HELP!!!! Catering My Own Wedding this Weekend

[alelover]

Congratulations and Good Luck.

 

[motochef]

So are you busy Saturday???? 

Would it be possible to heat some of the meat by simmering up to an hour ahead of time and put the bags together in a cooler?  Would it be better to just go ahead and put them in chafing dishes on sterno?  How long before the meat starts to dry out in one of those dishes?

Yes! I'll do ya one better! Get your bags heated up and fill a good cooler (like a Max Cold) with hot water at about 150deg and float the bags in it. This should hold it for hours. Chef Jeff Blank  of Hudson on the Bend in Austin uses this method with Beef and game filet. He cooks the product to 125 deg INT and then fills his coolers with 145 deg oil. He then submerges the filets and they hold them for hours. This works for him because some of his events are out in the middle of nowhere like a ranch and at time of service they pull the meat blot off the oil, slice and serve. The oil will not go into the meat because oil and water don't mix. If you set up your chafers with a water pan under the food pan you can keep the meat hot for about 3 hours max. Keep a squirt bottle with a mix of water and bbq sauce or seasoning to wet the pork down if it looks dry and keep check on the water pan so that it doesn't boil dry.

Let me know how it comes out!

CHEERS!

 

[meateater]

You might want to have some burgers and dogs for the kiddies as a back up. 

 

[motochef]

You might want to have some burgers and dogs for the kiddies as a back up. 

Great idea! Get a buddy to man a grill and I do dirty water dogs.

 

[scarbelly]

Yup 

I was thinking you were way under on food per person but I dont know what the sides are 

 

[mountaineer79]

I think I'm going to use the cooler method proposed by MotoChef.  I'm also going to cook 4 more chix today and a couple small pork shoulders tomorrow.  Thanks for all the advice!  Like I said, I should've gotten on here when I started planning this months ago.  I feel a lot more comfortable about the meat situation.  We've got quite a lot of sides and appetizers munchies, so hopefully the extra chix and shoulders will be enough.

 

[scarbelly]

So are you busy Saturday???? 

Would it be possible to heat some of the meat by simmering up to an hour ahead of time and put the bags together in a cooler?  Would it be better to just go ahead and put them in chafing dishes on sterno?  How long before the meat starts to dry out in one of those dishes?

As a mater of fact I am doing something similarly insane Saturday. I am catering my 65th birthday party at my house.  Nothing crazy just appetizers for 35 or so.  The insane part is I am working all week and will not get home until 3 Saturday to start cooking

Like Motochef said - DON'T SKIMP ON THE FOOD SAFETY! Get it to 160 and hold at 140.  Use large pots of hot water and move the food just before you serve. Good luck.  Send me a PM and I will give you my cell # in case you need to chat

 

[motochef]

I think I'm going to use the cooler method proposed by MotoChef.  I'm also going to cook 4 more chix today and a couple small pork shoulders tomorrow.  Thanks for all the advice!  Like I said, I should've gotten on here when I started planning this months ago.  I feel a lot more comfortable about the meat situation.  We've got quite a lot of sides and appetizers munchies, so hopefully the extra chix and shoulders will be enough.

Its only knowledge.. and don't sweat it! It is what it is. When everyone has gone through the line once and you have food left over you're good. Be sure to set up your salads first and the meats last in the line. Let them fill their plates up with salads/sides first!   If you have something like burgers/ dirty water dog  for backup you're good. 

< I call this Anthony! 

 

[SmokinAl]

Catering your own wedding! WOW, you got your work cut out for yourself. Good luck & Congratulations!

 

[justpassingthru]

Mountain,

Congrats to you and your bride on the marriage, sounds like you two are off to a good start if she's ok with you doing this on her special day!

Looks like you have some good advice and I'm sure you will have plenty of help from the guests.

Now, I just have to ask Moto, ...what's a dirty water dog, ...you can't imagine the thoughts going through my mind.

Gene

 

[motochef]

Mountain,

Congrats to you and your bride on the marriage, sounds like you two are off to a good start if she's ok with you doing this on her special day!

Looks like you have some good advice and I'm sure you will have plenty of help from the guests.

Now, I just have to ask Moto, ...what's a dirty water dog, ...you can't imagine the thoughts going through my mind.

Gene

Chicago thing! Vienna Beef Hot Dogs simmering in just enough water to cover. All hotdogs here are done that way because grilling dries them out.  The water gets cloudy hence "dirty water" some places add a dash of garlic powder to the water for another layer of flavor. Great at a party because you can keep a pan of them on the grill and there always hot & ready to serve and if you have someone that wants it grilled it only needs a few moments on the grill and done.

 

[justpassingthru]

Thanks for the explanation, I've nuked 'em, grilled 'em, fried 'em, ...I'll give the garlic water a try and finish 'em on the grill.

Gene

 

[arnie]

                  

 

[motochef]

Thanks for the explanation, I've nuked 'em, grilled 'em, fried 'em, ...I'll give the garlic water a try and finish 'em on the grill.

Gene

Get good dogs! Vienna Beef, Nathen's or Eisenberg. We don't grill them in Chicago. They call it steamed.

 

[thebarbequeen]

Hope it all goes great!! Congratulations! Have a fun party!

 

[mdboatbum]

Best wishes!! No matter what happens with the food, weather, guests etc... the only important thing is at the end of the day you're married to the one you love. My wife and decided to have our wedding at our favorite vacation spot, approx 650 miles from home. We had everything in order weeks in advance. The real estate agent who found us the venue for the reception also turned out to be a wedding planner, so all was good. Then 2 weeks before the wedding, due to a lawsuit and a stop work order for her entire company (having nothing to do with us or our wedding), we were completely back at square one. With 2 weeks to go. From 650 miles away. We scrambled, and got it all together literally at the last hour. I ended up doing a low country boil for 60 people for the rehearsal dinner, having never attempted it before, and everyone absolutely loved it. The best part was that since I was doing the cooking, I was kept busy and didn't have time to freak out.

I'm guessing today is the big day, so we're sending happy thoughts your way!!