How to throw a bbq for 20 people and only spend $175

The Grumpy Gastronome has recently unearthed an early masterwork of British filmmaker Archie Clawsworth, found below. This early exercise showcases incipient examples of what would become the auteur’s signature cinematic devices. It also provides a stunning document of a time when cookouts only cost $175.

This is a formula I developed many years ago throwing cookouts in the park, and prices may have gone up slightly since then, but you’ll be close to the target price and people will be well impressed. I used to do this for just under $150, but I’ve adjusted ever so slightly to get with the times [2025 update: you’re not getting away with this for less than $250]. It does depend on you having a few staples, like oil and salt and such, and if you’ve just arrived in a new country and moved into your new apartment and the first thing you’re going to do is throw a cookout for 20 people, you’re going to have to stock up on some staples which I don’t expect you to apply to the tally. This also depends on everyone else bringing booze. Everyone always asks “what can I bring” but I personally don’t like other people bringing some nasty pasta salad that was their Midwestern grandmother’s recipe (who cares, and oh by the way, gross) and I don’t like them diluting what I’m presenting with their crappiness, or more likely, mediocrity. I also live in Brooklyn, and would throw these cookouts in the park, which meant lugging in a ton of stuff, and I’ll be damned if I was going to carry gallon jugs of water and 12 packs of beer in, in addition to all the other stuff. I have to take the grill in, for chrissakes. Plus buying and preparing food for people is an expression of love and creativity – buying booze for a bunch of freeloading floozies makes them neither grateful nor you esteemed. So if everyone else brings water, ice, beer, vodka, tequila, whiskey, and mixers, you should be able to keep your total tab quite near to where we want it. If someone insists on bringing food, another green salad is always helpful, but there should be options here for vegetarians and it’s really more about variety at that point. All of this can be accomplished at Whole Foods, btw, which is where this technique was developed and is probably somewhat tailored to their selection. You can also easily defray costs by not getting grass-fed beef (try the stuff that’s 5 bucks a pound instead of 8) or the organic American cheese.

Shopping list

• 8 lbs ground beef @ 7.95/lb – $64.00
• 1 lb each sweet and hot Italian sausages @ 4.95/lb – $10.00
• 3 lbs chicken wings @ 5.95/lb – $18.00
• 2 large zucchini @ 2.49/lb – $3.00
• 2 eggplants @ 3.99/lb – $6.00
• 2 large yellow summer squash @ 2.49/lb – $3.00
• 2 large red onions @ 0.99/lb – $2.00
• 3 large Portobello caps @ 3.99/lb – $4.00
• 3 large tomatoes @ 2.99/lb – $6.00
• 1 package romaine lettuce hearts @ 3.99/package – $4.00
• 1 head garlic @ 1.99/lb – $0.50
• 4 lbs Yukon gold potatoes @ 1.99/lb – $8.00
• ½ lb olives @ 7.95/lb – $4.00
• 1 bunch parsley @ 1.49/bunch – $1.50
• 1 bottle each mayo, mustard, ketchup, bbq sauce – $16
• 1 lb sliced American or cheddar cheese @ 6.99/lb – $7.00
• 3 packages hamburger buns, 2 packages hotdog buns x 8 buns @ $2.49/package – $12.50

So unless my math is off, the total is here $169.50. Deal with it.

Instructions:

The night before, here’s what you want to do:

• Combine the ground beef with salt and pepper, then form into 1/3 pound patties, so you’ve got 24 patties total. Place them on a plate and stack them up with a sheet of parchment paper or tin foil in between each layer, then stick, in the fridge. If you don’t know what 1/3 burgers feel like, divide your meat in half by eye, then in half again, then in half again, and then into three. Hold that amount in your hand and get a sense for how big a handful it is. For me, it’s like a small handful – kind of like a large clementine.
• Place all the chicken wings in a gallon Ziploc bag, then cover with bbq sauce and stick in the fridge.
• Mince the garlic. Trim their ends, then slice the zucchini, eggplant, and squash the long ways (or on a bias if your eggplants are huge) in 1-inch wide strips. Along with the garlic, place in a gallon Ziploc with a healthy splash of olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt, and pepper.
• Clean the Portobello mushrooms and toss their stems, then place the caps in a Tupperware or Ziploc and cover with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper. Be careful, they’ll absorb it all in a way that the squashes and eggplant won’t, so don’t overdo it. You may want to visit once or twice during the evening or first thing in the morning to redistribute and make sure the corner of one cap isn’t sitting in a puddle while the rest of it is dry.
• Peel the onions, then slice them in 1.5 inch rounds, parallel to the equator. You don’t need to break these up, just place in a bag along with a little olive oil and some salt and pepper.
• Wash and slice the tomatoes, wash, dry, and break or slice (if necessary) the lettuce.
• Make a double portion of Ligurian Potato Salad.
• Place all of the above in the fridge.

At the cookout – and I don’t have to remind you to use charcoal, which isn’t on the shopping list, oh well – you’ll grill the meats and the veggies, adding cheese to the burgers and toasting the buns when appropriate. The onions can be cooked on a layer of foil so you don’t lose too many of them through the grill. Those will be a condiment for people to put on their burgers or sausages, so make sure they go with the first round of meat. The eggplant, zuke, and squash can either be a condiment on a burger, a side, or a substantial part of the veggies’ meal. The Portobello caps are to create Portobello burgers for the veggies as well, and of course, everyone’s got potato salad. Those that don’t eat red meat will also have chicken wings. Enjoy the deliciousness and bask in the glow of friendship and good times.