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Q-talk *ON TOPIC ONLY* QUALITY ON TOPIC discussion of Backyard BBQ, grilling, equipment and outdoor cookin' . ** Other cooking techniques are welcomed for when your cookin' in the kitchen. Post your hints, tips, tricks & techniques, success, failures, but stay on topic and watch for that hijacking. |
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10-03-2010, 10:39 PM | #1 |
is one Smokin' Farker
Join Date: 08-13-09
Location: Puyallup, WA
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I have been requested to BBq for a wedding:)
My Aunt just sent me a message to ask if i would be the cook at my cousin wedding in July or Aug.
Im so excited, I never been asked to do anything like that and to top it off, i live in Chicago and they would fly me to the wedding to be the Cook. I do have a question about Smoking on a UDS About how many people could I possibly feed on a UDS or two of them, with two racks? I only ever done enough for me or my roommates and never thought about it. I would think Pulled pork would yeild the most food per person then anything else I could possibly smoke on one, if they go that route and make two UDS before I get there. Or they could decide to rent a bbq'er but I would think that could be expensive and a UDS could be cheaper to make. Any thoughts of what I should ask besides knowing the amount of people and what they would like to smoke or BBQ
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Heatermeter homemade temp controller, Double Pan Gravity Feed(Stumps clone). Heatermeter Customizer and the designer of the Heatermeter Adapter board Last edited by Theboz1419; 10-04-2010 at 01:32 AM.. Reason: grammer |
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10-04-2010, 12:32 AM | #2 |
is One Chatty Farker
Join Date: 07-05-09
Location: Aurora, Colo.
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Well I suppose you have two choices.
1. Run away....far away. 2. Go ahead and do it.......If you decide to do it; get a FIRM count from the BRIDE on exactly how many people will be there. Do two or three practice cooks to see how much work it will be and how much meat you will need. It sounds like you don't have any catering experience; and if anything goes wrong; the bride will never forgive you for ruining her wedding. Have the bride E-mail, or regular mail you the information....how many people, how much meat of each type (ribs, brisket, pulled pork, etc.) she wants. Don't go with verbal figures...get it in writing. Don't assume anything...are you supposed to make the side dishes too? What about beverages? Plates? Forks, knives, spoons? Cups, napkins? Is your cooking going to be your "gift" to the bride...or will you be paid? Figure out what it will cost...chaffing dishes, canned heat, tablecloths and everything else. If you go there and use cooking equipment (UDS) that you are not familiar with...there could be problems. Be careful. Good Luck! Last edited by Grillman; 10-04-2010 at 12:35 AM.. Reason: typo |
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10-04-2010, 01:31 AM | #3 |
is one Smokin' Farker
Join Date: 08-13-09
Location: Puyallup, WA
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Yeah, i figured it would be not a easy thing to do. But, They will get everything and fly me to Washington, so to me its a free trip to see family and I have always wanted to show them my skills of BBQ :) anyways.
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Heatermeter homemade temp controller, Double Pan Gravity Feed(Stumps clone). Heatermeter Customizer and the designer of the Heatermeter Adapter board |
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10-04-2010, 02:18 AM | #4 | |
Full Fledged Farker
Join Date: 07-01-10
Location: Dallas,Tx
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Quote:
I have only catered once and it was amazing how many details you COULD easily leave out. IF you have ANY miscommunication you will have a brideZILLA on your hands. haha Seriously though it would be a shame for someone to overlook a detail or two because that is a very important day for them. Get it all in writing and confirm everything for everyones sake. Do a few practice runs like Grillman said. Its a big responsibility and an equal amount of fun |
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10-04-2010, 06:37 AM | #5 |
is One Chatty Farker
Join Date: 07-07-09
Location: Newark, OH
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I've done weddings and it is a huge responsibility and stressful time even when I'm using my own pit that I'm familiar with. I would not want to be responsible for someone's wedding food when not cooking on my own pit, knowing I had all the wood/fuel I needed, all the dry rub I needed, knowing where to purchase all the meat I need, and having everything I needed in the event something came up like poor weather or I needed to buy something at the last minute. I'd re-read everything in the previous posts and approach the whole thing apprehensively. I wouldn't look at this as a free trip to see family, I'd look at it as the most important BBQ you've ever done in your life...because it is. If you screw this up for any reason, even for reasons that are beyond your control, you will be responsible in the eyes of everyone, especially the wedding party. Good luck, I hope it works out, but if it was me...I'd pass on the whole thing.
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10-04-2010, 10:44 AM | #6 |
Got Wood.
Join Date: 07-21-10
Location: Loveland, CO
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I recently did pulled pork for about 160 people. I was able to fit 6 8lb butts in my UDS and it took about 14 hours to get them all to 200 degrees. We ended up with about 1 butt worth of meat leftover (we also served grilled chicken thighs and someone else provided the side dishes).
My advice, is to get everything in writing...even if it is a gift and you are not charging for the service. Have everything detailed out. Everything. The last thing you want is to run out of food, especially for a wedding. Once you have it all in writing, be realistic about it and say no if you have to. |
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10-04-2010, 11:21 AM | #7 |
Got Wood.
Join Date: 06-06-10
Location: Douglasville GA
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What about cooking for the rehearsal dinner? You still get to cook for all the relatives, with the benefit of fewer total people to cook for, a little less stress, and "He ruined my rehearsal dinner!" isn't nearly as bad as "He ruined my wedding!".
Definitely go a few days ahead to do a trial run and try to get everything figured out. |
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10-04-2010, 11:50 AM | #8 |
Phizzy
Join Date: 10-05-08
Location: Hiding out from blood suck ghost snake gods, Nazis and scrap iron chefs trying to harvest body parts
Name/Nickname : Gore (surprise!)
