Cooking for 40: A question about timings (and food safety).

[dingbat]

Hi there. This site is excellent, as is Meathead's book...

I'm based in Ireland. Cooking for 35-40 people this Saturday. People will arrive between 2pm and 3pm and I want folks to be able to grab food from the BBQ buffet between approximately 3.30pm and 6pm. Event will probably go on in some form until 10pm.

I need to finalise my cook timings, so I'm looking for advice.

Meat Menu:
- pulled pork (this is the main event)
- baby backs (people like them as an appetiser)
- sausages (secondary main dish)
- spatchcock chicken along with a bunch of thighs & drumsticks (also a secondary main dish)

There'll be a bunch of salads too as well as some vegetarian stuff (halloumi done hot & fast along with aubergine/eggplant)

Equipment: one kamado joe 18", one small kitchen oven, one decent insulated cooler

Current thinking:
- Chicken: I'll do this last, direct. Thinking 2pm-3.30pm

- Sausages: second last (midday or so), then keep foiled and warm in oven. Could also do in batches, with second batch on after the chicken is done.

- Baby backs: can I do these a day in advance then on the day baste & blitz them on the bbq? (around 1pm)

- Pulled pork: how long in advance can I do this to avoid essentially serving leftovers? Or should I plan an overnight cook, starting at 3am and taking the butts off at around 11am then keeping them warm in the cooler until I pull them? (this time gap is my food safety concern)

I haven't picked up the meat yet, so another option could be to simplify the menu and ditch the baby backs or sausage. I also have the option of spreading out the cooking further into the afternoon - when attending a barbecue it's nice to see fresh things arrive over a few hours. And of course there's that wonderful smell of meat on coals...

Thanks for any help offered.

[kmhfive]

Of all the meats, sausage seems to me to be the easiest to reheat in the oven at serving time. I think the chicken done last and hot is good plan.

The pork butt is very forgiving AND will retain heat and last a long time if tightly wrapped in the cooler. Do you have a leave-in thermometer that would let you monitor the temp of the pork in the cooler? Also, my PBs seem to take closer to 12-hours on the smoker, but you'd know best how long your cooks take.

In summary, I'd start with sausages the day before to get them smoked, then chill them overnight. Put the pork butts on the grill with a plan to have them done at least 4-hours before the main course. Wrap them tightly in HD foil twice and then in towels and the into a pre-heated cooler (use a pot of boiling water for 10-minutes before the pork goes in). Ribs next. Then chicken. When the ribs are finished, wrap and add to the cooler.

At the time, warm sausages in the oven and the lower the temp as much as possible (150-170F). Put the wrapped pork and ribs in with the sausages if the pork temp falls to about 140F. Pull the pork just before serving.

[LA Pork Butt]

I would simplify first. The more choice you have the more total volume of meat you need. I have a 18" BGE so I understand your situation. Here are my thoughts the Boston Butt can be helped in a faux cambro for 2-4 hours especially if you heat the inside with hot water before putting the meat in. If you need to hold it longer you could do so in your oven. I think the ribs and the pork are in competition for your cookers time. You could cook the ribs the day before and heat them on your cooker after the pulled pork is done. Her is an idea - eliminate the ribs and cook chicken Wings instead. They will cook relatively quicker. You could create some appetizers with pulled pork like pulled pork quesadillas. Have fun I have done 40# of Boston Butt for 80 figuring 1/2# per person. It took 22 hours on one load of charcoal. You will need a raised grill to add the second layer.

[dingbat]

The pork butt is very forgiving AND will retain heat and last a long time if tightly wrapped in the cooler. Do you have a leave-in thermometer that would let you monitor the temp of the pork in the cooler? Also, my PBs seem to take closer to 12-hours on the smoker, but you'd know best how long your cooks take.

Thanks. My PBs take, in general, 8 hours or so. I'll be leaving myself an hour's contingency though...

Re. temp monitoring of meat in the cooler, I've got a Thermapen so would monitor the pork with that (say, every 30 mins).

