Hamburgers and Hotdogs

HBMTN · 03-30-2019, 11:22 AM

I have an event in a few weeks that I will be serving hamburgers, hotdogs and chips to 275 guests. We don't typically serve burgers and dogs so I curious if any of you do and can give me some experience as to quantities of each to cook. My gut says one each per person with a 20% buffer so like 330 hamburgers and 330 hotdogs. The only other food is potato chips so I'm figuring that 20% extra will get eaten. Thoughts?

thirdeye · 03-30-2019, 01:53 PM

I'm not a caterer, so take that with a grain of salt... and maybe your customer won't be open to my suggestions but once a year I'm one of the cooks at a business event where we serve 200+ people (I think this will be our 20th year) there are all ages of adults and kids too. We buy the nice Ballpark all beef franks and cook them in roasters with beer, then move them into foil hotel pans and put them in a 250° smoker. This adds a layer of flavor but turns the dogs a deeper color. They are returned to a roaster with some liquid, but we mist them occasionally with a weak beef broth. Some people don't even want a bun because they are so good plain. And we have a bag of corn dog sticks for some of the little kids that want to go that way. We have all the standard condiments like mustard, ketchup, relish, chopped onion, couple kinds of peppers etc.

Instead of burgers and the hassles associated with them.... we make sloppy Joes with more of an adult recipe, not the grade school cafeteria style of sloppy Joes with the steamed meat. My recipe calls for chili powder, black pepper, red pepper, garlic, onion, celery, green peppers and seasonings. The meat is roasted in pans with the dry ingredients on top, then incorporated before adding the sauce. And the sauce is homemade. The meat is (self) served in roasters (but we do have someone on stand-by for kids or anyone who doesn't want to build their own. We have onion slices, pickle spears, jalapeno slices along with 2 styles of mustard, BBQ sauce and plastic forks. Some people prefer an open face sandwich which is a great option. Some will put the meat into hot dog buns, and some folks will add some of the meat atop their hot dog.

This is more convenient than grilling burgers, the food stays warmer, and people have several options instead of just two. One year a guy said "I haven't had a sloppy Joe in 30 years", the guy ate 3 and a couple of hours later took 2 more in a go-box, which by the way we always have on hand.

The recipe is on my cookin's site, or I can give you the direct link if you are interested.

HBMTN · 03-30-2019, 02:38 PM

Thanks Thirdeye, this is a set menu under contract and I'll need quantities for the menu I posted. I'll take your suggestions if we get the event again next year though and would like the link to your site.

ynotfehc · 03-31-2019, 01:57 PM

I would maybe go even more on the burgers, maybe 1.5 per person, especially with just chips.

thirdeye · 04-01-2019, 03:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HBMTN

Thanks Thirdeye, this is a set menu under contract and I'll need quantities for the menu I posted. I'll take your suggestions if we get the event again next year though and would like the link to your site.

Here is the direct link to the Sloppy Joe page.

bam · 04-01-2019, 03:47 PM

What Is The Mix Of People? Teenage Boys, Senor Citizens,Women On Diets? Knowing This Help With The Buffer.

03-30-2019, 11:22 AM	#1
HBMTN is Blowin Smoke! Join Date: 10-16-08 Location: Virginia	Hamburgers and Hotdogs I have an event in a few weeks that I will be serving hamburgers, hotdogs and chips to 275 guests. We don't typically serve burgers and dogs so I curious if any of you do and can give me some experience as to quantities of each to cook. My gut says one each per person with a 20% buffer so like 330 hamburgers and 330 hotdogs. The only other food is potato chips so I'm figuring that 20% extra will get eaten. Thoughts? __________________ Ole Hickory EL-EW, FEC 120, Lang 84, Custom Off Set

03-30-2019, 01:53 PM	#2
thirdeye somebody shut me the fark up. Join Date: 01-14-06 Location: At home on the range in Wyoming	I'm not a caterer, so take that with a grain of salt... and maybe your customer won't be open to my suggestions but once a year I'm one of the cooks at a business event where we serve 200+ people (I think this will be our 20th year) there are all ages of adults and kids too. We buy the nice Ballpark all beef franks and cook them in roasters with beer, then move them into foil hotel pans and put them in a 250° smoker. This adds a layer of flavor but turns the dogs a deeper color. They are returned to a roaster with some liquid, but we mist them occasionally with a weak beef broth. Some people don't even want a bun because they are so good plain. And we have a bag of corn dog sticks for some of the little kids that want to go that way. We have all the standard condiments like mustard, ketchup, relish, chopped onion, couple kinds of peppers etc. Instead of burgers and the hassles associated with them.... we make sloppy Joes with more of an adult recipe, not the grade school cafeteria style of sloppy Joes with the steamed meat. My recipe calls for chili powder, black pepper, red pepper, garlic, onion, celery, green peppers and seasonings. The meat is roasted in pans with the dry ingredients on top, then incorporated before adding the sauce. And the sauce is homemade. The meat is (self) served in roasters (but we do have someone on stand-by for kids or anyone who doesn't want to build their own. We have onion slices, pickle spears, jalapeno slices along with 2 styles of mustard, BBQ sauce and plastic forks. Some people prefer an open face sandwich which is a great option. Some will put the meat into hot dog buns, and some folks will add some of the meat atop their hot dog. This is more convenient than grilling burgers, the food stays warmer, and people have several options instead of just two. One year a guy said "I haven't had a sloppy Joe in 30 years", the guy ate 3 and a couple of hours later took 2 more in a go-box, which by the way we always have on hand. The recipe is on my cookin's site, or I can give you the direct link if you are interested. __________________ ~thirdeye~ I Play With Fire and Smoke *Barbecuist ~ Charcuterist ~ KCBS Master Judge & CTC* Big Green Eggs, Big Drum Smokers, Big Chiefs, Weber Smokey Joe "Custom Tall Boy" Oil Patch Horizontal, SnS Deluxe Kettle Visit my Cookin' Site by clicking HERE Barbecue is not rocket surgery “The problem with quotes on the Internet is that it's hard to verify their authenticity” ~ Abraham Lincoln

03-30-2019, 02:38 PM	#3
HBMTN is Blowin Smoke! Join Date: 10-16-08 Location: Virginia	Thanks Thirdeye, this is a set menu under contract and I'll need quantities for the menu I posted. I'll take your suggestions if we get the event again next year though and would like the link to your site. __________________ Ole Hickory EL-EW, FEC 120, Lang 84, Custom Off Set

04-01-2019, 03:47 PM	#6
bam is One Chatty Farker Join Date: 10-22-08 Location: Philly, PA	What Is The Mix Of People? Teenage Boys, Senor Citizens,Women On Diets? Knowing This Help With The Buffer. __________________ AKA "Huck" BBQ Resource: [URL="http://www.huckshut.com"]www.huckshut.com[/URL] Streaming BBQ Podcast: [URL]http://www.inthehut.com[/URL]

03-31-2019, 01:57 PM	#4
ynotfehc Full Fledged Farker Join Date: 07-03-13 Location: St Paul, MN	I would maybe go even more on the burgers, maybe 1.5 per person, especially with just chips.