Large Scale 'Que

Pulled pork & chicken are both relatively cheap & easy to cook. Another meat to consider is brisket, a little more work but one will feed about 15 to 20 folks. Ribs take the most effort and cost per person, IMO, but they are the most desired as well.

How much LB per person is a common question. Around my table it's about one pound per person when feasting (we like meat). When feeding men estimate around a pound per guest. Women and children generally tend to eat less, so average in about a half pound for them. Plenty of sides will help reduce the amount of meat required. Also, if having a buffet style meal, having a server for the meat with cut down on the BIG consumers.

However much you decide is "needed", you'll want to cook a little extra to allow for unexpected guests and seconds for ravished carnivores.

chicken quarters are cheap / inexpensive .29/lb on sale locally. I've found ribs are very expensive unless you serve it them. Pulled pork is cheaper. I figure .6 lbs uncooked per person if you have alot of sides to help fill the plate. I think pork loins would be a "step-up" from chicken quarters or pulled pork (my opinion) yet still less expensive than ribs.

what equipment will you be cooking on?

Black dog,
Don't give bob to much credit about being first I was in a close second.

To me pork loins are best done on a Lang smoker (my only experience) however some of these guys just posted some beautiful ones on a rotisserie. I cook my loins (I’m glad we all know what we are talking about) at 250 for about 2.5 hrs or 145-150 degrees and don't worry about them cooking before a certain time. I've held mine in a cooler for 3 hrs before and serve them and it has been 3 weeks and no wide spread food poisonings either.

buttsmoker wrote:

been 3 weeks and no wide spread food poisonings either.

blackdog870 wrote:

Hey y'all,
I've just been give rthe esponsibility (yet again) for our company Christmas Party. Usually I just get it catered, but this year the boss thinks that , with a little help from my freinds, I can cook just as well as what we have been getting and do it cheaper. That's flattering and all, but I've never cooked for this many people before.

First things first... Flattering yes, but YOU deserve this party just as much as everyone else does. If YOU are going to be saddled with this responsibility of cooking as opposed to just making a call to a caterer, YOU deserve some compensation for your efforts. So the question is, is it flattery, or is the boss just concerned with the bottom line, and figures he has a scapegoat to accomplish his goal (a party) at a reduced cost. Only you can answer this. Now on to the food... I'll not reiterate the recommendations already adressed. You could do ribs, but backs are probably cost prohibitive, and would take a lot of room to do (even with racks).. Spares cost 1/3 to 1/2 that of backs, and country ribs even less. Yeah I know they don't qualify, but were lookin for max capacity here. At the bottom I'll give ya visual verification that you can get 32 pounds of country ribs on a grill the size of a Weber Genesis. For poultry also consider boneless turkey breasts. Easy to slice (in a slicer). Just think of what is normally on your catered menu for anywhere you've attended. You could go the 3 choice route, and have poultry, pork, and beef. You could make your beef dish ground meat mosticholli. If you go with chicken, brisket, and pork loin you can get in for less than a buck a pound for all. As far as cooking for this big of a crowd, once you secure the needed grate area it's a matter of semantics. I'd also suggest doing a whole hog, but since you are cooking for a diverse group, there may be those that have aversions to eating pork. A varied menu will mostly be required. Another thing to consider, is the atmosphere of the event. Is this a dressy event? If so then eating with the fingers might be out. If that'as the case I'd recommend the boneless turkey over the bone in chicken. If it's come as ya'arr, then some sauce on the shirt might be expected. For sides, potatoes are always welcome, and will help to fill the void. Sliced, and boiled are nice but someone has to peel them. Mashed flakes are quick. Add a sprinkle of dried parsley and oregano, and you're done with those. String beans, and corn are quick and easy to round out the veggies. If you do go the turkey route, boxed stuffing just needs water added, and time to absorb (another void filler). Powdered gravies will suffice if needed. A salad is required, and you can get these ready ro go in big packages at most warehouse type markets (as well as most all of this...Sams here in the mw). Finish it off with a tray of pepperoncini's, black, and green olives, with some sliced french bread, and I'm sure that you'll be the hit of the party to rave reviews for your cilinary mastery. Just make sure that you're compensated for all of your efforts. It's great to be appreciated, but remember that you work there too and deserve the off time to comiserate just like everyone else does. Best of luck, and keep us posted with your bill of fare
Here's 32 pounds of country ribs on my gasser...

Joe

www.barbecuebible.com/board/viewtopic.p ... =feet+hurt

This is a link to a short thread about a cook I did for church this past Summer.

Thought it might help a little.

I love doing large groups, hence Grand Scale. my advise is to start from the ground up. First whats your equipment. Know what they're renting, thats its available, and how much it will cost you. I wouldn't want to tell you to go whole hog if you hae no way to cook it. Second figure out your budget, then figure out the time you have to dedicate to this endeavor. Remember to do brisket for a group like that will take upwards of 20 hours between prep and cook and serve easilly. Those two point considered here are some suggestions:
1. Chicken: Relatively easy if you have a big enough grill, is fairly hands on cooking, but is cheap especially if bought in bulk.
2. Brisket and Pulled Pork: Take lots of time but can be somewhat hands off cooking, reasonable price, offers beef and pork optiions. Not very space consuming.
3. Ribs: Expensive but a highly desired. Will take some space and time to do.
4. Tenderloins: I'm talking beef and pork here. Both of which can be picked up at buy one get one or some similar special if you keep your eyes open. They take up a reasonable space and cook in a reasonable time. To answer you earlier question these could both be smoked or grilled but either way I sear both first. (See the Watermelon Injection thread for a pork example)
5. Steaks: don't rule this out until you get some pricing, depending on quality and cut I've seen this done before and is always a hit. Will take up space but is relatively quick and easy.
Hopefully this helps. If you share with us some more info perhaps we can give you some better advise. Especially once you decide on the particulars.
Oh by the way, I usually figure 1.5 lbs per person. My friends are fatter than Bob's.

Black Dog,
I too have done steaks twice for our youth group and cooked 30-35 Delmonico steaks each. Granted they were easy to prepare I think manning a grill w/ 50 steaks would be a lot of work especially when it came to putting out fires and "is it med or med-rare” leave it or take it up. I when I purchased the steak the bill was around 160 bucks for Delmonico's at 4.99 lb for 30-35 youth. Compare that to 120 lbs of chicken quarters for 60 bucks (.49 $/lb). That is a lot of difference.

Also at least for me the chicken quarters were a piece of cake because on a Lang smoker it cooks with indirect heat therefore no flare-ups. The steaks were pretty easy also for the same reason.

Find out your budget on the meat or we could spend all day discussing what meat at what price etc.

GrandScale, I wished I cooked for you and your friends some, it would help fill up the Lang on Saturday’s. I wished I could look like this every time I fired it up!

I many have mis-spoke this is either 100 or 120 lbs of chicken I'll find out in a minute.

Buttsmoker-I wish I had your Lang!!