Ideas on feeding 100 people? (graduation party)

[jpowell]

So my 1st smoke is under my belt ... literally and figuratively lol!  See http://smokinitforums.com/index.php?topic=4947.0
Part of "convincing" my wife we needed a smoker (3D) was that I could use it for our kids upcoming graduation party vs catering.
She liked the results of the 1st smoke, so now we're moving to phase 2 ... how/what to smoke to feed about 100 people ... and yes, I'll do several more smokes before tackling the job.
Wondering how many 9-10lb butts I could fit in the 3D at the same time (4 seems like an easy fit) and how many people it might feed?
Thinking maybe pulled pork tacos would help stretch the meat out and be easy/cheap?
A buddy suggested doing 1/2 brisket packers 1/2 port butt?
Easy side options?  I like the idea of smoked mac-n-cheese, but haven't tried that yet.
Corn on the cob was another easy idea my wife suggested...maybe just boiled vs smoked.
Oh and some watermelon.
Please comment/suggest away!  Need ideas and recommendations.  Party is May 29th so have some time to plan and experiment.
Thanks!
Jason

 

[old sarge]

Pretty ambitious. I' m thinking you should have gone for the model 4. Seriously though, if you have a vacuum sealer you are set. Smoke and freeze. For the butts I would pull then freeze and for brisket slice and freeze. When reheating add a liquid of your choice to the meat to help keep it moist. My first butt  @ 8 lbs was used for sandwiches and with all the extras it fed 12 and we had some left overs. Good luck.

 

[Libohunden]

Easy.  Smoke 4 large pork butts for pulled pork sandwiches. If you start with roughly 45 lbs of meat and pull it, put it on buns, serve with beans, slaw and whatever else you may like, you will be able to feed a least 100 people. I've done it before and people were quite happy.

 

[tstaires]

Tacos would be pretty easy, and you may get away with having to smoke a little less meat. You can count on yielding about 50-60% of the purchase weight, and the normal portion for a sandwich for something like this would be about 1/4lb per person. I'm thinking tacos would actually be a little less per person.

Pulled pork would be easy, and you could most likely do it in 1 smoke. You could also do pulled beef by smoking a few chuck roasts. You could still do both of these in 1 smoke. You can decide if you want to make this happen the day of, or if you want to cook ahead and reheat for service. If you didn't want to do 2 smoked types of smoked meat then grill up some chicken thighs or ground beef is cheap and easy as well. Then just buy big portions of cheese, lettuce, sour cream, and salsa and you're off to the races. For a side, you can do queso and chips or you can do rice and beans. Rice and beans would also give you a veggie option for those nonmeat eaters. 

Just a few thoughts.

 

[kz0m]

So my 1st smoke is under my belt ... literally and figuratively lol!  See http://smokinitforums.com/index.php?topic=4947.0
Part of "convincing" my wife we needed a smoker (3D) was that I could use it for our kids upcoming graduation party vs catering.
She liked the results of the 1st smoke, so now we're moving to phase 2 ... how/what to smoke to feed about 100 people ... and yes, I'll do several more smokes before tackling the job.
Wondering how many 9-10lb butts I could fit in the 3D at the same time (4 seems like an easy fit) and how many people it might feed?
Thinking maybe pulled pork tacos would help stretch the meat out and be easy/cheap?
A buddy suggested doing 1/2 brisket packers 1/2 port butt?
Easy side options?  I like the idea of smoked mac-n-cheese, but haven't tried that yet.
Corn on the cob was another easy idea my wife suggested...maybe just boiled vs smoked.
Oh and some watermelon.
Please comment/suggest away!  Need ideas and recommendations.  Party is May 29th so have some time to plan and experiment.
Thanks!
Jason

3D will easily handle 40+ pounds of butts, that's what I would do also, here's a picture with 3 of the 4 butts I smoked all at one time a few months ago. I'd do pulled pork, buns, beans, slaw, potato salad or chips and good ole creamed corn, alway a hit, plenty of sweet ice tea and regular tea for the figure watchers, at that age, go figure and canned non-alcoholic drinks ;>)  I like David's idea too, smoke and freeze in vacuum sealed if you have it bags.  We did that over Easter and put the thawed pork into a crock pot with KC Masterpiece and turned it on high for a few hours and then low to keep it warm, worked great. Do it buffet style, two lines and a couple of tables, feeds kids fast and less work for you guys too!  Those kids will remember that party for a long time!!

 

[NDKoze]

I would think 4 Boston Butts would easily feed 100 people especially if you do tacos.

I would run your temps at 240-250 if you do four butts and you may need to rotate the bottom shelved butts to the top 1/2-2/3 the way in to ensure that they all get done at roughly the same time. The bottom butts will cook faster.

 

[NDKoze]

And for me, I would keep is simple and just go with the pork butts and leave the brisket for another get together.

 

[jpowell]

Thanks for all the great input!
4 butts it shall be
How much apple juice are people putting on the meat when it's in the crockpot keeping warm?

 

[DivotMaker]

Thanks for all the great input!
4 butts it shall be
How much apple juice are people putting on the meat when it's in the crockpot keeping warm?

You don't put the apple juice on the meat.  Just pour about 1/4 - 3/8" in the bottom of the pot, to add moisture and keep the bottom from burning.

 

[jpowell]

Now that I've done a brined pork loin, y'all got me pondering maybe brining 2 of these 4 butts for taste comparison
My smokinlicious box just arrived so now to decide which wood to use as well (hickory, cherry, sugar maple).

