Chicken for large group?


 
C

Cory Musser

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We're having a first birthday party for my daughter and we've invited around 40 people. I'm supposed to be making chicken. I have one WSM to work with. Any suggestions on method, quantity? Should I go with thighs or quarters? I know I have to have some white meat so I'll be doing some split breasts for sure. If I have to do it in batches will it hold nicely? Thanks.
 
Cory, I am not the one to tell you how much to cook but I do have a thought and a question. How many adults? Children of what age?

My most recent cook was just legs...easy to eat, easy to cook and, seem to disappear quickly. Can't cook too many...just bag the extra for later.

Depending on the rest of the meal about 2 legs per child and perhaps 3 for hungrier adults? See what other advise.
 
Hi Cory.

My question is do you only have the WSM? For my Son's first birthday, I grilled a bunch of wings, burgers, smoked Sausages and hot dogs. I did ribs in the WSM the day before, and sauced and lightly grilled them to heat them up. It turned out great. If you can use a grill along with the WSM then a lot of wings may be easier and cheaper than quarters or thighs. I tried to have a lot of finger and kids foods. The ribs were eaten by the adults, but the kids loved the burgers, dogs and wings.

I'm certainly not trying to change your menu or have you deviate from your original plan. I know that my WSM alone would not have cut it for the amount of food that I cooked, unless the food was cooked in advance and reheated before the party. If that is your only option, then I would go with thighs, but that is just a personal preference.

I hope this helps.


Derek
 
Steve, a point of clarification: when you say legs, are you referring to just the drumstick or the whole leg (drumstick-thigh as one unit)? Looks like maybe 2 drumsticks per child?

Rita
 
If you can beg, borrow or steal a kettle, I would use that in addition to the WSM. If getting a kettle is not an option, what about adding a third rack as described in the modification section above? Otherwise, you are going to have to cook some in advance and hold it cold, then warm up when it is time to serve.

For kids, I think quarters are a little hard to eat, so I would go with breast meat, drumsticks and thighs. You might want to give the thighs about 30 minutes at room temperature so that they finish about the same time as the drumsticks.

Consider doing one mild recipe for the drumsticks and one spicey recipe for some or all of the rest.
 
The kids that are invited are probably 5 and up. The baby doesn't have many friends yet
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. It's mostly adults though. I don't trust my old gasser enough to depend on it. Maybe I can use this opportunity to get the kettle I've been wanting...hmmmm. Thanks everyone for all the advice. I'll take a little of all of it and figure something out. I love this site.
 
To cook chicken for 40 people you will
probably need a kettle in addition to your WSM. How about doing wings, legs, breasts and thighs for more variety? Perhaps some
italian sausage or brats to offer as well.
The little kids will eat dogs and be happy.
Lots of the little ones dont want to eat the chicken "on the bone".
 
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