Holding a barbecue for 100 people or more? It can be a great way to feed everyone, whether it's for a birthday party, anniversary or even a wedding. But there's no denying that there's quite a lot of work involved. So before you start, think about enlisting some helpers to aid with preparing the side dishes, marinading the meats - and for actually handling the barbecue itself.
So, first off the menu. Generally at any barbecue the meat is the star of the show, When considering what meat to cook, you need to bear in mind several factors - how are people going to eat it (will you need knives and forks or not?) and what will they eat. Providing meat for 100 or more folk can be a costly business, so if your budget is tight, sticking to some decent burgers and sausages is probably a good plan. (Later on we'll look at some calculations for working out how much food you actually need).
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Timewise too, burgers and sausages are relatively quick to prepare, which is going to be a major consideration if you're cooking for such a large number. If your money is going to stretch further perhaps think about preparing some kebabs with cubes of chicken or pork or beef. These are going to be easier to cook than big slabs of steak or indeed chicken legs or drumsticks, which can be quite tricky to cook well on a barbecue - and with such a lot of hungry people waiting, anything tricky is going to cause you headaches.
For most large barbecues simplicity is the order of the day, unless it's for a very special occasion, such as a wedding, when you'll want to really go the extra mile.
So let's look at what else you'll need for a simple barbecue to run smoothly. What side dishes are you going to provide? Coleslaw is always popular, as is potato salad. Both of these are relatively easy to prepare yourself. If you have a food processor, whizzing up a batch of coleslaw by chopping crisp white cabbage, onions and carrots is pretty simple. Simply mix with mayonnaise and you're done. Potato salad is a breeze if you use tiny new potatoes that need no preparing. Simply boil, drain and mix with either mayonnaise, or a sauce made with mayonnaise, mustard, vinegar and herbs. Alternatively, if you want to keep preparations down to a minimum, you can buy large catering packs of coleslaw, potato and pasta salad from supermarkets, delis and cash-and-carry stores.
If you're keeping things really simple, you could just stick to burgers in buns and sausages in rolls, and provide extras such as cheese slices, onions, pickles, ketchup and mustard. This way, you can also keep the cutlery requirements down to a minimum. You could even get away with supplying some good quality napkins, rather than plates.
But let's assume you want to do something a bit more involved. Make sure you have plenty of table space for guests to help themselves to the food. You could set up a couple of long tables with all the side dishes on, culminating with a stop at the barbecue for their meat. However, if you have children attending your event, it may be better to keep people away from the hot cooking area and simply take plates of hot food to the food table as they are ready.
A good tip if you're on a budget and have only a limited supply of meat is to arrange the buffet table so that your guests help themselves to salads, relishes, breads and so on first, so that they don't fill their plates with meat!
Depending on where you're holding your event, you also need to think about how long food is going to sit outside, especially if it is very sunny. Position your tables in the shade and be prepared to fill dishes up from side dishes kept in the fridge or in coolers, rather than leaving out one huge bowl of potato salad that may spoil if left out too long.
So how do you estimate how much to buy? If you're cooking chicken, allow one or two pieces per person; and for meaty ribs about half a pound per person. Depending on the size of sausages and burgers, allow 1- 2 per person. This is in total - we don't expect someone to eat two pieces of chicken, half a pound of ribs and a hamburger and hotdog! Catering experts will tell you that when food is self-service, guests always help themselves to more than if you have someone serving, so add about 20 per cent to your overall figure.
For side dishes such as coleslaw or potato salad, allow around a gallon for about four people.
Of course, we haven't talked about cooking your barbecue food yet! If you're catering for such a large number of people, you will need to have at least a couple of large grills on the go. Set up the quick meats, such as sausages and burgers on one, and longer cookers, such as chicken on the other. Gas barbecues (unless you're an expert at keeping the barbecue fire going) are probably the best choice, because you won't have any waiting time before you can cook, and it is easier to keep everything at an even temperature for a longer time. You need to time it so that you don't end up with a load of burgers and then a load of chicken an hour later.
If there are vegetarians among your guests (and it is more than likely) you may need to set up an extra grill so that their food isn't tainted with the meat. Make sure the grill is well oiled, as non-meat products are more likely to stick. Alternatively, use an oiled frying pan to cook vegetarian sausages and burgers. If you want to get more adventurous, grill vegetable slices such as courgettes and aubergines, or kebabs made with vegetables and halloumi cheese.
As people tend to eat for longer at barbecues when they are outside chatting and drinking, desserts are a good idea. If this is a more informal event, and you're trying to keep costs down, you could ask guests to bring along a dessert, although then you run the risk of 50 trifles appearing unless you do a careful bit of management! Keep desserts simple, and bear in mind that they may need to be kept cool. Tray bakes such as brownies and flapjacks are simple. As is a fruit salad, or a selection of cupcakes.
So, with some organisation, planning, preparation and some willing helpers, your barbecue should go without a hitch.
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