bbqlou
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Hello all, and thank you for welcoming me to your community. I'm looking forward to learning from all of you and sharing what I learn. My first post, so please go easy : )
My wife and I grew up grilling at family barbecues, and my wife hails from New Orleans, a place with a rich food tradition. However we've never made a barbecue for a very large number of people beyond around 30-40 people and we're going to be taking on a new challenge we'd appreciate your advice on - throwing a regular barbecue throughout the summer for 150-175 people for a club event we're hosting in the SF Bay Area. We're not caterers and the largest number of people we've ever cooked for is about 35 on Thanksgiving (and that was with folks bringing food as welll).
1) For an event for 150-175 people, with hamburgers, franks and some veg burgers, taking place 5:30PM-8:30PM, with people starting to trickle in at 5:30PM and almost everyone there by 6:30PM, with most people probably finished eating by 7:30PM, what size grill would you suggest? We're thinking about 3 ft x 2 ft or 4 ft x 2 ft. Figure that we can pre-make some burgers and franks starting 5:15PM and store them in a Reflectix insulated large box, like those used to keep pizza warm.
2) Charcoal or gas? We prefer the taste of charcoal, but will it be difficult to use for this size grill? How much charcoal would we need for the 3 ft x 2 ft and the 4 ft x 2 ft grill for one evening for this much food? How much gas?
3) Should we use lighter fluid to light up the charcoal quickly for this size grill? For smaller family grills, I always start the charcoal without lighter fluid with just a chimney.
4) Where would be a good place to find a used 3 x 2 ft or 4 x 2 ft grill locally in the SF Bay Area? Sincerely appreciate any used restaurant supply or auction place that would carry them. We've been unable to find any on Craigslist. These are the type of small commercial grills we thought would be big enough:
http://www.belson.com/PORTA-GRILL-I-Charcoal-Fired-Barbeque-Grills
http://www.smokymtbarbecue.com/store/bbq36_commercial_flat_top_grill-pid-93-51.html#.U3gLcSh2brc
4) Do we need a top to the barbecue to speed cooking or wind shields on the sides given that we'll be using the grill in a spot with a 6 ft fence around which provides wind protection.
Thank you very much for your advice - we need to choose and find a grill fast and really appreciate your help.
My wife and I grew up grilling at family barbecues, and my wife hails from New Orleans, a place with a rich food tradition. However we've never made a barbecue for a very large number of people beyond around 30-40 people and we're going to be taking on a new challenge we'd appreciate your advice on - throwing a regular barbecue throughout the summer for 150-175 people for a club event we're hosting in the SF Bay Area. We're not caterers and the largest number of people we've ever cooked for is about 35 on Thanksgiving (and that was with folks bringing food as welll).
1) For an event for 150-175 people, with hamburgers, franks and some veg burgers, taking place 5:30PM-8:30PM, with people starting to trickle in at 5:30PM and almost everyone there by 6:30PM, with most people probably finished eating by 7:30PM, what size grill would you suggest? We're thinking about 3 ft x 2 ft or 4 ft x 2 ft. Figure that we can pre-make some burgers and franks starting 5:15PM and store them in a Reflectix insulated large box, like those used to keep pizza warm.
2) Charcoal or gas? We prefer the taste of charcoal, but will it be difficult to use for this size grill? How much charcoal would we need for the 3 ft x 2 ft and the 4 ft x 2 ft grill for one evening for this much food? How much gas?
3) Should we use lighter fluid to light up the charcoal quickly for this size grill? For smaller family grills, I always start the charcoal without lighter fluid with just a chimney.
4) Where would be a good place to find a used 3 x 2 ft or 4 x 2 ft grill locally in the SF Bay Area? Sincerely appreciate any used restaurant supply or auction place that would carry them. We've been unable to find any on Craigslist. These are the type of small commercial grills we thought would be big enough:
http://www.belson.com/PORTA-GRILL-I-Charcoal-Fired-Barbeque-Grills
http://www.smokymtbarbecue.com/store/bbq36_commercial_flat_top_grill-pid-93-51.html#.U3gLcSh2brc
4) Do we need a top to the barbecue to speed cooking or wind shields on the sides given that we'll be using the grill in a spot with a 6 ft fence around which provides wind protection.
Thank you very much for your advice - we need to choose and find a grill fast and really appreciate your help.