 
        THEBBQDUDE@aol.com
                                                                 
In a message dated 6/19/01 3:26:38 PM Mountain Daylight Time, 
waterbrook@email.msn.com writes:

<< OK, I really need some advice here.  I have been lurking and learning for
 the last year or so.  Somehow or another I got "volunteered" to cook and
 serve dinner on the fourth.  Planning on doing a pulled pork or chopped
beef
 sandwich, beans, potato salad and a pop for $5.  Doing the pulled pork and
 chopped beef so I can cook ahead of time and just reheat that day.
 
 My problem is that I have never done anything like this before.  The local
 fire department has always done a turkey feed that day and usually served
 700-900 people.  They have decided not to do it this year so the firemen
can
 participate in the activities with their families.  I have cooked for
family
 gatherings of 15-20 people, but never anything on this scale.  I have a
 homemade pit that was a 250 gallon propane tank at one point in it's life,
 but now it is an offset cooker that runs on straight oak.  I need advice on
 what to do and not to do.  Also any advice on portion size and planning so
I
 don't run out 1/2 way through the day.  I'm new to this end of bbqing, so
 any advice would be helpful.
 
 I own a small locker plant so I have access to coolers and space to store
 the food and keep it cold.  I have gotten approval from the city and state
 to set up a stand and sell.  I have product insurance in case someone gets
 sick.  Any bases I am not covering? >>

Howdy Corey!
    The best advice that I could give you is to find somebody with the 
experience to head this up with you.  Feeding 900 folks makes for a lot of 
food and is quite an undertaking and one that could go bad in a heart beat.
    I just ran some quick approximate numbers and here is what I came up 
with...

If you serve them 3 oz. servings of chopped beef on a bun, specifically 
brisket, you're looking at buying and cooking 540 pounds of raw meat.
540/10 
lb avg.=54 briskets.  If you mix in a thick sauce you'll increase your yield
by about 15%

If you serve 3 oz. servings of pulled pork on a bun, using bone in butts, 
you're looking at buying and cooking 378 pounds of meat.  378/9 lb avg.=42 
butts.  If you mix in a thick sauce you'll increase your yield by about 15%.

4 oz. servings of potato salad X 900=31.5 gallons, or, apprx. 8 full sized 
restaurant pans.  (If you can buy it pre-made, you're ahead of the game.  
Cuts way back on time.)

4 oz. servings of beans X 900=36 #10 cans, or, apprx. 8 full sized
restaurant 
pans.  (Buy them by the can and then doctor them up to taste.  Big time 
saver.)

7 gallons of sauce, apprx.

113 packages of buns @ 8 per.

Sell the soda on the side and serve iced tea and lemonade with the meal.  
Your money will stretch much farther...  Also, your local fast food 
restaurants such as Mickey D's and Burger King will often have loaner
thermal 
beverage dispensers that they make available to non profits and regular 
customers for large gatherings.  Check it out.

Paper plates & plastic utensils -- Napkins -- Chaffing Pans -- Dry Rub -- 
Serving tables -- Serving utensils -- Aluminum Foil -- Disposable Aluminum 
Pans -- Trash cans & liners -- Wood for fuel -- People to serve - People to 
clean up -- People to help prep -- People -- And more People -- etc.

You're best bet is to have somebody head up preselling food tickets so that 
you have some idea as to how many you need to feed in advance.  And to feed 
that many people, you're going to need to order your provisions as far in 
advance as possible.  Especially if you have to buy frozen meat!  Only buy
it 
non-frozen if you can at all help it!  

Also, go down to your local Sam's Club, or whatever you have in your area, 
and pick up a package of the full sized aluminum foil pans and see how many 
you can fit into your smoker at one time.  I think that they come in
packages 
of 10 or 11?  Any way, line them up in your smoker and then start figuring 
out how much food you can keep warm in there.  Keeping in mind that you're 
going to get about 25 lbs of cooked meat per pan. And don't forget about all
of the beans that you're going to need to keep warm as well.  If your smoker
will not handle the load, then, you need to start looking for other means to
keep your food warm.  I suggest lining up other smokers, or, renting
proofing 
boxes from your local restaurant supply rental place and use cans of Sterno 
to keep everything warm.  This is no small task that you're trying to do 
here.  Be prepared.  In fact, be over prepared!  <G><
    Also, if this is supposed to be a dinner of "thanks" to your local fire 
dept., why not use that to your advantage and solicit as much as you can in 
donated materials, i.e., food, utensils, rentals, etc.  At the very least, 
ask for a discount when purchasing everything.  The worst that they can do
is 
to say "no."  However, if they do help you out, be sure to thank them loudly
and publicly.  <G><  All of it makes your buck go further...

While this doesn't answer all of your questions, it should at least give you
cause to think of even more... <G><

Let us know how things turn out.

Good luck!

Rock



