UKH

Ok, so I might know something about climbing, something about my work, but one thing I have no clue about is food and catering for many people! So I appeal to the great knowledge off ukc...

To celebrate my Phd I am having a bbq party and it looks like there might 50 people coming or so. How much meat should I buy and what. How many salads etc do I need to make?
Help!!! any other tips gratefully relieved! And I only have one bbq at the mo which seems like a bad idea, no?

In reply to Heike:

You could make a start with x50 sausages/burgers, and then encourage people to bring extras.

Don't forget the herbivores - halloumi is pretty tasty grilled

In reply to Heike:

Mixture of burgers, sausages and chickens?

You could buy a few chickens and chop them up.

Each chicken, depending on size will give you at least 4 portions which you could marinade in various spices and marinades. They could be cooked direct on BBQ or wrapped in tin-foil to keep them moist.

Sausages and burgers speak for themselves. You could suggest that if people want specialist stuff that they bring their own morsels to shove on the barbi.

I d guess that 2kg of dried pasta would be more than enough if cooked up and made into various types of dishes.

You may want a couple of BBQ's and a shed load of alcohol.

In reply to Heike:

Suggestion: don't try and BBQ for 50 people - it will be a nightmare - and may well pi55down to add insult to injury. Do a buffet, you can get it organised early, folks can bring something to add to the table, and you can always take it indoors!


Chris

In reply to nufkin:

Yeah, there is quite a few of them, I think! Skewers with halloumi and veggies?

What about sides? Bread, salad, ...??? And how much? My Hubbie is a total carnivore and he says ' meat and sausages that's fine', but that's not my idea of a nice party meal....

In reply to Chris Craggs:
NIce idea, Chris, but our house it quite small, I was banking on nice weather ( I know, I am an optimist as I live in Scotland) So, a buffet might be another idea (it crossed my mind), how much food would be required, how many dishes. If I'd make four huge salads, get cripss and nuts, sausage rolls, etc to bake in the oven, garlic bread and I had a few offers for puddings etc. already. Would that do?
Heike

In reply to The Lemming:

Great, thanks, whole chickens, that's a good idea, much cheaper if chopped up. I need to borrow some BBQs! Ok, I can make a mean pasta salad that should hopefully be alright. Another problem, huge bowls? Need to ask the neighbours....

In reply to Heike:

General tip for cooking for large numbers of people - be fairly ruthless about not doing anything complicated and taking any shortcuts that you can. Something that's marginally faffy when you do it for half a dozen people will take forever when you scale it up to 50 or so.

So for instance, buy in a load of sausages and burgers rather than spending all day chopping up meat and veg and threading 100 individual kebabs. If you want to do a salad, keep it simple - just a couple of things that are easy to prepare. Buy in crisps and dips and stuff.

In reply to Heike:

If you have a big space to BBQ and can afford it, buy a whole salmon. Dress it a little with lemon/butter/your choice of herbs to taste (plenty of recipes online), wrap it in foil and BBQ it. Preparation is minimal and it will feed loads of people. You could also bake it in the oven if you want space on the BBQ for other things.

I would also do loads of baked potatoes (again, can be done on the BBQ or in the oven, whichever is easiest). Provide sides like baked beans or coleslaw as well.

Veg are also good because they cook quick so you can get loads done. I like corn on the cob, big mushrooms (brush them with olive oil) and skewers with tomato, pepper and red onion chunks and halloumi on them.

I have always found that most people bring a packet of sausages or burgers to a BBQ, even if you don't ask them to, so I wouldn't worry too much about running out of meat.

In reply to Heike:

Salads (leafy or something like beef tomatoes and mozzarella drizzled with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. You could do cous cous style salads for something a bit more bulky.

In terms of size: I'd say for leafy salads, you probably want 2-3 big bowls ((this salad is probably the last thing to go; and you can always reuse it later). For cous cous, 2 big bowls (you can add flavours to it such as lemon, raisons, spices). Beef tomato and mozzarella platters, something like 12-15 tomatoes and an equivalent weight in cheese

veggie sticks (Id aim for 5-10 sticks of vegetables per person) with dips, bread/pitta (5 French sticks or equivalent) all good for nibbling on.

