Cooking for a crowd


 

Gary Hafer

TVWBB Member
First, what a treat to receive NEW AMERICAN BARBECUE in the mail yesterday. It is superb, Jamie. Yes, and it has all the classics of your other Weber publications—the fine photography by Tim Turner, for example—but what superb recipes and the stories: Wow, what an added bonus! I’m going to be barbecuing a lot this summer.

Jamie, do you have any strategies for dealing with multiple grill-and-smoker cooks, such as when you’re cooking for a big crowd? Do you keep a basic outline to make sure everything comes off at the same time? Or is this something you just intuitively know? I always find it a struggle to plan “backwards” from identical serving times to when the cooking time should commence, all commanding my attention at once. And then there’s always the guest who “wants to see how you do it” while expecting you to narrate all the steps as you hop from smoker to grill.
 
Hi Gary -- It's good to see you here, Mr. Professor and accomplished author. I am glad you like the book. I know you have just about all of them and your standards are quite high.

When I cook for a crowd, I usually plan to serve a few items at room temperature or a few items that hold really well for more than an hour. Then I can get them done before the event is underway and I can them serve whenever I want. So I love to barbecue a brisket and hold it in a dry,insulated cooler for a couple hours. If I'm doing pulled pork I usually sauce it and hold in foil pans over low indirect heat. If the exposed edges get a little crispy, that's good with me. Nowadays I am doing a recipe from the new book (page 63) where I makes little patties (kinda like crab cakes but with pork) and fry them up a la minute to serve with a sweet Carolina mustard sauce. I make sure my sides are done well ahead. Cedar-planked salmon is good, I think, as a main course at rom temperature. I have a nice recipe in the new book for Cedar-Planked Salmon with Pickled Fennel Salad and Horseradish Cream. It's sounds like a restaurant item, but's pretty easy to make ahead.
 

 

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