Providing a barbecue menu for a birthday is one of the best ways to give the event a more informal feel. The fact that so many people love barbecue means that coming up with the menu will be easy for you, and you are likely to appeal to a large number of people. However, you should always pay attention to details when you are making such plans if you are to benefit from them. For instance, one of the important issues you will need to sort out is the side dishes you will be offering with the barbecue. You could offer just the barbecued meat during the party, but also introducing a few side dishes will give the menu a bit more variety, and will make the culinary experience worth it. Some of the side dishes that are particularly appealing in such a setting include:
Cajun Devilled Eggs
One of the major reasons why devilled eggs are an ideal side dish for a barbecue is the fact that they are finger foods, and that it will be easy for you to carry them around with ease. In most barbecue parties, the people often end up enjoying their meals while holding them in their hands or on their laps. Providing devilled eggs does not make it more awkward to eat this way, making it the perfect side dish. In addition to this, the eggs are also very easy to prepare. You can even prepare them on the morning of the party, which ensures that they will be fresh by the time you serve them.
Baked sweet potato fries
Various varieties of fries are usually considered to be the ideal side dish for most barbecues. The baked sweet potato fries are one of the best you can use in such a setting. Since sweet potatoes have a low glycaemic index, they are healthier in this setting compared to dishes based on Irish potatoes. In addition to that, they also happen to be very versatile in the way you can prepare them. For instance, you can serve them with a wide variety of dipping sauces, and will still turn out to be very memorable. In addition to that, the fact that they are not very common as a side dish means that using them will make your barbecue more unique and memorable.
Vegetable kabobs
One of the ways of making the whole meal healthier is by providing a side dish that is very healthy. In such cases, providing grilled vegetable kabobs would be a good way to balance out the meal. The benefits of doing so include the fact that preparing them does not need much effort; one can use the grill that was used to prepare the barbecue, and you could even cook both dishes together.
A bean salad
A large number of people prefer to use various bean-based dishes as the side dishes to barbecued meals. The bean salad is one of the best and most popular of these. This is on account of the fact that they are usually rich in nutrients, and can be made in a huge variety of styles.
Mac and Cheese
If you are interested in providing a dish that most people will be very familiar with, then mac and cheese would be the way to go. This is a cheap side dish that can be spiced up using a large number of chilies and spices, and is also very easy to prepare.
In summary, if you are planning on hosting a barbecue dinner or other similar event, you should not forget to order the right side dish. The above tend to go very well with barbecued meat, and you only need to consult your caterer to order any of them.