BBQ menu suggestions

[dabuddha]

So I'm throwing my annual meatfest (after taking a 4 year break from it). I've got about 30 people coming over (70% adults, 30% kids roughly).

So far, I've come up with:

30lbs of smoked pork (for pulled pork sandwiches)
15lbs of chicken tikka thighs
A big salmon fillet for the non chicken/pork eaters (not sure how to cook it yet, would like a simple recipe)
hot dogs for the kids
maybe 5-10 lbs of bbq drumsticks for the kids
Corn on the cob (going to throw them on the grill inside their husk)
Yellow and Green zucchini (I slice them thick and marinate them in Italian dressing then grill them in a grill wok)

After that I'm not sure. I was thinking bags of chips and maybe some velveta + salsa mixture for a dip? Also some salad (maybe some raw veggies like broccoli/carrot sticks/celery etc). And of course, beer and wine.

Any tips/suggestions would be appreciated. I want to keep costs down if possible so nothing really extravagant

 

[AMCRambler]

I hope you've got a giant barbecue. That is ALOT of meat! Salmon is awesome with melted butter and brown sugar as a glaze.

 

[Schadenfroh]

My Standard BBQ Menu:

*BBQ Baked Beans with sausage
*Coleslaw
*Potato Salad
*Pulled Pork
*Chicken
*Cornbread (not sweet) cooked in a cast iron skillet

 

[richardycc]

I marinate my salmon with hosin sauce, top it will some lemon pepper seasoning, then grill it on a cedar plank. yum yum.

 

[Gibsons]

Lots of different recipes for salmon, I usually do a simple marinade for about an hour then grill it over low coals. (marinade: lime juice, oil, whatever seasonings and herbs I'm in the mood for.)

The important part is to not overcook it, it'll dry out and be pretty nasty.

 

[Schfifty Five]

That is waaaaay too much meat for 30 people, only of which 20 are adults. Even if the adults ate 2 pounds of meat (which is probably a huge stretch), that's still way too much meat. You should scale it back by 50%.

 

[DesiPower]

Please don't put slices of white bread with that.... I hate it. get some dinner roll or something.

 

[Numenorean]

Uhhh....RIBS??

 

[BTA]

Brisket.

Other than that, you need some quality sides like tater salad or cole slaw.

 

[mrjminer]

Can't grill without burgers. Seems like you have the rest of the bases covered, though.

And yea, that's way too much meat for 30 people.

 

[LookBehindYou]

I'd start by changing the name....not to sure how many people will show up to your "meatfest". I know i'd run, far away.

 

[vi edit]

Yeah that's an f'load of chow. Way too much unless you plan on sending home 2 pound doggie bags with everyone. Personally I'd just skip the salmon. Very easy to overcook, doesn't hold up between cooking and plating, is expensive and doesn't reheat well.

Pork shoulder, chicken wings and dogs should cover you. If people can't find something they like out of that it's their problem.

30 pounds of shoulder is a massive pile of piggy. How are you cooking?

 

[dabuddha]

Oh I shoulda mentioned, no beef I don't eat it so I won't be cooking it. I know it's a lot but I plan on freezing the excess pulled pork for when my wife is going out of town next week. Plus, with the amount of charcoal needed for smoking anyways, I tend to smoke extra meat. I had been planning on grabbing 2 of the boston butt packages from Sam's club (each ones about 15ish lbs I think)

The reason for the salmon is 2 of my guests coming are jewish and prefer salmon. I might just do 15-20 lbs of pork instead. I didn't think about chicken wings but that might be worth smoking too. I can put the pork butt on the bottom rack of my smoker and put the wings on the top rack

My equipment:
Weber performer
Weber smokey mountain cooker 18.5"

I was thinking about picking up a weber smokey joe for grilling the veggies (plus I can use it for picnics in the future too).

 

[DestinyKnight]

Hot smoke the salmon. Brine it first in a salt and brown sugar brine, then smoke it with the rest of the meats. Salmon will only need a couple of hours or so on the smoker though. Don't over cook it...dry salmon is not good eats.

Alternatively, make gravlax out of the salmon filet, serve sliced paper thin with danish rye bread, capers, diced boiled eggs, pickled onions and cream cheese, open faced sandwich style.

 

[jme5343]

OT a little bit, but do you find Sam's pork butts to be cheaper and just as tasty...or just more convenient? I've got to get the smoker fired back up this year. And you're right, you can't have too much pulled pork.

 

[vi edit]

OT a little bit, but do you find Sam's pork butts to be cheaper and just as tasty...or just more convenient? I've got to get the smoker fired back up this year. And you're right, you can't have too much pulled pork.

That's all I've ever used and never had a single complaint. And I've smoked a lot of shoulders.

 

[Fausto]

Gotta have slaw with BBQ.

 

[zinfamous]

ummm...why so fucking much meat with 30 people?

I did ~30 lbs pulled pork over the weekend for about 80 adults, and we had 1/4 left over. also had burgers (maybe 3 of them were eaten) and only a few scandalous vegetarians in attendance.

 

[dabuddha]

That's all I've ever used and never had a single complaint. And I've smoked a lot of shoulders.

Same, I've always had it turn out really good.

 

[zinfamous]

That's all I've ever used and never had a single complaint. And I've smoked a lot of shoulders.

yeah, I used the Costco shoulders this passed weekend with no complaints. well, they were boneless--whole shoulders, but boneless. That is a bit disappointing...

for about $0.40 more/lb, Safeway has individual bone-in shoulders. not a bad price.

 

[zinfamous]

Uhhh....RIBS??

honestly, I would go ribs or pulled pork--not both.
pulled pork is obviously the superior meat, but there is nothing wrong with ribs.

I would add something like brisket, though. that would be sweet.

 

[dabuddha]

Originally I was going to do ribs but figured pulled pork would be cheaper by the lb. I've added coleslaw to the menu

 

[moshquerade]

I hope you've got a giant barbecue. That is ALOT of meat! Salmon is awesome with melted butter and brown sugar as a glaze.

Yes, either he has a few grills going or an industrial size one for all that meat.

grilled salmon is absolutely awesome. i will be over.

anyone ever heard of salt potatoes? they are standard fair at our bbqs.

 

[vi edit]

The nice thing about pork shoulders is that you can start them the day before and pull them off the morning of the BBQ, foil them up, and toss 'em in a cooler for another 3-5 hours before you go to pull them. They'll actually end up even more tender that way too. Then you have the smoker free the rest of the day for more food to cook.

 

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