School Barbecue Help

DannyMac said:

I posted this in Q-talk and didn't get much of a response. I really need help estimating the amount of meat we will need for a school barbecue coming up in about a month. We anticipate about 500 folks, however, only 250 are adults. It's an elementary school, so we will be doing burgers and hot dogs for the kids.

We will be serving leg quaters and pulled pork. I need some help estimating the total amounts of each to serve the 250 adults. Any suggestions?

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First a suggestion - Personally, I would do thighs (or boneless, skinless thighs) to save room, cost, and be more portion appropriate. Also, you will get surprised by how many parents fix their kids a plate from the "adults buffet" vs. the kids burgers and dogs - May want to use a ticket system (adult items vs. kids dogs or burgers) to better control servings, and give you a better idea up front on count. I would gently press the folks running the BBQ to provide a reasonable firm count of guests and choices, unless all the supplies are being donated, and this is a non paying event.

As for amount to cook, I would do 250 thighs, and 130 lbs of pork (Uncooked). Burgers and dogs, I would work on getting a firmer count - Not every child will eat both, and some will, given the chance. Side dishes would depend on amount being charged, etc. Best of luck!

You will minimally need 62.5 lbs. (1/4 lb. burgers = 250 sammies) of beef and a hot dog per.

Leg quarters + 1 per and 125.00 lbs. of raw pork = 62.50 of cooked pork = 250 pork sammies.

Question to ask first. Will the people be able to get one meat or the other or can the get both meats. Next ask if they can pass thru the line more than once.

Maybe consider a separate line for the kids. From my experience, some adults will take a hamburger and/or hot dog and throw off your count.

I would make 250 chicken quarters and as above 130 pounds(raw) of pulled pork. Since you are serving I would put one piece of chicken and a sammie on each adult plate and a hamburger and hotdog on each kids plate. Easy peasy. Scott

Portion control will be key to making sure everyone gets fed. It's probably not a bad idea to have some "trained" volunteers dishing up the meat for the guests. It can be as simple as having the guests receiving their plate with the meat and sammy already on it. I cook at a church function each year and we have volunteers staffing the buffet line after a quick orientation to the proper portion size. It works well for us.

I cook at my son's school's fair every year(sept. 25th this year). we do around 130 lb of uncooked pork and sell around 300 sammies. I have not runn out in the three years i have done this and only have about 5 lb left over

I would suggest doing only one meat and maybe two at most. I have cooked for my daughter's school carnival for the last two years. Except there already are other vendors there. I just happen to donate all the proceeds. For us, it's Tri-tip Sandwiches. 6oz sammy & chips for $6. Half sammy & chips $4.00. The other vendors served hamburgers, fries, pizza, ice cream...etc. This was a slow year, but I still donated $1,100 from sales. Everyone else was in the $200 range.

I am no expert or professional, as the ones above me are, but I would just add - it's better to have too much food than to run out. You can always freeze left overs.

Leftover bbq can also be sold by the pound for a set price, especially if this is a fund raiser. I've seen people buy extra to take home after the serving line closes. have a scale handy or "eyeball" icecream scoops into a styro box after weighing a couple. good luck.