Demand to cook for party !

[Puff]

Had dinner with a group of friends. Long story short...one is a guy who'd helped deliver the oil tank to my house back in August. Every year he has a 4th of July party since the fireworks are on the other side of his property and you couldn't get a better view. When he and his wife stopped by the other day he saw the finished smoker and wants to have me drive it to his house, set it up for a cook for his annual party. To say the least he is very excited about doing it. And busting my ....well, you know...... to definitely get it planned to do. I've never done anything like this but I AM more than willing to give it a try.

It's about 50 people maybe 40 adults and 10 kids between 16 and 10.

Do you guys have a formula for how much meat to order and cook for this kind of crowd. I'll have to fire it up and practice cooking with it over the next several weeks in order to not screw it up completely. But it will be one heck of a test. 50 hot hungry people with raw or over cooked burnt dry meat.....

Were thinking ribs, pork, some chicken and....? Any ideas on this? Especially trying to have it all ready to serve around 5 or 6pm that night and 3 or 4 different kinds of meats. Since it's a Friday night this year, I'm thinking it will go on late thru the night

Thanks in advance

[Pete Mazz]

Make sure there are lots of ribs. The kids will most likely only eat ribs, if they're anything like my crowd. Chicken for sure. Pulled pork could be done beforehand to ease the stress of a big cook. ABTs are always a hit. Beef ribs are a nice change from the normal fare.

And never forget. Most folks think hotdogs and hamburgers when they hear Bbq.

[Puff]

Thanks Pete.... THAT part about the hot dogs and hamburgers is what has happened here for the last 15 years as I know it. That's why when they came over to say hello to my sister-in-law and niece visiting from Vermont, he saw the finished smoker and thought this would be a terrific idea. Being that he was so helpful in getting it here, I could not refuse despite the fact that I have no freaking clue what am doing. If I'm cooking for our family, there are three people that would say... It's good.. And that's the end of it whether it was or wasn't . With a group of 44 other strangers, I'm sure someone is not going to be happy and will gladly voice their opinion....

I need to get him a list of meat and the quantity of each for this group. In the meantime, I'm firing this thing up and getting it season and practicing what it's going to take to get something like this accomplished. I don't know if you know who this could be but down the road from me in Jackson, there is a giant trailer with Myron Mixon's face painted on it and the trailer is really REALLY nice I don't know if it's a food service trailer or a competition event vehicle. As anyone seen something like this before.... I should just buy 75 pounds of finished meat from him...hahahaha


PSST....what's an ABT?

[Pete Mazz]

ABT or Atomic Buffalo Turd is a halved jalapeno with cheese stuffed in it, with or w/o a lil smokey, and then wrapped in bacon. You can make the jalapenos downright mild by removing all the seeds and white membrane as that is where the capsaicin is. My personal recipe is to mix some honey in the cream cheese with some of your favorite rub. Spoon that into a Ziploc bag and cut off a small corner to serve as a piping bag. Pipe the mixture into a halved jalapeno and add a lil smokey and wrap with 1/2 slice thin bacon. Sprinkle a little more rub over them and put them into the freezer for a 1/2 hour or so. About 2 or 3 hours before you want to serve them, lay them directly on a grate in your smoker, pepper side down. when the bacon is crisp, they're done.

Here is a quick link that seems to show what can be done:

http://www.thesmokering.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=6253

[DUAYNE B]

I just read that Pete aand I got to say, THAT MADE ME DANG HUNGRY FOR ABT'S....... I will be making them soon, thanks alot........ as for the cook, Puff, you got this man. Just do what you know how and it will be Great.

[Pete Mazz]

They are addictive! I barely got seconds last time.

[Puff]

Whoa.... Great link Pete....thanks. Looks like those could overshadow quite a bit of stuff. I know we'll make a bunch of these up.
Lit the smoker up this afternoon for a few hours to check temps. Franks calculations and design are like turning on the oven in my house. Perks up to temp in 20 min. I only fed it twice with oak but I believe that it's just getting the meat in there ...it is so stable.

Certainly will put up the pictures

[Pete Mazz]

Just thought of something else that's different. Fatties! Weave bacon and wrap just about anything it seems. I've never made one but they look pretty cool. Lot's of variation too. I think someone has a video on here that shows how.

[Gizmo]

Frank shot that fatty video and posted it on that thread where he wanted videos to go …. dang if I can remember the name of it though.

Puff one suggestion is that you batch as much of your cooking ideas into one cook for practice. I've found that cookers like to behave a little different when you load them over half capacity or so and that is one element of practice you don't want to miss out on - take good notes on how much/how long, etc…. It'll really pay off when it comes time to do the actual cook.

I would also recommend doing the butts the weekend before if you can then reheating them next to the other things you're cooking - loosely fill a large disposable aluminum pan with pulled pork and pour about a half can of beef broth over it and seal tightly with tin foil. An hour at 300 to 325F or until you start to smell the pork slightly and wow. When you open that foil you would swear it was just fresh cooked….. really makes the event lower stress and more fun for the cook…..

[Puff]

Thank you. Gizmo. That tip is worth a bunch.....our usual outdoor cooking was limited to the propane grill now 12 yrs old a starting to fall apart... Our last big , and very good grill meals, were during the 13 days of no power from hurricane Sandy .

My wife used a foil pan with water and another pan inside it with the chicken, potatoes etc...it was terrific. Not the typical slightly charred stuff 80% of the world takes off of a BBQ grill.

