Help menu planning for a BBQ possibly up to 11 people

[zblongladder]

I'm possibly getting a KBQ in the next few days (I already have a smallish pellet grill), and with the added smoking capacity my partner has asked if we could invite the other instructors from her karate dojo for a BBQ. There are five other instructors, and including significant others, the two friends who will be living with us soon (their landlord sold their apartment and they were having trouble finding one they could afford), and us, that could be 11 people if everyone says yes.

The wrinkle: my partner keeps kosher, so pork is off the menu, and any cut from the back half of the cow is generally unavailable (so like beef ribs and brisket are OK, but tri-tip wouldn't be). Also, at least one person will be vegetarian, but she's willing to eat chicken if she needs to...I'll probably throw some veggie burgers on the pellet grill for her.

I've never cooked for this many before, so could any of yall experienced cooks give me some help menu planning and generally planning what this cook would look like? I'm really close to all these people, so I don't want to mess it up.

[Ace]

Soooo many options but you might consider Chuck Roast (for pulled beef tacos, nachos, bbq sandwiches, chili, etc.).
All beef hotdogs or sausages and the like.

BBQ Chicken.

Edit: Veggie burger is a good idea. Maybe a stir fry?

[realdocBBQ]

Brisket, beef ribs... yeah, I'd prolly start and end there. lol

11 don't seem like so much to me these days, it used to.


General rule of thumb is about half pound of uncooked (but trimmed) meat per person, if you're having any sides and such. So a 6-10lb should be plenty, but having leftovers and some to send home with folks isn't a big deal.

Beef ribs are an impressive cook to a lot of people and you can have a couple share a rib, or you can cut them all from the bone and slice them and serve like brisket.

As for your (pseudo)vegetarian, I don't know... .Tofurkey dogs? Grilled portobello mushroom? Lots of grilled veggie options, if you do enough sides, they won't really feel left out of the meat portion.

[Duanessmokedmeats]

I vote for brisket.
You could separate the point and the flat.
With the point make burnt ends, and with the flat make shredded beef for sandwiches.

[LA Pork Butt]

My advice is limit the number of choices. The more choices you offer, the more leftovers you will have because you can’t predict what will be your guests’ preferences. Your vegetarian will eat chicken, so I would stick with chicken. Smoked boneless skinless chicken thighs would be easy and you could also smoke roast some vegetables. I like to do cauliflower. Cut the cauliflower into large bite size pieces. Mix a cup of olive oil with a tablespoons of your favorite rub and maybe a few shakes of hot sauce. Creole or Cajun seasoning or SPG would work. Toss and smoke at 225 for about an hour or at 350 for about 30 minutes. Smoked corn on the cob would be another option. One chicken thigh per person with a few extras for big eaters. A cup of cauliflower or vegetables for each person and an ear of corn for each person. Have fun.

[TripleB]

BBQ Chicken thighs for the win. Easy peasy.

[Oak Smoke]

Chicken quarters, the drumstick-thigh combination. Is chicken kosher? They are easy to smoke up nicely and can still be impressive. For your first cook on a possibly new smoker I’d try to keep it simple. Heck I still try to keep it simple when cooking for a group. I don’t think I’d want beef ribs or brisket for the maiden voyage.

[shify]

I would recommend something like pulled chicken or a pulled chuck. Both are easy to pull off for big groups.

For the chicken, I smoke bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs and then remove the skin and bones when shredding. I like the way the skin and bones protect the meat from drying out and its pretty easy to remove the skin and bones and shred the meat if you take it up to about 180 degrees. It shouldn't take more then 90 min to 2 hours to cook the chicken. Then I mix with some homemade bbq sauce and served on a bun with some pickles, pickled jalapenos or cole slaw.

