Catering Opportunity - 250 People


 
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Doug KC

TVWBB Fan
Hi-

I'm looking for some advice and direction for a catering gig.

I have an opportunity to cook for 250 people. First I'll have to cook it all in advance. I've reheated brisket and pork in foodsaver bags and had no issues. They are also asking for ribs and wings (although another chicken option would work).

So I want to serve 2 or 3 of the following: ribs, sliced brisket, chicken and pulled pork. Also need to serve beans and slaw.

I'm kind of freaking out about logistics. And by kind of, I'm not sure if it is possible with the Lenexa BBQ contest being the day before.
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I have an 18" and 22.5" WSM with access to more. I also have 2 Carlisle food carriers available to keep the food hot.

How can this be done?
Any advice on the meats to cook and how much?
What about a per person quote? It's for my wifes company picnic but I'm not doing it pro bono.
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Thanks!
Doug
 
Personally, I would not try this on WSM's . Too much food for too many people. Reheating food for 250 people is pretty dicey. For the amount of work this would require in cooking, vac sealing, transporting, reheating, and serving, I would say they probably are not paying enough. Just my $.02 . You are looking at 80 racks of ribs minimum. You would need to cook, refrigerate and reheat 80 racks of ribs. What is your experience in catering? Have you done cooks for large groups before? My first was 75 people, and that was on a fairly large mobile offset. It was 95 degrees that day, and I thought I was going to pass out! Even if you had prir experience, I would advise against this large amount . Woodman

ps. If you are doing a comp the day before, you would be exhausted by the time you had to serve.
 
Thanks for the reply Dave. I've cooked just the meat for 100 people before but not everything else. The ribs scare me a bit. I think if I was just reheating the meat brisket and pork it wouldn't be that bad.

So not much catering experience. Might have to rethink this one...

Doug
 
Doug, I hate to discourage you, but if you get opportunities to do things this large, I would suggest looking at a mobile unit either offset, or cabinet style. Normally, I would say "go for it". But , having cooked for 200-300-400 people, I know how much work is entailed even on a larger rig. Most states have different laws regarding cooking on site, vs transporting hot food, or cooling down and reheating food cooked previously. I personally do not feel good about doing either of the latter. If you can cook for 100 on a WSM, you are pretty good, but I think 200+ is pushing the limits of common sense. Dave
 
I have poured thousands of yards of concrete in my life but cooking for 120 people one time in the rain about killed me. Think hard about doing this cook. I am not trying to scare you either but it is more work than most people think.
 
Well against my better judgement, I signed up for it. I think I can do it and I have my eyes on a couple of bbq toys that this will pay for. So I may suffer a bit on Sunday, but it should be worth it!
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It sounds like it'll be more like 200-225. I'll be cooking 8 briskets and about 20 birds for pulled chicken. Counting on a 60% yield on brisket and about 65% on chicken. I figure I need about 100 pounds of cooked meat. Sound right?

I got a hookup on more cambros and plan on not foodsavering but wrapping in foil and ziplocking. I figure this will be less of a pain and since it will only be frozen for a month won't make a difference. I'll then reheat the meat in large foil pans in a 225 degree oven. I've also recruited a couple of people to help.

No. 5 sauce will be served on the side.

Wish me luck! I'm sure it'll be a pain and I'll learn a lot.

Doug
 
How much food to have is something I have always struggled with. My theory has always been that its best to have too much than not enough. Since you are going to freeze it for a month, I would cook whatever you figure and add 10 lbs. Just to be safe.
You can do it! Good luck.
 
for the last 20 years or so i have done anual bbq for our employees the crowd ranges in size from 250-300 people. i use a trailor rig to do it. i have both a 22 and a 18 wsm. it is a lot more work than you might think. just storing and prepping that much meat is something you really need a commercial kitchen for. i wouldnt try such a thing on a WSM less i had a fleet of em.

my annual cook is coming in June and i am dreading it. it is pretty much 36 hours of nonstop work to get it done and thats on a rig that is larger than an extended cab pickup truck.

50 to 100 i would take a stab it with a wsm but that many... no.

that much meat going steadily into a home style freezer is going to mean extremely long freeze times and the more you put in the more energy and time it takes to freeze is going to go up. the longer it takes the more risk you have for food borne illness. i honestly wouldnt store the ammount of cooked meat your talking about in a home type freezer unit.

oh one last thing... one of the reason i got a 22" wsm was to see exactly how much bbq would fit on one so i could determine if getting 2 or 3 more for this very event was worthwhile or not. plus i just plain wanted one
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Dave coached me through a 150 person event with pulled pork, i used two crappy smokers and jammed packed them with butts. I bought 70 lbs raw butt figuring rendering (just under 1/2 lbs a serving), i was surprised that they hardly lost any weight, maybe 10-15%. There were plenty of leftovers, at least 15 lbs of the finished product (it was buffet style with lots of sides which logic would lead me to believe cut down on the portions consumed).

If you thrive on challenges it will be difficult but not impossible, dont be stupid and make sure your preps are all in place days before. That helped me. (putting a rub on 9 butts is a pain, but poured into a 2.5 gallon ziplock all of a sudden you can "rub" 9 butts in 3 min...)

I used all my technique tricks and then just made sure i had 2-3 hours to spare past maximum cooking time 13-15 hours, I followed dave H's advice to not reheat, and wrapped each butt once finished in tinfoil, then a towel, and into a cooler.....off to the location, and to the pulling (I recruited help for the pulling), leaving the extra butts in the oven at 175 until it was there turn.

If all other logistics and preps are done ahead of time, assuming all you have to do is throw the meat on the grills (brisket early, chicken 3-4 hours before the event) with a couple of helpers to pull i dont see how you could spend more than 2-3 hours of labor transitioning to the tables. If its buffet style, even better.


I doubt you will have to follow catering laws seeing as how its probably legally defined as a "closed group"(if its not being sold, and the publics not invited, that usually defines a "closed group", think church potluck....) and you dont cater as a business, no reason not to follow all the rules but when you get paid ask for it as "compensation" or a "voluntary tip", keep your receits and let it be known that you are doing this as a favor, but you just cant say no if someone loves your food so much they want to slip you some cabbage ; ).
 
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