I've even started recording BBQ competition shows to review as I plan this out. I also read over and over again, your cooking posts with Egor. Like a classic movie that you never get tired of

These suggestions are more than appreciated

[SoloQue]

sometime when you are bored try making hobo hot pockets. Toss together all your favorite pot roast veggies and give them a quick roll in EVOO. Make some aluminum foil pouches (multi layered for strength) Scoop in some left over shreaded pork, add a small sized blob of butter and a 1/4 cup beef broth with whatever seasoning you are craving. Seal them up tight and toss on the smoker for 2 hours at ~275 - 300F. They should really puff up when they are about done. Everyone gets a bowl with a sealed pouch. Let them sit for a few minutes so you don't steam your fingers opening the pouches. Tasty simple meal.

[Puff]

I have an idea.... Duayne, Gizmo, Solo, Pete.... Come on over, bring these great recipes and an extra set of tongs !

Thank you Solo for another great idea.... Of course, it will be one of those 95 degree days with 75% humidity and we'll all be stuck around the fire ....

[Pete Mazz]

Tongs my ass! I'll bring beer.

[Gizmo]

Pete please don't put "tongs" and "ass" in the same sentence ….. I just had a physical last week …..

[Pete Mazz]

Yeouch!!!!

Reminds me of the joke....

"Hey doc, I'm need to ask what you're using for a thermometer because both your hands are on my shoulders!"

[Gizmo]

[Puff]

It's a definite .... This cook is on. Lucky for them I've never done something like this.

For about 45-50 people ...does this sound like it will feed them or is there too little or too much of something...this is just the smoker stuff

20 full racks of baby back ribs. 1/2 rack per person ( likely some will have more...some less)
8-10 whole chickens
3 pork shoulders for pulled pork

Maybe 2 pork loins for slicing?

I am also planing to make Solo's and Pete's recipes ... Why not try it all. Figuring it should all start around 8 am for a 5-6 pm serving?

Any and ALL suggestions graciously accepted

[Gizmo]

They dam sure won't go hungry with that amount and besides - there is NOTHING wrong with leftover "Q" for lunch the following week.

Sounds like you got the whole project surrounded …..

Leg/thigh quarters for your chicken would take more grate space but would be easier to work with - less processing to eat when done and probably will cook more evenly from one piece to the other.

if it were me I would stick to less than 8# butts and start the butts at 7A just to be safe - you can always wrap and coast them in a cooler….. Good luck!

[Pete Mazz]

Ribs and chicken are my mainstay. I'd forgo the loin and smoke some sausage near the end or my favorite, brisket. Loins are notoriously difficult to get right and not dry them out. With the pulled pork you'll have the better choice anyway.

As for quantity, ribs and pulled pork make for good leftovers/doggie bags. Sounds to me like you have too much chicken. Hard part with whole chickens is sometimes you get folks who only eat white or dark. Are these the small chickens like a rotisserie size? if so I'd think min 4 servings per bird. That's usually way overkill when there's a lot of other goodies. I always butterfly them to even out the temps of the white and dark. As Rick said, way easier to do parts with that sized cook.

If you're going to make the ABTs, it's easier to make them in advance and freeze them. They're easier to store and transport that way and you can throw them right on the smoker frozen.

You're going to have a long day my friend! Enjoy!!!

[Puff]

Thank you as always... Gizmo, are you saying forego the whole chickens in lieu of parts and keep flipping the parts?

The other post you mentioned preparing the pulled pork a day or so in advance then add sauce to reheat.

Is there a "how to " some where on doing this? Or you're saying just get it to the pulled stage and re heat with the sauce? If so,how long or what temp?

[Gizmo]

In my opinion - whole birds take more TLC to do right. The leg/thigh quarters are about the easiest to work with that I've done for a crowd. If you're concerned about the picky white/dark eaters then swap out some breasts for quarters so there's a choice.

Pulled pork in a big disposable aluminum pan and foiled shut in the fridge will keep easy for a few days. On party day pour about a half can of beef broth over it, foil it shut and heat on the smoker or in the oven (if the smoker's full) either way - 1 hour at 325F will do it - you'd swear it just came off the cooker.

I never put sauce on pulled pork except for comps. I put it on the table so people can ruin their own "Q"

[Puff]

Thanks gang....this should do it and if it all comes off with even only a small glitch, the guys that knew I was building this will realize I wasn't crazy after all! A BBQ around here is a propane grill in the yard.

When you think about it, we are all into this... And appreciate each other's thoughts and successes....For those that have no idea what this is, building something like this is nuts. They think I'm nuts........until "Q" time

[Pete Mazz]

Never tried beef broth on pork. Will have to try that. Sounds interesting! I'm more of a thin, vinegary based liquid enhancement.

Puff, I'll just assume one of your sides will be coleslaw for those pulled pork sammiches....

[Puff]

Hey Pete..... I'm putting in about 10 hours of prep and cook time on a day that's probably going to be 90 degrees and 85% humidity......standing over a smoky wood stove . Add to the fact that my brain gets well tested on days where the temp exceeds 75... I won't be able to get the fire smell and sweat off until I get home and take a shower after midnight and 25 miles later....My fuse gets WAY too short and they have the nerve to ASK FOR COLESLAW!


Ha...just kidding.... They're doing all of the " accouterments" of the day from corn to coleslaw. And a personal favorite pressurized kegs on ice.

[Pete Mazz]

Haha! At least there's beer to keep you hydrated...