fire be there and take charge this is not one of those times that you set it and forget it. If you don't pay attention the whole thing will get away from you, quickly.

#4.

Have plenty of ice on hand. If you have enough ice you'll still need more. Don't be afraid to borrow ice chests from family and friends because you'll need more ice before the party is over.

#5.

Cookouts are for Beer and soda and wine and you know what that means you'll probably need more ice. Plan as far ahead as you can because you know you'll need something of importance once the cookout starts.

[Bonappetit]