Looking for advice on 5 meat 5 side for the 4th of July

Half the meat.
Have you priced proteins lately?
This is roughly $45 per person right now.

I was going to say, that's a lot of meat for 35 folks. If you estimate the SL Ribs at 13# and Beef Ribs @25#(probably conservative), that's 57# of meat for 35 folks.

I'd probably say 1/2 pans of all the side too.....when its gone, its gone, but not likely.

You certainly won't need 30 lbs of meat. I would probably aim for 20 lbs total (there will be a ton of leftovers at that point, but the problem with so many meats is that people aren't going to take all of them. They'll take their favorites, and if most of the crowd likes 1 or 2 things, you're going to be in trouble with, say, 3.5 lbs of tri tip.

Definitely go price your meat. We have put things on hold a little bit, and had some meat in the freezer that we hadn't cooked for other events, etc. so I haven't priced anything from my suppliers recently, but judging by what the stores are charging - your price is going to be sky high compared to normal. The beef, especially.

Edit: just realized I was counting the slabs of both ribs as pounds. Half may still be too much, but you have to be cognizant of the same issue (runs on certain proteins).

I can't comment on pricing strategy, but looking at the list of meats.... beef ribs will be a long cook compared to all the other meats, and if you are talking full length plate ribs, they are pricey. Maybe drop the ribs and go with more tri-tip or add in a pork loin as they are a good value and a short cook.

Right, Beef Ribs are about 5- 6 hrs, minimum, and over $7/lb last time I saw them.

Beef rib 2.85/LB

I thought you meant "Short Rib Plates" which are substantially heavier and more $$$.

cdhbrad said:

Beef rib 2.85/LB

I thought you meant "Short Rib Plates" which are substantially heavier and more $$$.

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I did too.

I would have pulled pork in there - easy and cheap.