Guest blog by Carolyn Shearlock
Carolyn Shearlock, author of The Boat Galley, appears weekly on the Daily Boater with tips for getting the most out of your boat's kitchen.
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| Photo: Carolyn Shearlock, theboatgalley.com |
Memorial Day weekend might just be the perfect time for a... Beach BBQ!
Cruisers love to get together - but we all have relatively little “entertaining space” aboard. So why not have a party on the beach?
Today’s Topic: Beach BBQ...
Planning a Beach BBQ
Holidays are an obvious choice - Memorial Day, Summer Solstice, Canada Day or the Fourth of July - as well as birthdays and the full moon. But don’t wait for a special occasion - “hey it’s Tuesday!” is also a perfectly acceptable excuse for a beach barbecue.
And don’t feel shy about being the organizer even if you don’t know any of the other boats in the anchorage: cruisers, by their very nature, are very friendly - and it’s a great way to get to know a bunch of people at once! Just get on the VHF, call for “boats in ___ anchorage” and then take them off to a working channel and say you’d like to have a beach potluck that night and you’re prepared to bring ____. Ask who else is up for it, tell everyone to bring their own drinks, dishes and silverware, and find out who’s got what to bring.
Check local regulations before planning a barbecue. Some places only allow fires in grills, some allow you to use driftwood, and some may prohibit a fire totally - in that case, you can cook the food on the boats, then bring it ashore.
A few tips and ideas:
Grilling Ashore
If no one has a portable grill and regulations allow open fires, an oven rack can be balanced on a couple of rocks to form a grill, as in the photo at the top of the article. Be sure to bring tongs and hot pads or mitts! (See Light My Fire on The Boat Galley for tips on starting the fire.)
Tables
In many locations, you won’t find any tables ashore. People can eat on their laps, but a few “tables” are nice for setting food on. Dinghy seats work well to keep food out of sand - or you can just set food in dinghies. If someone has a tarp (or piece of canvas), it can serve as a work area, again keeping sand out of the food.
Chairs
Some cruisers may have folding chairs. But for those who don’t, an upside-down 5-gallon bucket works well (that’s what we used our entire time cruising). Tarps also work for seating.
Transporting Your Food
Think about how you’ll transport any dish you’re thinking of making. Deviled eggs may be great if you have a special plastic carrier for them, but they’ll be a disaster if you’re just going to put them on a dinner plate and cover them with foil and then take them in the dinghy! Having a potluck bowl that stays closed even when dropped from the deck into the dinghy certainly helped us transport food.
Food Safety
You can wrap hot food in a bunch of towels to keep it warm, but few boats have the ice necessary to keep cold foods cold - which is sometimes important in avoiding food poisoning. In general, I stay away from foods that have to be kept cold to be safe, opting for variations that aren’t as susceptible to food poisoning. For example, I’ll take a pasta salad with a vinegar and oil dressing instead of one with mayonnaise.
Eating the Food
Plan your food in accord with how people will be sitting and eating. If they’re at tables, it’s easy to cut meat. If eating on their laps, less so but doable. But if people will be standing, it’s almost impossible. Soups are also hard if eating off your lap - where do you put the bowl when you want to eat a few bites of your salad - and almost impossible if standing, unless they can be drunk from a mug. And remember, most people will just bring a plate to eat from, so if your contribution requires something else (say a bowl), let people know ahead of time.
Take Everything You Need
Unless someone else has volunteered, be sure to take everything that “goes with” your dish: condiments, serving utensils, serving dish if it’s different than what you’re transporting it in, and so on. And while you’re at it, don’t forget:
- Dishes
- Silverware
- Drinks (and opener/corkscrew if needed)
- Napkins
- Hot pads
- Rags (something always spills!)
- Chairs/seats
- Bug spray
- Handheld VHF
- Flashlight
- Trash bag (a great way to pack up your dirty dishes to take back to the boat... and there may be some trash)
Enjoy your get-together!
Carolyn Shearlock is author of The Boat Galley, with over 280 FREE articles to get the most out of your boat kitchen with galley tips, insights & equipment recommendations. A few recipes, too - plus an active Facebook community to ask questions and share tips with other readers!
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