P.S. good point re. sausages. Once they're cooked they probably do reheat the best. Nice one.

[dingbat]

I would simplify first. The more choice you have the more total volume of meat you need. I have a 18" BGE so I understand your situation. Here are my thoughts the Boston Butt can be helped in a faux cambro for 2-4 hours especially if you heat the inside with hot water before putting the meat in. If you need to hold it longer you could do so in your oven. I think the ribs and the pork are in competition for your cookers time. You could cook the ribs the day before and heat them on your cooker after the pulled pork is done. Her is an idea - eliminate the ribs and cook chicken Wings instead. They will cook relatively quicker. You could create some appetizers with pulled pork like pulled pork quesadillas. Have fun I have done 40# of Boston Butt for 80 figuring 1/2# per person. It took 22 hours on one load of charcoal. You will need a raised grill to add the second layer.

Thanks for the suggestions. Re. raised grill, I don't have an expander so am working with basics.

Have been contemplating losing the ribs for the reason you mentioned (competition). But I like cooking ribs ;-)

[FireMan]

Well, if ya like cookin ribs, cook em!

[LA Pork Butt]

Thanks for the suggestions. Re. raised grill, I don't have an expander so am working with basics.

Have been contemplating losing the ribs for the reason you mentioned (competition). But I like cooking ribs ;-)

For many in the Pit in your situation would quickly become afflicted with a case of MCS. Is there the possiblity of a Weber or borrowing one from a neighbor?

[dingbat]

For many in the Pit in your situation would quickly become afflicted with a case of MCS. Is there the possiblity of a Weber or borrowing one from a neighbor?

*ignorant question* what's MCS?

[EdF]

More Cooker Syndrome. Welcome!

[smokinfatties]

You're cutting it pretty close IMHO. That's a lot of meat to cook on one 18 inch cooker, and with all those options I think you're going to drive yourself crazy.

If you must do all 4, this is what I would do:

Cook Pork Butts up to 3 days ahead of time. Pull and vacuum seal with plenty of Au Jus that will help with reheating. Reheat in a sous vide around 155-160F if you have one or a hot water bath works, just boil some water and try to keep it in the 160-170 range after that with short reheats. If you don't have a vacuum sealer then put the shredded pork in a ziplock getting as much air out as you can. Reheat covered in a foil pan- stir around, maybe add some bbq sauce and reheat until internal temp gets to about 160f. Try to leave out as much air as possible with however you decide to hold it. I have reheated 5 days later and was happy with results.

Cook Sausages ahead of time for reheating.

Day of, cook Ribs first, then cook chicken when you pull the ribs off to rest. For chicken, you may be better off doing more thighs or something smaller (wings) that will cook a bit faster. Wings can also be good smoked first and finished on high heat in an oven to crisp them up.

Pulled pork reheated can be almost as good as fresh (or in my opinion is your best option for reheating compared to ribs/chicken).

If you prefer everything fresh and don't care about sleep, I would start the butts around midnight and cook into the morning, then cook the ribs for the 3-4 hours that the butts rest in the faux cambro. Just make sure to heat the cambro and insulate the wrapped butts (also be sure not to overbook with carryover).

When I am cooking for a group I have learned to simplify the number of meats and increase quantity so I can focus on nailing a couple items. If this is your first time for cooking for a huge group of people, then I'd highly recommend simplifying and cooking what you're best at.

With 1 cooker you may have to think about quantity. I always overcook but for 35-40 adults i would probably cook 4 butts and as many ribs as you can fit on your cooker, and a couple batches of wings. If you can fit 4 butts on your cooker for 1 cook you can bet they will take longer than 9 hours to finish unless you're cooking hot and fast closer to 300 deg F.

maybe do a practice cook of two butts during tomorrow and try a small portion of the reheated butt to see how it tastes a couple days later? then if youre happy with the results cook the other two butts on Thursday or Friday to free yourself up during the weekend.

Good luck and the only other thing to remember is to TAKE PICTURES!

