Getting children involved in cooking is a great way to get them excited to eat what they’ve made! So why not spend some time sharing one of your favourite pastimes with your kids this summer and make some tasty barbecue meals together? Below are a couple of fun and easy ideas that the kids can get hands-on with.

Chicken and vegetable kebabs

Kebabs are an amazingly easy and versatile dish to make, this recipe can be modified to have even the pickiest of eaters excited to get stuck in. For this specific recipe chop the chicken and vegetables into bite-sized pieces. Split the veggies and chicken into two separate bowls and drizzle with oil, sprinkle on a rub of your choice – the Traeger Veggie Rub is a good subtle flavour that kids will love. This is where the children can get involved, have them mix up the vegetable and chicken chunks until they are liberally coated with the rub. Make sure you wash your hands before and after handling raw meat! Once all the ingredients are seasoned thread them onto skewers, this allows everyone to decide how much meat or vegetables they want – and because the meat and veg were prepared separately vegetarian skewers can even be made.

If you have a Genesis II LX, or a new Genesis II model with the elevation system incorporated into the warming rack now is the perfect time to use it, this system is also available as a separate accessory for Weber®’s three-burner or larger barbecues. Alternatively, this Weber® Kebab Set allows kebabs to be elevated off the grates without the use of this system.

Cook the kebabs on an indirect heat of 180°C until the chicken is 75° internally.

Mini burgers

If your kids love to get their hands dirty then making burgers is a great summer activity for them! Season your mince in a large bowl and mix it up with your hands, you can even add a rub or chopped herbs to the mixture for an extra layer of flavour. Form small patties, you can just use your hands or this slider press to get the perfect size every time. Make sure to wash your hands when handling raw meat.

For small patties, a cast iron griddle is the ideal way to cook them as their small size may make them difficult to manage. Sear them off on a direct heat then move them to an indirect heat to cook through. Most meat needs to be 75°C internally to be sure it’s safe to eat. You can top your patties with cheese when they’re almost cooked and melt it!

Serve with slider buns, the small size means you can try a different sauce or topping with each burger!

Barbecued bananas

This delicious recipe couldn’t be easier to make. With the skin on cut a slit down the centre of a banana, you can stuff this with chocolate, butter and brown sugar or create your own flavours. Wrap the banana in foil and pop it on the barbecue on a low heat for about 15 minutes. If you have a charcoal barbecue you can cook these directly on the ashy coals, new coals will be too hot so it’s best to wait until the fire has died down to do this recipe. Turn the banana parcels once.

Unwrap the parcels and top the bananas with squirty cream or ice cream and chopped fruit and nuts.

This is a fun, hands-on dessert that can be tailored to each child’s tastes.