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I only did one wedding, steak and shrimp. It worked out quite well, but the headcount was only 3, bride, groom and best man. I don't think I'd like to cook for many more and it sounds like you've got a logistics nightmare. I hope you're planning to go out at least a week early. Grillman's advice is excellent (especially point 1), but I usually try one more option and that is to convince them to elope. Usually they don't take this advice but afterward tell me they wish they had.
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Assistant to a Mad BBQ Scientist (and a squirrel): Primo Oval XL, Small Offset, Gasser, Optigrill, UBS "I love everything about the pig, even the way she walks." -- Spanish proverb (\__/) (='.'=) This is the rabbit baby. Invests him in yours signature, (")_(") and the help rabbit baby takes over control of the world! Hmmmm, I wonder, WWGALD? Avatar courtesy of Grillman and NorthwestBBQ Promoted by Bigabyte to "Idiot #1" , and dubbed "Phizzy" by Sir Ron. |
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10-04-2010, 12:01 PM | #9 |
Knows what a fatty is.
Join Date: 09-15-10
Location: GO
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I would be very flattered, but I think I would pass. Just too much pressure and too many details to pull it off without any hitches. Like NRA4Life mentioned it's hard enough to do in your own backyard with your own pit, but in another state on equipment you've never used before is just setting yourself up for failure. Do them and yourself a favor and humbly suggest a local vendor, maybe even someone here.
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10-04-2010, 02:07 PM | #10 |
Full Fledged Farker
Join Date: 07-01-10
Location: Dallas,Tx
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Yeah I was conflicted when I wrote my original message... I wasnt sure if I would suggest that you pass on the wedding or ask for rehersal dinner instead, but the fact of the matter is you will have a VERY short time to locate parts, tools and drum to build your UDS and then you have to learn how to smoke with it or atleast make sure its operating properly. I'm not one to tell someone what to do but I want to make sure you are fully aware of the potential complications involved.
Do you know how many people will be attending? Check out this link for a cool excel file that helps you determine how much to cook for a catering event : http://www.crankybuzzard.com/CrankyB...BQWorkbook.xls Oh well actually I opened that and its not the one I was looking for but cool none the less. I'll see If I can find the catering one... |
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10-04-2010, 02:11 PM | #11 |
Full Fledged Farker
Join Date: 07-01-10
Location: Dallas,Tx
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Here is the catering spreadsheet: http://bbq-review.com/planner/catering1.xls
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10-04-2010, 02:13 PM | #12 |
somebody shut me the fark up.
Join Date: 04-02-09
Location: San Antonio, TX
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Like said before, get it all in writing. When you get the head count of people eating, figure out how much food you'll need and then add some more to cover last minute add-ons, overeaters, mistakes, dropped food, etc. Are they expecting you to serve, too? Side dishes? Or...just meat.
Once you get the facts, make a plan, including a time table and stick to it. Many here will help you get through it. Blessings on your preparations and future cook.
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Dan IMBAS Certified MOINK Ball maker and IMBAS Sgt. At Arms. And now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified. [Acts 20:32 KJV] |
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10-04-2010, 02:29 PM | #13 |
somebody shut me the fark up.
Join Date: 06-26-09
Location: sAn leAnDRo, CA
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I have catered over the years and weddings scare the bejeebers out of me, I have also shot video at weddings. You only get one shot to get it right, it is incredibly important to many people, they will not understand if you blow it, the time table is often difficult as folks are partying and not inclined to stick to a schedule. I have cooked on my own cooker and on others cookers (sometimes you just have no choice). It is not something I would recommend a novice in catering take on. And for the record, cooking for a Superbowl party or a bunch of friends at a house party is not the same.
That being said, organization is the key, I start preparing for a wedding cook weeks ahead, I start assembling my gear at least one week ahead and revisit the gear often. I make sure I have all the seasonings ready to go, make sure I have the food ordered at least a week in advance (and paid for). If I am working in someone else's kitchen, I arrange to visit the day before, drop my gear and settings at that time and make sure I know the layout. Finally, if I am cooking, I am not a part of the party, I dress for cooking, I work on the food and I make sure things work out. I do maybe two or three parties a year anymore, I refuse all religious and wedding events and I still find it stressful. I wish you good luck if you take this on.
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[COLOR=DarkGreen][COLOR=DarkRed][SIZE=1]me: I don't drink anymore Yelonutz: me either, but, then again, I don't drink any less [/SIZE][/COLOR][/COLOR][SIZE=1][COLOR=DarkRed] [COLOR=Pink]SSS[/COLOR] [/COLOR][/SIZE] |
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10-04-2010, 03:05 PM | #14 |
Babbling Farker
Join Date: 08-30-03
Location: Richmond, VA
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I would pass on this...too many variables..it might be different if the wedding was in your home town, where you kinow where to get supplies, have your own cooker, etc...no way would I go across the country with no materials and go into it blind...
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10-04-2010, 03:18 PM | #15 |
is one Smokin' Farker
Join Date: 03-26-08
Location: Virginia
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I have done 4 wedding rehearsal dinners but never the actual wedding. They are scary as so much depends on you. Just did one last week actually. Every time I do these I tell myself that this is the last one. As in all of these events it's all about timing and thinking everything through over and over. What if something is dropped...do I have enough in backup to replace it. Last week we were asked and provided deserts for the first time on top of everything else. Even it was only for 85 people it was still a lot going on. Not having my own equipment would make me shy away as I can on occasion still screw stuff up with equipment I am familiar with. Good luck with your decision.
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