For chuck roast, my preferred approach is to smoke a big chunk for about 2-3 hours and then move to a covered braise for until tender which takes an additional 2-3 hours. The braise makes it fairly foolproof and also cuts down on the cook time significantly. I do this a bunch and like doing it with korean flavors so I make a thin sauce with gochujang, soy sauce, brown, sugar, etc. for the braise part. Then pull the meat and mix it with the braising sauce to finish.

[jfmorris]

11 is not many. With pork off the menu, I would stick with brisket or pulled chuck if you want beef, or chicken halves or even bone in breasts and leg quarters if you don't want to deal with cutting up chickens.

Whatever you do, I recommend NOT cooking something you have never cooked before, and do NOT do it on a cooker you have never used before. If you are getting the KBQ in "a few days" and the cook is in a few days, I would just stick with the cookers you have and know, as you do not want to be learning a new cooker the day people are coming over.

Most people like BBQ chicken, and let's face it - nothing wrong with some hotdogs (Hebrew National?) or ground chuck burgers for a summer cookout vibe.

[zblongladder]

I've convinced Rachel not to invite people until I've gotten a cook or two on the new cooker under my belt, so it won't be on totally new to me equipment. The advice about something I've never cooked before is a good point, though.

[jfmorris]

zblongladder yes - you need a practice cook of what you intend to cook. Otherwise, stay simple. I would not buy a huge brisket if you have never done brisket before for example, and that one is too expensive to do a practice cook on. Chuck is more per pound but much smaller and easier to do a trial run with. As are chickens. For smokers (like the KBQ or your pellet smoker) I like split chickens, and buy fryers and split them myself with a poultry shear.

[jayjordan]

Consider the advice given above and do your best. If all these friends are truly close to you, none of them will think less of you if everything isn’t perfect. If they do, well then maybe they weren’t such great friends.

[SheilaAnn]

I did not read all the replies…. Go with what you feel comfortable with. Do a chuck (super forgiving and budget friendly). Chicken legs or wings would work, too. Get some big ol portobello mushrooms for a “burger”. No fake food.

grill veggies like zucchini (cut the long way) and corn on the cob.

[Draznnl]

What about boneless turkey breasts? Easy to cook on the pellet grill. I assume your chicken eater will also eat turkey. This way, everyone is eating the same thing. Either slice them for sandwiches or shredded or chopped for tacos or sandwiches.

If you want something purely veggie for that person, I’d do portobellos. Either grilled as burgers or stuffed with some finely chopped veggies and smoked. I would add some Cajun seasoning to the veggie mix. I’ve never done this stuffing without cheese in it, but I’m assuming cheese is out since meat is being served.

Try to relax and have fun doing this.

[WI Bubba]

Lots of good advice already. I'm with the beef crowd, so I would do chuck roast for pulled beef sammies/tacos, or a brisket.
I very seldom feed enough people to warrant a brisket, so that's what I would do. A test run on the new cooker is definitely needed before cooking for a group.

And most importantly, it's just BBQ. Don't stress over it.

[CaptainMike]

The only additional advice I have is do as much of the meal as you can in advance, especially the side dishes, horse's doovers, and go-withs. As gracious hosts, once your guests start to arrive you'll want to interact with them so try to avoid things like hot dishes and sides that need to be prepared fresh as they can split your time and attention (assuming you and your partner are doing the whole meal). Make grilling/cooking the protein the only thing left on the 2DU list. Most dynamics have the fellas hanging around the grill and the ladies kibitzing in the kitchen until meal time. Those are my favorite times of the gathering.

[jfmorris]

You know, what is unclear zblongladder - do you HAVE a direct grill at all? That affects some of the suggestions for non-smoked meats. If your only grill right now is the pellet grill - that's really a smoker, not a grill, as it is not a source of direct radiant heat. And you've told us you are adding a second smoker to the fleet. But that's about all I know: 2 smokers.

Having at least one direct grilling cooker is something good to have in your cooker arsenal. Burgers, dogs, STEAKS, even old school BBQ chicken, goes best with direct grilling in a 2 zone setup, and not fully indirect cooking.