Wedding Rehearsal Dinner

gadgetman53 · Dec 7, 2012

I will be smoking meat this weekend to freeze to help my parents out in preparing for my wedding rehearsal dinner (2 weeks from today). We're planning on around 30 people. I would rather have more food than not enough. My mom will do side dishes, but I will be in charge of the meet.

I was thinking pulled BBQ pork and smoked chicken. Assuming more people would eat the pork than the chicken, is my estimate of two 7-8 lb Boston butts and 2-3 chickens good?

Thanks,
Gadgetman53

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diesel · Dec 7, 2012

I usually estimate 10 people per butt. Are you doing whole chickens? I usually spatchcock them so I can separate into quarters easier.

You are probably good with the amount of food you have. If you freeze the meat make sure to save some of the juice from the pork. If you put it in a container and then set it in the fridge the fat will separate. After a few hours it should turn into a jell. I then spoon it over the meat when I heat it back up.. Makes it really juicy and good.

Hope this helps.

Aaron

gadgetman53 · Dec 7, 2012

Diesel said:
I usually estimate 10 people per butt. Are you doing whole chickens? I usually spatchcock them so I can separate into quarters easier.

You are probably good with the amount of food you have. If you freeze the meat make sure to save some of the juice from the pork. If you put it in a container and then set it in the fridge the fat will separate. After a few hours it should turn into a jell. I then spoon it over the meat when I heat it back up.. Makes it really juicy and good.

Hope this helps.

Aaron

Thanks for the tips! That actually helps quite a bit! Thanks!

I will do my best to save the juices from the pork and do that. Would you recommend pulling and wrapping in aluminum foil and in gallon ziplocs for freezing?

Thanks,
Gadgetman53

diesel · Dec 7, 2012

If you pull the meat now it will save time. Just think, if you freeze it whole then you have to reheat and pull which can take an hour or two depending on how you reheat.

By saving the juice you have a way to keep that meat from getting dry when you re-heat.

Do you have vacuum seal? That is the bast way to freeze. If not then the ziplock bags will work great.

You said that it will only be 2 weeks so Freezer burn shouldn't be too much of an issue. If I know it will be that short of a time I will pull the meat and put it in a aluminum chafing dish example below. Cover with saran wrap. Push the saran wrap down on the meat then cover the pan with aluminum foil. Oh ya.. and a few tablespoons of that "ah jus" on top before you freeze. Pull that pan out of the freezer and into the oven and you wont know if it was cooked last night or last week. The smoke smell will fill the house.

good luck.. I hope that I explained myself well.. Please feel free to ask more questions if need be.

Aluminum chafing dish:

http://www.partycity.com/product/al...?sortby=ourPicks&pp=60&size=all&navSet=176204

gadgetman53 · Dec 7, 2012

I don't have a vacuum sealer. I will eventually.

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diesel · Dec 8, 2012

You will be fine without vacuum sealing. Two weeks frozen shouldn't be bad.

Aaron.

gadgetman53 · Dec 9, 2012

Had to post some q-view:

1st butt pulled:

2nd one:

2nd Pulled:

Chickens:

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diesel · Dec 9, 2012

Beautiful job. You will have some good eating coming your way.

Aaron.

jp1979 · Dec 12, 2012

Diesel said:
If you pull the meat now it will save time. Just think, if you freeze it whole then you have to reheat and pull which can take an hour or two depending on how you reheat.

By saving the juice you have a way to keep that meat from getting dry when you re-heat.

Do you have vacuum seal? That is the bast way to freeze. If not then the ziplock bags will work great.

You said that it will only be 2 weeks so Freezer burn shouldn't be too much of an issue. If I know it will be that short of a time I will pull the meat and put it in a aluminum chafing dish example below. Cover with saran wrap. Push the saran wrap down on the meat then cover the pan with aluminum foil. Oh ya.. and a few tablespoons of that "ah jus" on top before you freeze. Pull that pan out of the freezer and into the oven and you wont know if it was cooked last night or last week. The smoke smell will fill the house.

good luck.. I hope that I explained myself well.. Please feel free to ask more questions if need be.

Aluminum chafing dish:

http://www.partycity.com/product/al...?sortby=ourPicks&pp=60&size=all&navSet=176204

so you go straight from freezer to oven? what temp and how long?

i have a vacuum sealer and i normally thaw out the bag in the fridge for a day then simmer in a pot of water, but i still end up with some meat that is in the middle of the bag that is cold.

gadgetman53 · Dec 12, 2012

For us. We are going to have it all in a cooler on the way to wedding location (6 hrs away). Hopefully it will have thawed a decent amount by then so we can let it sit in fridge overnight and then heat in oven right before rehearsal dinner.

My mom didn't think all I cooked would be enough so she had me smoke a turkey too. I brined the 14 lb bird last night and smoked it tonight.

I didn't take a picture before foiling it. The top was finished in oven to harden up the skin. The bottom part didn't look great, but I qa'd some of it and it was delicious!

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diesel · Dec 14, 2012

so you go straight from freezer to oven? what temp and how long?

i have a vacuum sealer and i normally thaw out the bag in the fridge for a day then simmer in a pot of water, but i still end up with some meat that is in the middle of the bag that is cold.

If it is in the vacuum bag I will let it thaw out. If I plan to serve the meat at a party. Keep in mind I only freeze the meat if I don't have time to cook directly before the party. But, if I freeze it I usually pull it in a pan like above. Then press a sheet of plastic wrap over the meat and then foil over that. You can go right to the oven with it with no problem. Also, I found that adding a couple of table spoons of the Au jous to the meat before covering and freezing will help keep it moist during reheating.

Aaron.

Oh ya.. I have added a cup of coffee to the meat before and it was really good also.

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