Demand to cook for party !

[alleyrat58]

That's a lot of meat. For 40-50 people I'd divide it by three and plan 1/2# pork each, 1/3 rack of ribs each and 1&1/3 piece of chicken each. Round up obviously. Add 15% to each. So @16 * 1/2 * 1.15 for pork, same calc for each of the others using the portion I listed. I just bid a dinner party for 17 adults and I'll be doing 8 racks of ribs.

Calculating ribs and chicken is easy, pork is a bit trickier. My stats show that I get about a 66% yield on pork after cooking - I lose about a third of the weight in cooking. So if you need roughly 9#s of pork for 16 people (16*1\2*1.15), you need to buy 9 / 0.66 = @13.5# of raw pork to get your end result.

I'm doing all of this in my head so my numbers aren't spot on but by my count you need roughly 22 pieces of chicken, 8 racks of ribs, and 14 pounds of raw pork. Since this is your first time out take it easy. Leftovers are only good if your friend wants them - ask him, see what he says, pad these numbers appropriately.

[Clover Ridge Smokers]

Awesome post ARjr

[Puff]

Whoooo. Nice information...this is the kind of thing I am looking for. Obviously your experience has given you this insight as to what the yields will be. By my guess you would typically divide a rack of ribs for 3 people...I was planning on 2 so that's is how I came up with 20 racks of ribs. My friend is buying the meats from a friend of his who is a butcher in northern NJ. I know him and he will get a deal. I have met many of these people 10 times ....,1 time a year at this party, for the last 10 years.

He told me last year, he ordered tray of chicken, sausage and pasta from a local restaurant and spent over $325. Just for that stuff.

I might have assumed between buying the meat and the charcoal ( I've got cords and cords of oak) he'll spend about 300-350. Then I tried to over budget intentionally but THIS is what he wants to do for this event. Not too many smokers here despite the millions of people and he loves the oddity of it. To you guys, it has to be more common place to run into smoked foods. NJ is more like a load of Italian restaurants and McDonalds.

I'm looking forward to it but my greatest fear is tough ribs or burnt dry chicken. I'll be watching this like a hawk so no one is disappointed. I am writing up your plan and sending it to him to show the butcher friend he has and get things ordered. Thank you Alleyrat for sharing your knowledge

[SoloQue]

Much like the pork being done in advance you can always plan on your ribs and chicken being done an hour or so early and then line a cooler with foil and stack them in, close it tight and lay a towel over the top. They will get very moist in that cooler. NOTE: !!! If you do this you would want to let the ribs cool a bit (just warm/hot to the touch ... not 195F!!) before tossing into the cooler or you will end up with rib soup. They will overcook if you toss them in straight from the smoker, I usually give the slabs a quick lather of sauce as they are cooling before they go into the cooler as this allows for a nice soaking in and tasty gooey ribs. Do the same with the chicken but plan on giving them a quick roll across the grill before serving to crisp the skin and sauce them after the grill right before serving. The bird will be very moist from the rest time and the rispy skin is a nice touch for the onlookers. This type of cook is not as glamorous as pulling straight from the racks while serving but it takes a lot of pressure off of the cook and the food is almost always very moist when allowed to sit in coolers for a fair amount of time (an ahour or so).

[Puff]

Thank guys for these tips. These are things I'd never have come to know. The cooler count needs to go up. I've got three or four so I just need to bring them. And I thought the back of the pick up was gonna be full of wood. Ha!

Solo, I seem to read there is no temperature on ribs. Just time? So would you agree that as the bone starts to show, let them cool, then into the cooler?

I can see I'm going to need a countdown clock working backwards from the serve time

[SoloQue]

Solo, I seem to read there is no temperature on ribs. Just time? So would you agree that as the bone starts to show, let them cool, then into the cooler?

When the bone starts to show that is a good time to start checking. For me the final decision is when as I pick up the slab lengthwise with tongs (halfway down the slab) tries to tear under the weight of the half that is not supported by the tongs. When you see the meat start to tear then you know it is tender. Pull them off to sit a few minutes so they are not burning to the touch then it is safe to toss in a cooler and they wont over cook while they rest. Just don't let them get too cool, I wouldn't want you resting ribs below 140F as that is just not good food safety.

[Pete Mazz]

[Puff]

Perfect....I'm making a list of all this tips in large print to hang on the prep table....leave little to chance

[Puff]

Yup, I know but I am really needing to get this right. So please indulge

45 adults and about 20 kids...they are bringing things like appetizer side dishes, there will be hot dogs, sausage and salads. My friends do not want to be short on foods and I have never planned a group feeding before.

20 slabs of ribs most likely baby back, maybe St. Louis. 3 - 10lb. Pork shoulders or the equivalent. Starting the pork at 9am and the ribs at noon all for approximately a 6:00 to 6:30pm serving? We figure that there are people who will eat a few ribs and a selection of everything else....and there are maybe a few guys that can wolf 'em down as long as they keep coming off the smoker!

Does this need adjusting up or down?

[Pete Mazz]

What happened to the chicken?

Pork quantity sounds OK. The only thing that ever goofed me up was ribs. Some crowds just go for the ribs and wipe em' out. I think you could start the shoulders sooner knowing that you'll have to pull them while the ribs may be needing attention. Pulled pork will be OK in a tray for quite a while. Ribs need to be watched closely near the end of their cook so you don't wind up with more pulled pork.

[Puff]

Good point Pete. While shredding and saucing the pork, they'll dive into the ribs, fill up on other stuff and when the pork is ready 8 minutes later....they're all full! . And mushy ribs is only my type.

You know what they say about that..." Oh well, more for me"

Thanks

[FATNECK]

I just had a party a few weeks ago and 57 people attended. 45 adults and 12 kids. I was breaking in a new smoker so I went all out. I had 11 butts, 24 racks of ribs and 40 lbs of chicken wings. I cook everything expect for 9 racks of ribs. We had a lot of food left over so most people were taking a to go bags. The bulk of the left overs was pulled pork and a few racks of ribs.

If I had to do it again, I would cut my quantity down a bit. I would do 6 butts, 10 ribs of ribs and 40 lbs of wings. With all of the sides and deserts that people will be bringing, you should be fine.

[Puff]

Hmm, interesting that you have these numbers and I am thinking based on your input, that we are on the fringe of ...enough or a tad too much. My guess is that with the other meat, sides and salads we should be good. I don't mind the effort needed but too much and too little bugs me.

20 years ago or so we had a New Year's Eve party at the house.when I picked up the platters of cold cuts, it looked like it may feed 10 people.. I bought a few pounds more of stuff like meats, cheeses, salads, rolls, olives, pickles...maybe doubled that amount on these prepared platters. A surprise blizzard hits at about 6pm and everyone called and stayed home.