cookout with 30-40 people...need advice...


 
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Ron F

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Hello all,

The SO and I are finally going to host a little bash. The WSM will be the main event. I've never cooked for this many people before and was wondering if anyone had ideas on what to cook, and how much. I have an idea of what I want to cook but am not sure on how to go about it. I want to cook ribs for sure and some ABT's. I don't want the ribs to be the main course as that would be pretty expensive. I'm not exactly sure what to cook for the main course. Maybe a pork butt? The plan is this...have people over between 3 and 4pm with appetizer food ready to be eaten. Hang out whilst drinking a favorite beverage while the main course is being cooked/prepped. After main course I would like to have MORE appetizer food ready as it will hopefully be a long night and the masses will need to eat again. Couple other things. I've never cooked a brisket or pork butt yet on my WSM. If I decide to cook one of these I may do a test one first but quite honestly with all the info on this site I know I could get it right the first time. So far everything I've cooked on the WSM has come out darn good, thanks to this site. One more thing. I've got one WSM, two small(smokey joes) kettle grills, and one bigger grill(charbroil). All are charcoal fired, no gas. Some things I was wondering is as I'm cooking on the WSM can I just toss on the ABT's as needed? What should go on the bottom grate if I'm cooking on top grate?(of course I know I need to know what I'm going to cook first). If anyones got ideas please shoot them my way. Basically, if you were having 30-40 people over, what time would you start the party, what would you cook, and how would you go about it?
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. Thats not too much to ask is it?
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Check out my thread on "The Big Party...". I just did soemthign similar with about the same amount of people and it turned out great. I did 2 Butts 2 days in advance and 11 racks of spares the day of. All were done on time and came out awesome!

Good luck.

M@
 
I cooked for 12 this past weekend. I did 2 butts overnight fri/sat. That was going to be my main meat. On saturday I did 3 full racks of ribs (could have done more) on the WSM plus chicken thighs on two Weber kettles. I also put on some skinless/boneless for those who don't like dark meat. You could do some of the chicken ahead of time put in sauce and hold in the oven until you are ready to finish them on the grill. We started at 6:00 PM and didn't eat until around 7:00 everything turned out great for my first time.

MikeZ
 
Thanks for the advice. I like the idea of cooking the pork butts in advance. I too want to enjoy myself and not get caught up with too much work. The pork butts and ribs sound like a good combo. Burgers and dogs will also be available for the kiddies. Party is scheduled for August 21st, weather permitting. Stay tuned....

Ron
 
OK....It's looking more like 50 people now. It's not even the cooking I'm worried about now. Squeezing 50 people on my lot is going to be a feat in itself!

Ron
 
Ron

It seems you have all the grills and smoker covered. See if one of your friends has a turkey fryer and if you can borrow it. I like to deep fry chicken wings and put hot sauce on them to make hot wings. Also fry some onion rings and cheese sticks. This will keep your company busy til the main course is done.
 
Ron,

If you you can procure Bruces' assistance on this, it will be to your advantage! Sounds like you are gonna have your hands full!

Best of luck, Jim.

PS-I cooked for 60 people this past Saturday. But I cheated a little, I had 2 WSM's going!
 
I'm getting nervous just thinking about the task you are facing! Yipes. Luckily the stuff on the WSM will be the easiest part of your cook.

You can do corn on your grills, too, even tho I didn't see it on your menu. I wonder how many smokey joe will hold? (you cook 'em husk on, having soaked 'em in water for about 20 minutes before hand, and then cook 'em for 20 minutes. yum! I like 'em better when you cook 'em husk OFF, but that takes a lot more attention).

Don't forget to whip up some baked beans, too. And slaw for the pulled pork. THEN you got yerself a bbq!
 
I cooked for 100 people a week ago Sunday (only 65 showed, lotsa leftovers), and everybody loved it. It was a "welcome home" party for a soldier returning from Iraq.
Check it out: http://www.ofoto.com/I.jsp?c=98qpsqx.3wnrwac1&x=1&y=-h5ihl4

Pork shoulder is the best bang for the buck for large numbers. You can feed about 10 people (this includes multiple sammiches per person) with one 6-7 lb butt. I usually use that as my staple menu item, cook it and bag it well in advance, and usually cook more than I need just in case...keeping a couple of bags extra in the fridge if I need to warm them up and serve them. We did 8 butts for last week (I did 4, and a buddy did 4 on his WSM).

Also, at the party last week I also did a couple of briskets, which went pretty quick, but pretty much everyone got at least a taste of it (turned out GREAT).

Another buddy of mine grilled about 4 family packs of chicken wings, which we served mostly with the appetizers (I was working with another caterer). The wings were a hit as well.

Another thing you might consider smoking for appetizers in tandem with your ribs is pork tenderloin. They aren't cheap, but you can buy pre-marinated tenderloins at the grocery, that you just take outta the pack and slap on the WSM along with your ribs, and they only take about 1.5 - 2 hours total (150 degrees internal temp).

I didn't do ribs for this last party because it was just too big. People like ribs, and they always go first, so I don't like to cook them unless everyone can get some. I'm doing ribs for a party this Friday, but it's only for 15 people. For a big group, I'd only do spares, since they feed more people and are cheaper. 2 racks of spares will feed about 5 people (assuming they aren't total pigs). Count on 7 hours to complete the ribs (3-2-1 method) once you get them on the WSM.

I definitely recommend cooking as much as you can in advance and then putting in ziplock baggies. I prefer to serve ribs right off the smoker though, that's what I'm doing this Friday. For that party I'm planning on putting 6 slabs of spares on the WSM right at noon, people start arriving at 7pm, start eating around 7:30ish.

Have fun!
 
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