Hey all,

So this summer has been my summer of learning BBQ. I have had a TON of
success and only a few blunders. In a few weeks, I am having a party,
where I will showcase what I have learned. I am cooking with an offset
smoker.

As of right now, I have gotten the RSVPs for at least 30 people, but I
expect at least 40 to be there. How much meat should I cook?

I was planning on cooking a full brisket and a full pork shoulder. Do
you think this is enough? I might fire up my Webber and do some chicken
legs for pulled chicken as well. I have a corny keg of red beer from
the local brewery on order.

Do you think this is enough? How much would you cook for 40 people? At
what point would you add another hunk of meat? 50 people? 55 people?

I was thinking about cooking some ribs just for a snack, though I really
want to stick to the cheaper meats (my butcher sells me briskets for $20)

Finally, there will be a few vegetarians there. Can you think of any
veggies that barbecue well? (no need to snicker!) I heard about using
a hard squash and throwing it in the smoker... thought that might be fun.

Any thoughts are appreciated.

Thanks,
Brian

Brian wrote:
> Hey all,
>
> So this summer has been my summer of learning BBQ. I have had a TON of
> success and only a few blunders. In a few weeks, I am having a party,
> where I will showcase what I have learned. I am cooking with an offset
> smoker.
>
> As of right now, I have gotten the RSVPs for at least 30 people, but I
> expect at least 40 to be there. How much meat should I cook?
>
> I was planning on cooking a full brisket and a full pork shoulder. Do
> you think this is enough? I might fire up my Webber and do some chicken
> legs for pulled chicken as well. I have a corny keg of red beer from
> the local brewery on order.
>
> Do you think this is enough? How much would you cook for 40 people? At
> what point would you add another hunk of meat? 50 people? 55 people?
>
> I was thinking about cooking some ribs just for a snack, though I really
> want to stick to the cheaper meats (my butcher sells me briskets for $20)
>
> Finally, there will be a few vegetarians there. Can you think of any
> veggies that barbecue well? (no need to snicker!) I heard about using
> a hard squash and throwing it in the smoker... thought that might be fun.
>
> Any thoughts are appreciated.
>
> Thanks,
> Brian
>
try about half a pound uncooked per person. Some will eat more, and
some will eat less.

as for the vegans, think kabobs. tomato, squash, onion,

Brian wrote:
> Hey all,
>
<snipped>
> Finally, there will be a few vegetarians there. Can you think of any
> veggies that barbecue well? (no need to snicker!) I heard about using
> a hard squash and throwing it in the smoker... thought that might be fun.

Tofu (nigari) smokes up quite well. Onions, garlic, nuts, olives,
eggplant and zucchini, all sliced, take to it too. I wouldn't leave any
of those on for more than an hour. Finish, if needed, in the oven or on
the grill.

Alternatively, a dip into a balsamic vinegar-olive oil marinade and a
quick grill will also be a good treatment for the veggies.

--
Saara
http://skagitfoodshed.wordpress.com/

Brian wrote:
> Hey all,
>
> So this summer has been my summer of learning BBQ. I have had a TON of
> success and only a few blunders. In a few weeks, I am having a party,
> where I will showcase what I have learned. I am cooking with an offset
> smoker.
>
> As of right now, I have gotten the RSVPs for at least 30 people, but I
> expect at least 40 to be there. How much meat should I cook?
>
> I was planning on cooking a full brisket and a full pork shoulder. Do
> you think this is enough? I might fire up my Webber and do some chicken
> legs for pulled chicken as well. I have a corny keg of red beer from
> the local brewery on order.
>
> Do you think this is enough? How much would you cook for 40 people? At
> what point would you add another hunk of meat? 50 people? 55 people?
>
> I was thinking about cooking some ribs just for a snack, though I really
> want to stick to the cheaper meats (my butcher sells me briskets for $20)
>
> Finally, there will be a few vegetarians there. Can you think of any
> veggies that barbecue well? (no need to snicker!) I heard about using
> a hard squash and throwing it in the smoker... thought that might be fun.
>
> Any thoughts are appreciated.
>
> Thanks,
> Brian
>

Nope. Not enough beer! Corn on the cob will help reduce the meat
consumption a bit. Throw it on the Weber, after you properly prepare
it, if you have room.

Dan

Dan wrote:
>
> Nope. Not enough beer!
>
> Dan

I figured as much... a corny keg is 5 gallons which is 40 pints...
certainly not enough for 40 people... but they micro-brewer I am buying
from can only sell me that much. Football season in Ann Arbor... we
drink a lot in the fall

One of my guests has already agreed to pick up the rest of the beer in
bottle form, so we can have more diversity in beer choice.

