SUMMER is well and truly here, so it’s officially time to bring out the BBQ.
Choosing the right grill, getting your garden into shape, and making sure you’ve got a great playlist to set the mood is all part of the party planning.
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But many families are also having to consider rising food prices when planning the perfect get together.
It’s now thought that Brit’s food bills could rocket by around £500 a year as inflation soars.
But John Stirzaker, expert at money-saving site NetVoucherCodes, said there are still ways to host a great summer BBQ for free.
He’s shared the most common mistakes Brits make when hosting a BBQ feast that can cost you serious cash.
Don’t buy premium products – save £12
Opting for supermarket own-brand items over big brand names can help lower your food bill, John said
While crisps, nachos and dips make great starters for guests, you don’t need to fork out on expensive products.
For example, a 180g bag of tangy cheese Doritos and a pot of the same brand’s salsa dip will cost you £4 at Tesco.
But if you swapped for a bag of the supermarket’s own cheese tortilla chips and a pot of salsa, you would half your costs and save £2.
So if you bought six bags of Tesco’s own brand tortilla chips and six pots of salsa to share around your BBQ, rather than Doritos, you would save £12.
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You can also try supermarket own brand meats as a way to cut costs.
Lidl’s own brand sausages came top in our taste test of supermarket bangers for a fraction of the price, while Sainsbury’s had the tastiest quarter pounders when we tested supermarket burgers.
Bring your own bowl – save £18.78
You might think it’s a bit rude to ask guests to bring their own food, but John said it’s more common than you’d think.
He believes people are normally more than happy to share the load and make sure the cost doesn’t all fall on one person.
He said: “If you’re inviting friends or family around, encourage everyone to bring a dish.
“Someone could provide the meat, another the salad and the third could top up with desserts.”
At Sainsbury’s, you can buy four own brand Quarter Pounders for £2.49, a pre-prepared Mediterranean Salad Bowl for £1.80 and a strawberry trifle for £2.
This is a total of £6.26 – but this could go up depending on the size of your BBQ party.
If you through three barbecues parties in one summer, this could add up to £18.78.
But asking someone to provide these items would cut this cost completely.
Use a pack at a time – save £5
It’s easy to get carried away at the supermarket when you know you’re going to be feeding a lot of hungry guests.
Hosts often go overboard, opening the next packet of burgers or sausages before the first lot has finished cooking.
This can result it a lot of food – and money – going to waste.
For example, a packet of 12 Richmond sausages from Morrisons costs £2.50.
If you cooked two extra packets that weren’t eaten, you’d be wasting a fiver.
John said: “Don’t put everything on your BBQ at once or open every packet of rolls.
“Stagger it and only cook what you need.”
This means the packet of burgers you didn’t end up using can be cooked for dinner another day, rather than filling up your bin.
Avoid using paper plates – save £34.50
“Don’t be tempted to buy throw away plates to make clearing up easier,” John said. “It’s bad for the environment and your pocket.”
A packet of eight paper plates form Morrisons costs £1.50.
If you had 30 guests, each using two plates and threw three barbecues over the summer – you’d need 23 packs, adding up to £34.50
It may save on the clearing up, but it doesn’t help you to save money in the long-term – or help the environment.
Don’t ignore yellow sticker items – save £1.80
Plenty of shoppers already sweep the supermarkets for yellow sticker items during the weekly shop – and you can do the same for a BBQ.
Stores will often reduce the price of food nearing its use by date to shift stock and avoid food wastage.
Some people may think buying yellow sticker items means they won’t be serving good quality food to their guests.
But it’s still good to eat, and in some cases you can freeze what you buy so it will last that bit longer too.
John said this trick is particularly good for stocking up on burgers, sausage and other meaty treats.
One Savvy shopper found a packet of eight Richmond sausages that had been reduced from £2.60 to just 80p when searching their local supermarket for yellow stickers.
Eat your greens – save £3.50
Vegetables cook well on the BBQ and are a lot cheaper than meat.
John suggests grilling up some corn on the cobs or cooking jacket potatoes.
“They’re great fillers to counter all that meat,” he said.
A packet BBQ Chicken Wings to accompany your BBQ are priced at £4.50 in Tesco.
But frozen bag of mini corn on the cob is priced at just £1.60, or you can buy a fresh packet of four cobettes for £1.
This is a saving of £3.50, which you can use towards a different BBQ item, or add to your savings.
If you’re looking for the perfect summer drink to pair with your BBQ, we tried supermarket gins to see which one matched up to the big brands.
We also tasted supermarket branded orange squash against Robinsons and the winner was a third of the price.
Coleslaw is also a popular BBQ item – we tried supermarket own brand coleslaw and the 80p winner was perfect for a BBQ.
