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Large cook advice
Posted: 26 Jul 2013, 10:59
by YetiDave
Alright dudes! Right, what was going to be a small BBQ affair on Sunday has rapidly escalated into something much bigger (likely because of all the photos of BBQ I keep sticking on Facebook) and I'm now gonna be cooking for around 13 people, maybe more. I was going to do brisket but for this scale I'm gonna stick with pulled pork as it's much harder to bugger it up

question is, how much to cook? Times and temps I'm not too worried about as I'll be starting around 4am and aiming to get everything ready a couple of hours in advance. I was thinking of aiming for 1kg per person with a couple of kilos for the pot at a 50/60% yield after the cook. Any thoughts? I'm damned glad I bought this Excel now!
Re: Large cook advice
Posted: 26 Jul 2013, 11:05
by keith157
1Kg pp pp (pulled pork per person

) seems to me to be a heck of a lot, depending on what else you are providing. A recent post recommended 1/4 Lb or so for a roll. I'd double that, but then I usually do ribs, sausages and wings as well as potato salads, salsa etc.
Re: Large cook advice
Posted: 26 Jul 2013, 11:07
by gunman
1KG per person???
I may have under estimated the amount I'm gonna need as I have 9 adults and 4 kids tomorrow and am putting a 3kg shoulder on for them
Of course, I also have ribs, pork belly and a couple of chickens.
Re: Large cook advice
Posted: 26 Jul 2013, 11:09
by YetiDave
I think we have a new acronym

I meant uncooked weight there, so it'd end up at 500ish grams PPPP. Sadly our kitchen is tiny so I'm not sure how many sides we'll be able to whip up without running out of room... I might ditch those extra kilos for the pot though if 1/4lb per sandwich is about right
Re: Large cook advice
Posted: 26 Jul 2013, 11:10
by YetiDave
gunman wrote:1KG per person???
I may have under estimated the amount I'm gonna need as I have 9 adults and 4 kids tomorrow and am putting a 3kg shoulder on for them
Of course, I also have ribs, pork belly and a couple of chickens.
With all that extra stuff you should be fine

Re: Large cook advice
Posted: 26 Jul 2013, 11:16
by stretchie_
I've cooked for that many, they were willing test subjects, I did about 4 kg shoulder, a rolled brisket (not for slicing) and a couple racks of ribs.
The rolled brisket gets chopped into chunks and then chopped further into fine-ish pieces. We like to get the griddle (or a pan) on, get some pulled pork, or brisket or better yet BOTH on the griddle/pan to pour a little water in the middle of it then cover it with a pan lid for a short while then a bunch of grated cheese on top, a little more water and recover the cheese melts really well that way much better than with no water, then it goes in a bun and instantly disappears when it gets under their mouth. A little thick sweet BBQ sauce and some Franks hot sauce goes well with it
Re: Large cook advice
Posted: 26 Jul 2013, 11:18
by YetiDave
I like that griddle idea, very MVF

I'll have to grab some brisket if one of my friends is coming over, he grew up in a Muslim household and ditched everything except the not eating pork part

we'll get him on bacon, eventually..
Re: Large cook advice
Posted: 26 Jul 2013, 12:32
by keith157
YetiDave wrote:I like that griddle idea, very MVF

I'll have to grab some brisket if one of my friends is coming over, he grew up in a Muslim household and ditched everything except the not eating pork part

we'll get him on bacon, eventually..
Just keep tempting him with the smell, he'll probably come around to asking for some

. Please don't just slip a bit into his beef (not sure that comes across okay).
Re: Large cook advice
Posted: 27 Jul 2013, 13:17
by YetiDave
Well, I might've got a bit carried away... 8.2kg of pork shoulder and 2.3kg of bone in brisket for 14 people. And only £34! I love my butcher

if I can get 5-6kg cooked weight I'll be happy
Re: Large cook advice
Posted: 28 Jul 2013, 08:58
by YetiDave
Well of there's one thing I've learned so far it's that getting the Excel up to temp with around 11kg of meat in it is quite a challenge!