Thanks for the thoughts, guys!
B

Saara wrote:
>
> Brian wrote:
> > Hey all,
> >
> <snipped>
> > Finally, there will be a few vegetarians there. Can you think of any
> > veggies that barbecue well? (no need to snicker!) I heard about using
> > a hard squash and throwing it in the smoker... thought that might be fun.
>
> Tofu (nigari) smokes up quite well. Onions, garlic, nuts, olives,
> eggplant and zucchini, all sliced, take to it too. I wouldn't leave any
> of those on for more than an hour. Finish, if needed, in the oven or on
> the grill.
>
> Alternatively, a dip into a balsamic vinegar-olive oil marinade and a
> quick grill will also be a good treatment for the veggies.
>
> --
> Saara
> http://skagitfoodshed.wordpress.com/

Peppers certainly smoke and grill well, so some variant of a roasted
pepper humus would probably go over well with pretty much everyone.
Asparagus grills well also as does eggplant. A sandwich of grilled
eggplant topped with fresh roasted peppers and a garnish of grilled
asparagus on a nice roll spread with some of that humus sounds pretty
good to me and I'm not a vegetarian.

If they are vegetarians vs. the really loony vegans, the usual potato
salad, pasta salad, cole slaw and whatnot should be acceptable. Fish
might be acceptable as well (all the vegetarians I know eat some fish),
so salmon and trout smoke very nicely.

On 4-Sep-2007, Steve Wertz > wrote:

> On Tue, 04 Sep 2007 16:07:03 -0400, Brian wrote:
>
> > Do you think this is enough? How much would you cook for 40 people? At
> >
> > what point would you add another hunk of meat? 50 people? 55 people?
>
> Figure on 20lbs of meat, plus bones and fat. So that's 40lbs of
> meat before cooking.
>
> > Finally, there will be a few vegetarians there.
>
> I hope...
>
> > (no need to snicker!)
>
> OK, I'll save it.
>
> -sw

I have recorded before and after weights for a number of cooks. And
you can depend on no more then 60% yield for butts, picnics and ribs.
It can be worse, but odds are you'll recover about 60% actual eat'n
meat. Steve's estimate is good. If it's available, it'll get eaten. If you
start with a pound of raw meat per person, you'll be lucky to have
enough leftovers for breakfast. And, out of 40 guests, at least 3 or
4 will take thirds. Don't ask me where they put it. Watch out for the
skinniest guys. They eat the most.
--
Brick(Save a tree, eat a Beaver)

Brick wrote:

> If you start with a pound of raw meat per person, you'll be lucky to
> have
> enough leftovers for breakfast.

That's right. I just cooked for my workmates, and 25 people ate 23 pounds
precooked - two boston butts and two briskets. And there were at least a
half-dozen sides, not counting another half-dozen desserts.

EZ Larry

Brian wrote:
> Hey all,
>
> So this summer has been my summer of learning BBQ. I have had a TON of
> success and only a few blunders. In a few weeks, I am having a party,
> where I will showcase what I have learned. I am cooking with an offset
> smoker.
>
> Any thoughts are appreciated.
>
> Thanks,
> Brian
>

I had my party last night. It was an unqualified success. We had 45
people... 32 of them being adults. I cooked 2 Boston Butts, a Brisket
and 2 racks of spare ribs. We included about 6 sides (greens, cole
slaw, potato salads, corn bread, etc). We had roasted vegetables for
vegetarians and hot dogs for kids.

When it was all over, I had just enough meat left over for breakfast
I saw lots of people going back for seconds and thirds. I have never
been so complimented on my food. (I cook for people a lot. It is a
hobby of mine).

I CERTAINLY COULD NOT HAVE DONE IT WITHOUT THIS GROUP. The knowledge
that lives in this group (and the FAQ) is better than any book I have
bought or read. You guys rock.

My 5 gallon corny keg of local red beer was almost completely drained.
We had a few cases of assorted beer styles to supplement the keg, and
that was a huge help.

I put the brisket and butts in the heat at 2 AM and they were ready by
about 3:00. I kept them wrapped in foil for serving at 5:00.

For the ribs, I didn't have any room left on the smoker, so I cheated.
I put them in a roasting pan on a rack in the oven. I cooked them there
for about 3 hours at 225 and moved them to smoker to finish for 2 more
hours. They weren't the way I like my ribs, but my guests gobbled them
up and raved about them... I suppose I am getting a bit snobby.

Anyways, I feel like it went off without a hitch. I just started
barbecuing in April, so I feel like I have ramped up pretty well this
summer.

Thanks again for all the help from this group,
Brian

"Brian" > wrote in message
> I cooked them there for about 3 hours at 225 and moved them to smoker to
> finish for 2 more hours. They weren't the way I like my ribs, but my
> guests gobbled them up and raved about them... I suppose I am getting a
> bit snobby.

Yeah, we get that way. Once you have the real deal, noting comes close but
you were probably feeding people raised on Applebee's ribs.

Glad you had good success overall.
--
Ed
http://pages.cthome.net/edhome/

Edwin Pawlowski wrote:
> Yeah, we get that way. Once you have the real deal, noting comes close but
> you were probably feeding people raised on Applebee's ribs.

Ha! Yeah, we live in Michigan, so I constantly have to explain the
difference between barbecuing and grilling. We just don't do a lot of
barbecue up here. It isn't part of our culture.

B