Graduation party, need serious help!!

[Drummercook]

Hey guys!

So my friend is having a graduation party and i've been assigned to make the pulled pork and cole slaw! There's going to be about 50 people there.

I'm feeling very overwhelmed. I need to know how many pork shoulder's to get, a spice rub for them, how to cook them, how long to cook them and a barbeque sauce to put the shredded pork into when its being warmed. A cole slaw recipe for 50 people would be great to.

I'm sorry if i sound like a jerk asking for all this so impolitely, i've just got a soccer game to get to . If anyone could help, i'd GREEEAATTLLYY appreiciate it. Thank you!!!

 

[QSis]

Well, it is a daunting task if you are new to it, but it's possible.

Pork butt will lose about 1/2 it's weight when it's cooked, so if you want 1/3 pound of cooked pork per person, start with 35 pounds of raw butt which, around here, would be about 6 butts.

I cook them (I use a smoker) at a temperature of around 250 for 10 hours, or until they feel like fat water balloons when you pick them up (wearing heavy rubber gloves).
There are some excellent commercial rubs and sauces in the supermarkets - I'd buy them for quantities such as these. But if you really want to make your own, we can help. Do you want a vinegary or a tomato-y sauce?

As for cole slaw, here is a recipe for 50 Cooks.com - Recipe - Cole Slaw For 50

Instead of the dressing they suggest, I might buy some commercial ranch salad dressing and pour that over.

Lee

 

[Drummercook]

thanks

wow thank you so much!

regarding the rub: yes, i think i would like to make my own

and regarding the sauce: tamato-ey? im not really sure... something thick, smoky, and sloppy would be great, any good recipes?

How much do you think 6 shoulders would cost? and do you think i could do this in my oven/on the gas grill with the smoker attatchment?

Thanks again!

 

[kitchenelf]

You have picked a food that in the long-run will be the easiest thing to make!!!! You will find it's not as hard as you think it is.

I don't even use a rub on my pork butt - just salt, pepper, olive oil and smoke for 10 - 12 hours, until it reaches an internal temp of no less than 190° F. If it can reach 200° it will be even better! Plan on allowing 12 hours cooking time and a good 30 minutes resting time. I cook mine somewhere between 225°F and 250°F.

If you want a good slaw recipe let me know - I use a vinegar based BBQ sauce and use the same sauce for my slaw.

You can VERY easily cook these at 225° F in your oven.

If you go to a food club like Sam's you can two butts for a lot less than a grocery store and they are HUGE!

 

[QSis]

Okay, Drummer.

Here is a link to a few recipes from Garry Howard's site. Garry is a champion competition BBQ'er and Chris Schlesinger is a reknowned BBQ chef.

I would go with the first rub recipe and, if cooking in the oven, the first sauce recipe listed in the link. Garry's BBQ Recipes

There are millions of variations of BBQ rub and sauce recipes all over the internet, but these work, especially if you want a smoky flavor without a smoker.

If you DO want to add natural smoke to your meat, I think the best way for you to handle these is to smoke the butts, in batches, probably, on your grill, at a low temp for say 3 hours per batch. As each batch is done, throw it in a 250-275 oven until they are done and you can twist out the bone with your hand. If you do this, look up a BBQ sauce recipe that DOESN'T use liquid smoke.

Note: if you have to speed up the cooking due to time constraints, wrap each butt in heavy duty aluminum foil for the last couple of hours of cooking.

Good luck!

Lee

 

[love2"Q"]

i look at it like this ...
5 oz per sandwich ..
2 per person ..
plus some extra ..

 

[Drummercook]

Thank you Qqsis and kitchenelf!

Q, on the website you sent me, how many times will i have to double each recipe to make enough for the amount of meat im planning on preparing?

Thank you!