How to transform your next family meal into a night of fun

Barbecue was built for sharing. Nobody sits in their own little bubble when there is a rack of ribs in the middle of the table. At Baby Blues Mission Smokehouse in San Francisco, we have watched a plain dinner turn into a four-hour party just by changing how the food hits the table. You can do it at home with a roll of paper, some pencils, and a little structure.

Step 1: Build the butcher-paper communal table

Skip the plates for a moment. Roll out a long sheet of butcher paper down the middle of the table and tape the edges underneath so it won’t slide. Dump the food right on it. A communal table gets people reaching across each other, sharing, and talking, and the cleanup is as easy as balling up the paper.

• Set a pencil or crayon at each seat. The paper doubles as a scoreboard and doodle pad.
• Put wet towels, napkins, and a bucket for bones within reach of everyone.
• Pile on pickles, onions, white bread, and cornbread. They are good with ribs and also reset your palate later.
• Keep hot food covered, and keep it above 135°F until it is served. Don’t leave it out for more than two hours.

Step 2: Run the evening in courses

Spreading the meal across the night gives you natural breaks for games. Here is a schedule that works for a crowd of 8 to 20.

Step 3: Host a blind sauce-tasting flight

This is the game that gets the loudest. Pour a spoonful of four different sauces into numbered paper cups, and hide the labels. Everyone tastes with a plain slice of white bread, scores each from 1 to 5, and then guesses which style is which. Reveal the answers together, and let the arguing begin.

Memphis

Tangy-sweet and thin. Tomato, vinegar, a bit of brown sugar. Good with ribs.

Carolina vinegar

Sharp and peppery with no tomato. Best on pulled pork.

Kansas City

Thick, sweet, molasses-heavy. Loved by kids and most grown-ups too.

Alabama white

Mayonnaise, vinegar, and black pepper. Surprising, creamy, a crowd divider.

Rules: one dip per spoon, no peeking at the bottles, and no coaching. Bread and pickles between each cup. The winner is whoever correctly names the most sauces. Ties go to the person with the best justification.

Step 4: Play trivia between courses

Table trivia is easy to run, and the format everyone already knows is a survey game. Ask a question, then see whose answer matches what people typically say. If you want ready-made questions for family feud style rounds, try the ones below. There are no wrong answers, only popular ones. (Family Feud is a trademark of its owners. This is a homemade game, and it is not affiliated with the TV show.)

1. Name something you’d find at a backyard cookout.
2. Name a side dish that goes with ribs.
3. Name something that gets messy at a BBQ.
4. Name a drink people bring to a cookout.
5. Name something you might hear a grandparent say at the dinner table.
6. Name a reason you’d be late to a family dinner.
7. Name something kids always ask for seconds of.
8. Name a topping you’d put on a burger or pulled pork sandwich.
9. Name something you’d hear at a family game night.
10. Name a thing people argue about at the table.

How to run it. Split into two teams and give each a pencil and a corner of the paper. Read a question and give each team 20 seconds to write their top three answers. Then ask a few people at the other end of the table (or a few friends who aren’t playing) the same question. Teams score a point for each answer that shows up. Rounds are fast, loud, and perfect for a lull between plates.

Making it work for kids. Give them their own round with easier prompts, like “Name your favorite pizza topping.” Let them keep score, since kids love to be the official judge.

Step 5: Keep the fun going

End the night with a small prize, like a jar of your favorite sauce or the honor of choosing next month’s theme. People remember how a night felt, and with food this good it is not hard to make it a tradition.

If you are hosting more than 15 people and would rather enjoy the party than tend a fire, talk to us. Our pit catering brings the carving station to you, and the Baby Blues smokehouse homepage has the poundage calculator to help you plan.