Game plan for cooking for 200

[jdefran]

Our church is doing an evening deal for church in January and our bible study group is providing a meal one night.

We are going to do a taco bar consisting of pulled pork and chopped chicken (thighs). For simplicity, I am going to do 100 servings of each and assume each person will take 1 of each. There will be beans, rice, etc as well.

From my math, I'll need about 50-60 lbs of raw pork shoulder/butt and about 30 lb of chicken. Does this sound good to you guys?

Now..can my 18" WSM, 26" kettle and 22" kettle handle it? I think between WSM and larger kettle I can do all the butts. I'll time it such that they're off and resting at least 2 hours before the event so they can rest in cooler. For the chicken, I can either time it to come off the grill right before we leave home or transport kettle to church.

Any insight is appreciated! As many of you have experienced, these opportunities are exciting yet nerve wrecking. I'm grateful to provide this service and am thankful for my grill skillz 

[Chasing_smoke]

I think that sounds pretty close to the right amounts.  So far you have picked two great cuts that will heat up great.  I would get anything and everything done before you leave home.  Don't risk being too tight on time, you'll have enough stress as it is.  You could easily cook the chicken and shred it at home and hold in a couple of crock pots or even those aluminum pans.  Maybe pick up some taco seasoning and make a light sauce like you would with ground beef.  Unfortunately I don't have a Wsm so I really don't know what they can hold but 50-60lbs is what 5-7 butts and you might have to run one or two on the 22.  I would personally hold the 26 for the chicken since you'll get so much more on it each run.  You can totally cook all this meat with your setup, just don't cut it close on time.  When you cut it close that's when the weather acts up or something causes more stress than you need. 


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[chiku18]

Was talking to  @Mr.CPHo , he has offered (we all know how generous he is) to lend his 3 WSM's  (2- 18 and 1-22) for the cause in case you need extra space for this cooking.

[hawgheaven]

Sounds like you'll have plenty of meat there. I suggest getting it all done ahead of thyme, vac seal and freeze/fridge it. To reheat, drop the bags in simmering water on site. 10-15 minutes tops. Believe me, this method works grate.

[blieb]

I messaged you back... I have a 22" you can borrow.  I like the idea of ensuring early finish and a longer rest... or even reheating.  I use large metal pans from Costco.

If you're doing it at the church site I think long rest is better because everyone wants to smell that BBQ!

You can easily fit 3 butts per level on the 22" WSM.  I think folks do 4 by laying on the side.  I like space between the meat.  I'm not sure max pounds.

I cooked for a baby shower a few years ago.  Set it up for overnight ... it was nerve wracking!  I had the 22" WSM for butts and a 22" kettle for chicken.  Chicken finishes quick so I did it in batches.  With another WSM and more kettles, I'd have timed it ... Small batches were exhausting.


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[jdefran]

Thanks for encouragement fellas, I really appreciate it! Non grill people think we're crazy but I feel right at home.

@chiku18 I think @Mr.CPHo resides in Jacksonville..regardless, I greatly appreciate that offer. However, it would be quite drive.

Thankfully @blieb lives 10 min away and graciously offered to loan his 22" WSM!

I'll try my best to update this thread with photos when the time arrives..gonna recruit friends to do prep so they can share in the credit.

[Firemunkee]

Can't wait to see how this turns out. I've never used one but maybe you can make some 2nd level/hovergrill racks for the 22" and 26" for the chicken so there are less batches to do.

[jdefran]

I'm thinking of marinating the chicken in mojo and applying some type of adobe paste to pork as the binder. Anyone ever do some type of mexican themed pulled pork? I reckon I could do some type of salsa verde finishing sauce instead of the adobe paste.

[Trent]

Sounds like it is going to be a lot of fun either way. That is a lot of Pork to cook, I have cooked 8 Butts at once before and it was all my grills and WSM could take. It took about 14 hours total from meat prep to resting the Pork. It took 4 of use to pull it over about an hour.

[HoosierKettle]

Sounds like you'll have plenty of meat there. I suggest getting it all done ahead of thyme, vac seal and freeze/fridge it. To reheat, drop the bags in simmering water on site. 10-15 minutes tops. Believe me, this method works grate.

I’ve not done this on a large scale but i agree. This would be what I would do. I use this method at home and it’s fantastic.


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