Wedding cater job

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jsperk

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I have a customer who loves my BBQ. I haven't done big events but he really wants me to cook brisket and pulled pork for his daughters wedding, for 150 people.He is having chicken as well and sides.

I was thinking a 1/4 pound of finished product for pork and brisket.
Does that sound about right?

He also wants me to serve the brisket and pulled pork, figuring it will go further.
 
I think four ounces of finished meat per guest sounds a little light. I haven't done any catering, but I worked in the restaurant business for 20 years. We served steak to about 140 at our own wedding, and I think the minimum portions were 8 ounces. And I would definitely add chicken to the mix, both to hold down costs and for guests looking for a lighter meal. There will probably be 80 women there, wearing dresses tighter than everyday wear..
 
HDCTX said:
I think four ounces of finished meat per guest sounds a little light. I haven't done any catering, but I worked in the restaurant business for 20 years. We served steak to about 140 at our own wedding, and I think the minimum portions were 8 ounces. And I would definitely add chicken to the mix, both to hold down costs and for guests looking for a lighter meal. There will probably be 80 women there, wearing dresses tighter than everyday wear..
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Yea he is definitely having chicken and I was planning on 4 oz each of brisket and pulled pork. I told him I don't cater and know that stuff, so you let me know if you want more and I'll cook more. He said that should be good. I wanted to put on him and not make the call on how much.
 
8 oz of brisket/pork, plus chicken and sides will be more than most people will eat. Make sure you have a plan for what to do with all the leftovers and the ability to safely store them.
 
CT-Mike said:
8 oz of brisket/pork, plus chicken and sides will be more than most people will eat. Make sure you have a plan for what to do with all the leftovers and the ability to safely store them.
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1/3 lb cooked, along with sides and chicken, should be a generous portion for a hungry adult male. I generally get ~35% yield with a traditional smoke method.

That's not assuming 1 beef / 1 pork sandwich per, but one or the other. BBQ restaurant owner friend said up in these parts, people tend to go for pork about 2/3 over 1/3 beef. Worked out when I tried it.

Disclaimer: amateur here; the above is based on cooking for 35-40 people a couple of times.
 
We usually do 4oz of each meat and 3.5oz sides. For 150 people we will use 8 whole 12lb briskets that once cooked will yield only 6lbs. I generally tell my clients 1 brisket will feed 20 people. Thinbluesmokery.com is my company
 
CT-Mike said:
8 oz of brisket/pork, plus chicken and sides will be more than most people will eat. Make sure you have a plan for what to do with all the leftovers and the ability to safely store them.
Click to expand...

That's what I was thinking. If I ate piece of chicken and had a 4 oz of brisket and a sides I would be done. I planned on cooking six - 13.5 pounds brisket and maybe like eight - 9 pound butts. I wonder if I should tell him to scale back. He is hoping for some left over brisket.

Thanks, really hard to judge since I never cooked for so many people.



AustinKnight said:
We usually do 4oz of each meat and 3.5oz sides. For 150 people we will use 8 whole 12lb briskets that once cooked will yield only 6lbs. I generally tell my clients 1 brisket will feed 20 people. Thinbluesmokery.com is my company
Click to expand...

So my amounts I commented to Mike, may be way to much?
 
jsperk said:
That's what I was thinking. If I ate piece of chicken and had a 4 oz of brisket and a sides I would be done. I planned on cooking six - 13.5 pounds brisket and maybe like eight - 9 pound butts. I wonder if I should tell him to scale back. He is hoping for some left over brisket.

Thanks, really hard to judge since I never cooked for so many people.







So my amounts I commented to Mike, may be way to much?
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Yes you will be tossing a bunch of food in the trash. See of you can get a head count for people that would actually want chicken and only cook that amount. If you shread pork with one of this pork things that go on a drill it goes so far. I would feel good with 6 butts and 8 12# briskets both meat will yield half.
 
Best thing to do would be to ask for guests to select their protein similar to what you see on a wedding invitation. Let them know they can choose two if desired. Then calculate your raw weights from there.

Assume 4 oz servings, and 50% yield, so you need 1/2# raw protein per finished serving. A case of brisket from Restaurant Depot averages 70# (5 - 14# briskets), so 1 case of brisket will yield 140 4 oz servings.

A case of butts averages 56#, so 1 case will yield 112 4 oz servings. Keep in mind that this math only works if you practice strict portion control. Otherwise you will get several guys who will load 2# of brisket on their plate and you will run short and look like the bad guy.

If you are serving pork and brisket sammiches, you can go with 3 oz servings, making your protein go a little further.
 
So, by my calculations, if serving 1/3lb of brisket and 1/3lb of pulled pork you will need 82.5lbs of raw brisket at 60% yield. You will need 99lbs of raw pork butts at 50% yield. Is you neighbor also paying for fuel/wood, rubs, injections, foil/pans, time? you don't want to sell yourself short.
 
Pig_Farmer said:
So, by my calculations, if serving 1/3lb of brisket and 1/3lb of pulled pork you will need 82.5lbs of raw brisket at 60% yield. You will need 99lbs of raw pork butts at 50% yield. Is you neighbor also paying for fuel/wood, rubs, injections, foil/pans, time? you don't want to sell yourself short.
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I wish we would get 60% yield on briskets.
 
This seems kind of like a "back yard" wedding to me. I wouldn't even think to ask about the proteins. Around here, brisket will go just as fast, if not faster than pulled pork. I'd go with the 1/4lb each per person.

One other thing I'd consider is that if this is somewhat of a "one off" for you, go ahead and cook an extra brisket and butt. Great to have it on hand, and charge him for either if you use them, but if not used, take home, bag, freeze and have it for yourself. Consider it to be piggy backing, which is something I often do. I mean, if I'm being paid to cook 5 briskets for someone else, why not cook an extra one for myself at the same time ?
 
Demosthenes9 said:
This seems kind of like a "back yard" wedding to me. I wouldn't even think to ask about the proteins. Around here, brisket will go just as fast, if not faster than pulled pork. I'd go with the 1/4lb each per person.

One other thing I'd consider is that if this is somewhat of a "one off" for you, go ahead and cook an extra brisket and butt. Great to have it on hand, and charge him for either if you use them, but if not used, take home, bag, freeze and have it for yourself. Consider it to be piggy backing, which is something I often do. I mean, if I'm being paid to cook 5 briskets for someone else, why not cook an extra one for myself at the same time ?
Click to expand...

I do that just about every time. Sometimes if I don't feel like freezing it I've got a couple of customers I know I can call that are always up for a few pounds of brisket.
 
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