Easy & affordable Q for work picnic????

[jjdbike]

Hello fellow pit masters,

I offered to Q the meat for a work picnic. I would line to do pork, beef & chicken to cover most people's pallet. I was thinking smoking some chucks to tender for beef BBQ. If I could find a cut that's less expensive, but still beefy and marbled enough for low & slow TX style BBQ it would be good. Boneless skinless chicken thighs, fatty enough to stay moist. Boneless - skinless makes it fewer steps to easily pull, lightly sauced w/ a mild sweet BBQ sauce. Pork hot links to smoke and slice, easy peasy for those who like heat. All can go on sliders or simply as entree.

Does this sound like a good mix? Does anyone have any other suggestions? I know pulled pork butt is easy and inexpensive, but pulled chicken, been and pork seems like not enough variety. Brisket might be less expensive propound than chuck, but I'm not looking for that time & work commitment, especially in addition to the pork and chicken. I did consider brisket, turkey breast and pulled pork, but smoked turkey breast tends to dry out once sliced. Once sliced I feel that brisket should be consumed right away too. I wanted meats that I could put in foil covered pan already sliced for easy self serve.

Your thoughts & suggestions please?
JD

[Donw]

About how many people will you serve, and how long do they have to eat?

[barelfly]

Pulled pork, pulled chuck and chicken - like you mentioned - is what I would do if I were going three meats. The sausage could be good, but you could have all the meat cooked and held in cambro until time to serve. Then you just watch and help with service. Will you be cooking on site if you do something on the grill? Or can you be at home to keep all warm until it’s time to eat?

Sounds like you are lining up a great plan already! Hope it goes well and everyone enjoys the great feast!

[jjdbike]

Thanks bud.
I'm cooking at home a head of time. Bring in foil covered pan in faux Cambro. I'll have a grill w/ charcoal to warm pans for serving.
JD

[JLR]

What will you be cooking on?
I would do brisket instead of chuck. For some reason, I randomly get chuck that doesn't do well. Never had the problem with brisket.

[jjdbike]

I’ll be cooking on my KBQ. My chucks have all turned out well so far. They also cook a lot faster.

[JLR]

jjdbike Sounds like you have a solid plan then. Let us know how it turns out.

[bbqLuv]

I have cooked chuck roast, and it had not been as good as brisket.

[Bad Hat BBQ]

Chucks & Chicken thighs would be my choice IMO I would ad ribs to the mix ...slice em in 2 bone portions

[jjdbike]

Chucks & Chicken thighs would be my choice IMO I would ad ribs to the mix ...slice em in 2 bone portions

Thanks,
because of the volume I’ll need to cook, I think pulled boneless thighs will will go farther. I think ribs are a bit more work, and take up too much space in the cook chamber for how much they yield.
JD

[CandySueQ]

I did this back in March. Because boneless skinless chicken breasts were half the price of boneless skinless thighs, I purchased half and half. The breasts were very good and I will definitely do this again for a crowd.

https://pitmaster.amazingribs.com/forum/the-pit-mastery-program/misc-or-general-food-discusison/1392837-bbq-for-a-crowd

[TripleB]

Great overall write up. That was a good read and a lot of information. We should have a "Feeding a Crowd" section under Recipes.

[LA Pork Butt]

The only thing I would mention is that the more options you have the more meat you will need in each category to avoid running out of any one. In addition, you will have more leftovers. In my part of the country pulled pork will be the least expensive when it is on sale at $.97 a pound.

[jjdbike]

The only think I would mention is that the more options you have the more mead you will need in each category to avoid running out of any ones. In addition, you will have more leftovers. In my part of the country pulled pork will be the least expensive when it is on sale at $.97 a pound.

Yes, same here. The affordability along with the fact that it lends itself well to being pulled in a pan w/ a little liquid and sauce and kept warm with out drying out too much.

While I thing that sliced smoked hot sausage would be a nice contrast to shredded chuck and pulled BBQ chicken, I fear the sausage would dry out after being sliced while held in a warm pan.
Your thoughts?
JD