You could always also cook fish on the barbeque. Salmon might be a good choice, probably best to ask the fishmonger how much you'd need. Same with meat, ask your butcher.

Basically, easy stuff you can prepare before, so you can do the mingling thing.

I defo second the idea of getting people to bring something to add to the table and a buffet will always make your life easier.

In reply to Heike:

The biggest problem with a BBQ is that someone has to tend to it, fine cooking for a small number but for a huge group could be a bit of a long toil!

Re the buffet - organise for 2 and then x by 25


Chris

Get everyone to chip in £10 and get a hog roast delivered in the morning. By evening it will be ready to eat.

In reply to lynda:

thanks lynda and kathryn, all good tips! I really want to have a nice day without too much stress. Thing is I am away climbing the weekend before (it's a Monday) and then it's a kids birthday party from 3.30-5.30 and then a BBQ for my graduation from 6 onwards. Seemed like good idea, but hey I just need to simplify. Would just like a great party!

In reply to Chris Craggs:

Ok, Chris, I think, I can totally see your point! Seeing that I have promised a bbq I might just get a few things for that and prepare some buffet dishes. Good compromise.

In reply to Heike:

I enjoy putting a load of effort into cooking for a small number, and have done some big (effort) meals for groups up to 20. However, a bbq has a lot of variability and for 50 the above replies are right that you need ruthless simplicity.

Hog roast is an amazing call, buffet is good, but if you want to still go for a bbq (it's just fun isn't it?) then I've done it really easily and simply. Buy burgers, just burgers, and get fairly thin ones. They all cook fast and at the same rate and beef isn't as bad as some other meats if underdone. This means you can start grilling as soon as they're is heat, as you can probably cook them before they burn. Find someone who likes tessellation problems... I'd get 100+ burgers but I hate under catering. Big buns and then spend what you like on interesting things sauce (ketchup, mayo, mustard, mango chutney), cheese (cheddar, blue cheese, anything a bit different), gherkins, slice up tomato - look at a GBK menu for inspiration. Get some bags of pre-prep'ed salad. Bulk it out with some boiled new potateos with butter, or turn it into a big chunky potato salad (onion and celery diced up adds some flavour, can mix mayo and plain yoghurt if you don't like just mayo). Garlic bread done in the oven is a good filler. Crisps and dip, etc etc.

I've never had to worry too hard about veggies; have done big burger sized mushrooms with a bit of garlic butter on them. Everyone loves haloumi too.

You can almost certainly deputise the bbq to someone (someone is always keen) and rotate it round a bit. If not, once you get a heat on the burgers will fly off fairly fast and once you get a rhythm going you don't have to watch over it all the time.

Marshmallows are good done over the coals if you're going late into the evening.

Hungry now...

In reply to Heike:


I recon 1Kg of rice cooked into various dishes will go well with some pasta dishes too.

Burger and buns can get a little boring.

Also just nominate a bloke or two to cooking duties. You may not have to because they may be cuing up for the job.

In reply to Pete Dangerous:


This is a good idea but not that expensive....

A whole pig is less than £200 and you can hire a BBQ to cook it on for £100.

I wouldn't bother though....as others have said get loads of burgers, bags of salad, chips and dips etc

In reply to Heike:

I think you can pre-boil some stuff like chicken, sausages and ribs. Then just finish on the BBQ to give it that sought-after burnt flavour. Makes it easier to respond quickly to demand and reduces food poisoning.

Big joints of lamb are good. People can then hack at it themselves and put into pitta bread.

In reply to nufkin:


I find really tough as a veggie to eat a bbq, chesse and veg are cooked on the same bars as meat

In reply to Turdus torquatus:

that gives me an idea...
http://www.barbecue.uk.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/bigstock-Turkish-Done...


In reply to goldmember:

just take along a square of tin foil and cook on that.

In reply to goldmember:

I know, I thought to have an extra throwaway one for the veggies as not to cause any offense!

In reply to The Lemming:

Alright, you think they might be dying to do the BBQ hot guy job? Nice one, will try and sell it that way!

In reply to Oo:

Thank you! Good tips! I need to get some big bbqs now.too, I only have my one pathetic one!
Just pray for nice weather...

In reply to Heike:
Baby tatties wrapped in foil with butter/olive oil, grated lemon rind and seasoning for some yummy carbs.