[dingbat]

You're cutting it pretty close IMHO. That's a lot of meat to cook on one 18 inch cooker, and with all those options I think you're going to drive yourself crazy.

If you must do all 4, this is what I would do:

...

Good luck and the only other thing to remember is to TAKE PICTURES!

That is a seriously useful post. Thanks for putting in the time, and thanks for everyone else's responses too. They have clarified my thinking hugely. The ribs, no matter how much I love 'em, are going to need to say bye bye.

Do sausages ahead of time, then chill, then reheat in oven on the day.

Do butts overnight, or at least a very early start (4am or so). Might do an advance one also...

Do chicken on the day.

[smokinfatties]

There you have it! Sounds like a much more manageable plan. The best part is the butts can rest too and you can season most everything the day before. Please let us know how it goes!

[kmhfive]

Good plan! Show us pictures of your success! You've got this.

[DWCowles]

Definitely take pics...We love BBQ porn

[Senator Pig]

- Baby backs: can I do these a day in advance then on the day baste & blitz them on the bbq? (around 1pm)

Do you have a sous vide device? If so, cook the ribs to 190=203F then vacuum seal and chill. Next day, sous vide the vacuum sealed rack(s) to about 160F. Once you remove them from the vacuum sealed pouches you can sauce and torch, or sauce and finish on the grill.

[dingbat]

Well, that was a long long weekend...

After taking the ribs out of the equation things fell nicely into place.

- Sausages: a bunch of pork sausages cooked direct on Friday evening then foiled and chilled. They heated up quite wonderfully the next afternoon.
- Chicken: spatchcock and a legion of drumsticks cooked direct Saturday afternoon while my guests were arriving. The spatchcock was a little beauty: moist with a crisped exterior (flipped it after it was done to give the breast a bit of a blast). Took it off and placed in a serving dish for a while to rest. Sliced the breast meat and sectioned the rest. All kept nice and safe in a warm oven until ready to put on the table. No photos (sorry!) as I was juggling about 57 different things at this point in the day.
- Halloumi: this was a huge hit. One inch by three inch strips seared for a few minutes each side before putting straight onto the buffet table. So easy, and vegetarian-friendly.
- Pulled Pork: three half butts, bone-out and rolled into the most regular shape I could in order to keep as much space between them as possible. Ended up putting them on at 1.30am and babysat until 3am (stable at 235F). Went to bed. Had to up the fire a bit at 6am (grate temp had fallen to 204F). Back to bed for a while. Stayed calm through a long, long stall at 160F. Gave them at light basting at 175F and upped the heat a bit. Removed the three of them from the grate variously between 2pm and 2.30pm (185F-195F). They then spent another 90mins-120mins in the faux cambro. Pulled it with two forks adding just a trace of a vinegar/ketchup sauce, with plenty on the buffet table for guests to add themselves.

Pics, as requested...

Three little piggies

Piggies with salt, mustard and rub

It's 1:30am, and the meat is on.

13 hours later (after a very, very long stall): took them off at various points between 185F and 195F (one was much, much quicker than the others for some reason)

After another 90mins-120mins in the cooler we're ready to go

So, what did I learn?

First I learned that for big cooks like this I need a grill expander. The extra space would have been incredibly useful. So I'm moving it up my wishlist.

Secondly, I experienced my longest stall yet. Was this related to the fact that it's the most meat I've cooked in there at one time, or was it more down to the extra depth created by my rolling the meat? (I'm thinking it's the latter)

Thirdly, adventures in thermometers. Vast difference between grate level and dome level at the start of this cook. Caused longer babysitting time than usual as I had to convince myself I wasn't seeing things.

Fourthly, people really like seeing you use a thermometer when serving barbecued chicken. Gives folks peace of mind and also shuts down the "oh, you're serving chicken at a barbecue? brave man!" conversations.

Lastly, roll on the next big party :-)

In conclusion, thanks again for the advice. All the feedback and suggestions were a huge help in setting up a well-fed, successful garden party.

Cheers.

[LA Pork Butt]

Congratulations! Glad it went so well.