 

[Libohunden]

You can't go wrong with hickory on a pork butt or brisket!

 

[NDKoze]

Hickory is pretty much good on anything and if I had to only choose one wood, it would be hickory. But for butts, I love a combination of 50/50 Hickory and Cherry. The two woods pair together wonderfully.

 

[jpowell]

OK, grad party is this Sunday 1pm ... here's my game plan...
(4) 9-10lb butts
I want to do something different for each butt and have each in their own crockpot with labels for folks to taste test 4 diff flavors and hopefully vote on their fav
Weather isn't looking so great for the party Sunday so not idea how many will actually swing by = more leftovers for me lol.

* butt #1 will be with Bad Byron's Butt Rub
* butt #2 will be a Cherry Dr. Pepper injection recipe I found recently (http://www.smoking-meat.com/february-4-2016-cherry-dr-pepper-pulled-pork-for-super-bowl)
* butt #3 will be brined with DivotMaker's solution then Bad Byron's rub
* butt #4 will be brined with DM's solution then Jeff's rub (smoking-meat.com) ... assuming I can actually get 2 butts in brine in the fridge.

I need a backup option for butt #4 if I can't brine it ... maybe another injection recipe???

* Planning a 6oz 50/50 hickory/cherry mix (just got my box from smokinlicious) with a box temp of 235-240.

I have borrowed a buddy's 2 prob Maverick so I'll have enough IT temp probes for all 4 butts.  Guessing the finish times on the 4 butts will be all over the place.

* I'll toss all 4 in the 3D Friday night at midnight so they'll finish mid-day Sat.  I'll set an alarm for 6am to check on them and possibly rotate them top to bottom.
Start with the brined butts on the top rack since they'll finish quicker?  I'm also thinking of pulling all of them early and foiling then placing back in the smoker.  I think I read people pull at 160 IT to foil and return to smoker? (note to self to verify this).

* Shooting for internal temp of 200, then double foiling and tossing in a cooler for a 2hr rest.

* After 2 hrs, pulling 'em apart and put in fridge in ziplock bags overnight.

* Sunday at 11am(??) pull from fridge and place in crockpots on low with 1/2" of apple juice in bottom.  Do I need to run them on high for a while before dropping down to low?

* 1pm - eat!

OK ... so what do folks think of this plan?  I'm still a newbie so fire away
I know it'd be easier to just do all 4 butts the same, but I really like the idea of having several diff flavors to try side-by-side. 

 

[Libohunden]

Sounds like a lot of work to keep track of which but was prepared which way.  But I think you'll do great any way you go.

I would pull at 195 and wrap them up. Remember, with that much meat it will probably take longer. Just depends.  Last week I did 45lbs of pork butt and it only took 15 hours.  However, It's taken me as long as 20 hours to do the same amount. Make sure you leave plenty of time. If you have a yeti type cooler, they will stay warm much longer. I had a funeral to go to last week before my event.  I pulled mine at 11am triple wrapped them, threw them in my RTIC cooler put in the back of my truck and at 5:30pm they were still piping hot when they were pulled and sumarily devoured by a very large group of very satisfied friends.

Also, when I'm cooking for that many people, I don't worry about brining them. Too much of a hassle.

 

[old sarge]

Looks solid to me.

 

[jpowell]

Also, when I'm cooking for that many people, I don't worry about brining them. Too much of a hassle.

Well, I considered that. Then learned that several people want to come sample my work to see exactly how good it is.  #gulp
Figured I'd go all in and do my best to impress. 

Warming thoughts?

 

[DivotMaker]

Looks like an epic smoke, Jason!!  Save yourself some time, though, and pull those butts out at 190 to wrap/rest.  When you go to 200, the carryover cooking takes them about 5° higher, and will dry them more.  The meat also risks getting more "mushy" at 200.  190 yields really good pulled pork!

You know my thoughts on brining.... I'd brine 'em all!

 

[jpowell]

Looks like an epic smoke, Jason!!  Save yourself some time, though, and pull those butts out at 190 to wrap/rest.  When you go to 200, the carryover cooking takes them about 5° higher, and will dry them more.  The meat also risks getting more "mushy" at 200.  190 yields really good pulled pork!

The last butt I pulled at 190F had really firm the meat around the bone area for some reason. It didn't fall apart like the rest of the chunk?  I assumed it just didn't cook long enough even with the 4hr foil-n-rest it had. I'll shoot for 190 again and see what happens.  Thanks!

 

[Greenenvey]

Also, when I'm cooking for that many people, I don't worry about brining them. Too much of a hassle.

Well, I considered that. Then learned that several people want to come sample my work to see exactly how good it is.  #gulp
Figured I'd go all in and do my best to impress. 

Warming thoughts?

I don't have any advice on because  I'm still waiting  to receive  my 3D , but I like the part about  you going all in and doing  your best. That's exactly  what I would do. Have fun with this endeavor 

 

[DivotMaker]

Looks like an epic smoke, Jason!!  Save yourself some time, though, and pull those butts out at 190 to wrap/rest.  When you go to 200, the carryover cooking takes them about 5° higher, and will dry them more.  The meat also risks getting more "mushy" at 200.  190 yields really good pulled pork!

The last butt I pulled at 190F had really firm the meat around the bone area for some reason. It didn't fall apart like the rest of the chunk?  I assumed it just didn't cook long enough even with the 4hr foil-n-rest it had. I'll shoot for 190 again and see what happens.  Thanks!

Play with it - find what works best for you!  Maybe try 195, and see if it works better.  I just have found 200 to be way too dry.