Party for 70

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flyboys

Smoking Fanatic
Original poster
Oct 14, 2007
603
42
Southeastern PA
I'm planning a surprise party for my bride next month at a fire hall that will have about 70 in attendance. I can't afford to have it catered, so with the help from some foodies in my family, we're going to cater it.

The appetizers are being handled by 4 people. Another is handling the booze. The cake will be ordered and purchased along with the beverages, plates etc, and decorations. The menu will consist of pulled pork, pulled ham, meatballs, ziti, macaroni and cheese, and salad. I'm responsible for the pulled ham and pulled pork.
I'm figuring on a 50% weight loss and planning for 1/3 lb per person. That adds up to roughly 46 pounds of uncooked food. I will be using slider rolls and ordering roughly 200 of them.
I purchased 5 bone in butt roasts yesterday for a total of appx 44 pounds. The price was pretty good for my area at $1.58 per pound. No local places had any sales going on, to my knowledge at least. Add in the ziti and meatballs, and I think that should be more than enough with a decent amount of leftovers.
For the pulled ham, I took the two biggest roasts, over 9lbs each, and put them in my brine bucket with pops brine after injecting around the bone and at 1 inch intervals. They will sit in my beer fridge for the next two weeks.

I made up a large batch of a modified Pigs Worst Nightmare Rub.
6 tablespoons Apple Powder
1.5 tablespoons Honey Powder
1.5 Tablespoons Brown Sugar
3 Tablespoons Turbinado Sugar
3 Tablespoons Kosher Salt
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon cracked black pepper

I plan on smoking the other 3 roasts on my UDS this weekend over apple wood. I'll keep the temp around 275 and plan on foiling at 165 internal. I'll bring it to around 202 and after letting it rest, pull it and let it cool down. I'll vacuum pack it in its juices and freeze it. To reheat, my plan is to put the bags in boiling water, then add Soflaquers finishing sauce to it. I'll keep it warm at the party with sternos. Here is my fridge as of now.

I'll keep this updated as I go along. Please comment with any advice or point out any mistakes, as I am always open to doing things better. Thanks!
 
Sounds like a plan.

I will usually reheat mine in a saute pan or the oven. But hot water in a bag works too. Just need to make sure you go from <40 to >165 in under 2 hrs.

Also when you freeze the product. Make sure you have nothing acidic like wine, vinegar or some fruit juices with it in the bag. It will break the meat down and turn it mushy.
 
Thank you Jar Jar. Quick question, if I have apple juice or something like that in the foiling juice when I foil at 165, will that make it mushy when I add the juices back to it to freeze it?
 
Would you consider adopting a fat old Canadian and inviting him? It sounds like good food and good times.

Disco
 
Got started on the three butt roasts on this stormy, windy, and rainy day. The temps are upwards of 60, so I wanted to take advantage of it. I trimmed them up, slathered with yellow mustard and covered with the run.

Here they are in the uds, cruising around 280.
 
I completely asked a stupid question you had already answered. I'll get another cup of coffee and read it again....LOL

I missed the question Foam, I think I'll join you with that coffee!

Would you consider adopting a fat old Canadian and inviting him? It sounds like good food and good times.

Disco


Absolutely Disco! The more the merrier, eh?!
 
6 hours in and at 165. I foiled with apple juice and captain Morgans and decided to finish in the oven at 300.
Apple juice & Capt. Morgan's foiling sauce for pork.......... I think I like that. Do the rum's spices come out in the pork? Hmmmmm........ maybe with pineapple juice.

I like the way you think.
 
Cool, I'll bring my tuque and we'll give 'er!

Disco

Hahahaha!

Looks great!

Thanks Jar Jar!

Gorgeous!  

Thanks BDS!

Apple juice & Capt. Morgan's foiling sauce for pork.......... I think I like that. Do the rum's spices come out in the pork? Hmmmmm........ maybe with pineapple juice.

I like the way you think.

Thanks Foam! I've done it that way before and to be honest, I really don't think it makes a big difference, but it sounds cool!
As far as pineapple juice, I've done that with pulled ham and loved it, I think I'll try that next time.
 
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This is the first time that I made pulled pork at a higher temp and finished it in the oven. I have to say it turned out really tender and still with a nice smoke flavor. I honestly couldn't tell the difference. Within 12 hours, I had it cooked, rested, pulled, vacuum packed, and placed in the freezer. I will definitely be doing it this way again.
Here's the finished pics with some bear view. Now I just have to wait about 2 more weeks for the ham to cure and I'm all set! I'll update this when I smoke the hams.
 
Thanks Foam! I've done it that way before and to be honest, I really don't think it makes a big difference, but it sounds cool!
As far as pineapple juice, I've done that with pulled ham and loved it, I think I'll try that next time.
Maybe its more a timing problem. I was thinking foiling, maybe we should be thinking more of a finishing sauce? Pineapple & Capt. Morgan's could make it more a Jamaican jerk pulled pork. Just thinking out loud here.

I am liking the way this thought is filling out. Maybe add some garlic, thyme, salt and scotch bonnet pepper juice. Since I am not a huge fan of HOT peppers like my friend in DFW, I wonder if I could chop up and add some minis like from Sams: http://www.samsclub.com/sams/one-sweet-pepper-1-5lb/prod5250245.ip?navAction= Maybe I could use vodka and dry their flavors our by maceration and then use that flavor in the finishing sauce! Add a couple of scotch bonnets just for the flavor bump.

Flyboy! I think you've got it! Damn you're smart!

And I say Why Not? Wish I was a real chef and knew more about what is and isn't possible in cooking.
 
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Looks like a very successful cook!!!

To Foamheart's point....doing different flavors are great and actually very fun. We will use a base smoked pork and just by finishing with a different flavored sauce you can change the region the dish is from.

Be careful with some of the tropical fruits. If you use them fresh, some have a natural meat tenderizer in them that is activated by heat and will turn your product too a nasty mushy texture very quickly. A couple are papaya and pineapple.

And I say Why Not? Wish I was a real chef and knew more about what is and isn't possible in cooking.

Well Foam the only way to find new things is to try them. You will usually get a little of both results of good and bad, but no matter what you learn something. That is how it has been done for years. A lot of the great "new" things are just modifications of what has been done before. That is why I love doing what I do. Trying to take what is the norm and making a little tweak here and there, and the Poof, you have something new...... People get to scared or intimidated by food. It is just that "food", have fun with it....... Mom was wrong. You should play with your food......
 
 
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