July Party Help


 
S

Steve E (Lititz PA)

New member
Hello again everyone. I am hosting my annual July 4th party which usually attracts about 30-40 people. Every year is a different food theme and now that I have a few smokes under my belt with my WSM 22.5" I will be serving authentic barbecue.

I'm looking for recommendations for meat types and quantity for that many people. An overnight smoke is definitely in the equation. People will arrive around 4PM and I hope to eat somewhere around 5-7PM. I want my guests to experience some really great barbecue. Please help! The site has been a tremendous help so far and I can't thank everyone enough for the things I have learned so far.
 
Can't go wrong with a butt or 2 with wings and or legs and link sausages or ribs instead of the butt(s). Study up on the #5 sauce and you sir will be a Rock legend! Be sure to go with a light wood so you won't overpower with smoke for the Q virgins.

Good luck
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<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Steve E (Lititz, PA):
How many butts and lbs. per butt would I need for 30-40 people? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Depends. How many of the 30-40 are men, women and or children?

4-6oz per person depending on how much/many sides your serving. Butts usually lose 40% when they are done.
 
Steve,I'll throw in my .02 for butts also. Get 3 or 4 that are about the same size and cook overnight. I've always been in the cook more than you need group! Better to have a bunch of leftovers than to have people hungry!
 
Steve, as stated above, Butts are fairly bullet proof, and it really impresses your guests when you unwrap the foil from the BB, and pull out a clean dry bone! A good simple recipe to start with is the Incredible Mr. Brown recipe found in the cooking topics of this site. For a little twist, (something a little different that people dont expect) you might want to try and make a few dozen ABTs and some Piggles. they both are super easy, don't require a lot of time to prepare, and always seem to be a big hit. Last weekend I tried the Fried Mushrooms on the grill, and they were a huge hit as well. I have found that my friends always seem to find their way to the back deck just about the time I pull the pork, (so they can get some fresh samples) but latley, they really look forward to the extras (sides) that I pull from the grill or smoker as well!
Good Luck,
Tim
 
I'm doing a cook for 70 people on the 17th. It's going to be butts, wings and hot dogs.
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Butts are very forgiving and like Tim stated can be impressive!
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Steve E (Lititz, PA):
How many butts and lbs. per butt would I need for 30-40 people? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I recently did a cook of Boston Butts for 36-40 people, of which about 6-8 were kids. Rule of thumb I was given by a very experienced bbqer was to plan on 2 people per raw lb. of meat, which turned out about right. I would cook 3 or 4 butts. An 18.5" WSM can hold 2 x 8 lbs. butts per grate.

One note: Be sure you allow ample time to pull the meat. This was more time consuming than I realized, but thankfully I had plenty of time built in for this.

Good luck.
 
I think that it depends on two main factors:

#1 - How many big-eaters are you expecting?

#2 - How much other stuff (sides / appetizers) do you plan to serve along with your 'que

If I were anticipating lots of big-eaters (not many women & kids) I would estimate 3/4 to 1-lb per person raw weight figuring on loss of about 50% weight (rendering-down, bone & fat picked-out during pulling). This will leave you with 3/8 to 1/2-pound of finished meat per person, and maybe even a little left-overs (but I wouldn't count on it - you'd be surprised at the ability of Pulled Pork to vanish into thin air!)

Unless you have a LOT of sides and a high percentage of light-eaters, methinks that a half-pound is on the light end of the spectrum.
 
If you have access to another grill to help you out as well as your WSM, I'd make some grilled asparagus and mushrooms to go. They can be prepared beforehand, and needs just a few minutes on the grill. The slowest ones are the mushrooms, but if you choose small mushrooms, they are done in about 20 minutes, indirect. I've made mushroms with sesame oil and -seeds lately, and they are delicious.
Give them a teaspoon of sesamy olive oil, and a small drizzle of seeds. And maybe some paprica powder for colour.
Grill candy!



With other food, and finished


Click on pictures for large.
 
I'd go for butts also. I did 2 on smoke day for about 30 people. They were both basicly gone by morning. I would defiantly do 4. I still am disappointed that I don't have any leftovers. It was my first overnighter and they came out great. Many compliments.
 
Great feedback everyone. I will do 4 butts (8lbs./each)...2 on top grate/2 on bottom. I want to pull them between 5-6PM. What time should I put them on? Should I still plan for 1.5-2 hours/lb.?
 
You should still plan on 1.5 - 2 hours per lb. On my cook, I put 4 butts on at 10:30 - 11 pm and they were finished by 11 am next day, which was sooner than I thought (my thermometer must have been off).
 
Hi Steve, yes figure on around 2 hours/lb. HOWEVER each butt is different. 1 8lb may take 16 hours, another 10, and yet another 18! You really should look for an internal temp of 190 - 200 before pulling them out. Your best bet would be to do an overnight smoke and when they're done the next day, heavily wrap in foil and throw them in a cooler with towels. They'll stay nice an warm until you need to pull them.
 
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