Easiest Way To Feed 30ish LBGE

oldgeezeystax said:

Next weekend good sir.  I will tally the final counts this weekend and do my shopping.  I also need to carve out some time to build my DIY grid extender.

Quick tip for you, Wegmans has best price on pork Butt, usually 1.49 lb.....most other places in Frederick are considerably higher

If you're willing to cook "during" the party, there is no limit - hot egg + meat = food.

Sounds like you want everything ready all at once. I like the idea above using crock pots for the pork that might be done before guests arrive.

Put a 24 hour fill of lump in that Large and leave it at 300f so you can throw on chicken and burgers and whatever gets cooked after the pork comes off.

My first (failed) spatchcock was last night - burned wings, black skin, 150f on the breast. I had to bring that pink meat inside, cut it up, and put the breast halves back on for 20 minutes. I don't recommend a whole chicken for a party - too much can go wrong with legs at 175f and breasts at ... well, you seem to have a shortage of breasts at this party already. ;-p

I think chicken thighs work really well, and can all be ready at the same time. I like thighs with red pepper flakes between the meat and skin. If you're adventurous, try this from Chef JJ in Indianapolis:

• 4 pounds bone in, skin on chicken thighs
• salt and pepper, as needed
• For the Glaze:
• 6 poblano chiles, stemmed, coarsely chopped
• 3 serrano chiles, stemmed, chopped
• 1 cup agave syrup (nectar)
• For the Pineapple:
• 1 ripe pineapple (about 3 1/2 pounds), peeled, cored, cut into 1/2' rounds
• 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
• apricot wood, for smoking

Directions

• 1. Season the chicken with salt and pepper.
• 2. Preheat the EGG to 225º using indirect heat and the smoking wood. Smoke the chicken thighs for about 2 hours.
• 3. While the chicken is smoking, combine the ingredients for the glaze in a food processor. Process until the peppers are almost pureed, and an even mixture forms.
• 4. Remove the chicken from the grill and increase the temperature to 350º using indirect heat. Toss the chicken in the glaze and cook indirect for about 30 minutes, until the chicken starts to look sticky.
• 5. Convert the EGG to direct heat with a cast iron grate and preheated to 400º. Grill the pineapple until char marks form. Remove from the grill, drizzle with the vinegar and serve.

oldgeezeystax said:

I'm scratching BGE appetizers from the plan and just focusing on the pork & coleslaw.  Making appetizers for 40ish would be a pretty big hassle unless everyone only got like one each.  

I think I'm gonna try for 4 ~8# butts because I'm not exactly sure on the total count and don't want to be short on food.  

KISS is also important.  Enjoy!!!!

Supplied the meat for a family party of 35 or so on Saturday.  Fixed two 9 pound butts on Friday and then two whole Peruvian chickens and 8 lbs. of wings on Saturday.  There were somewhat higher fractions of elderly and young children than might be usual and only one teenage male.  The crowd ate one of the pork butts and about 2/3 of the chicken.  There were lots of other dishes, so the meat was not really the main item.

oldgeezeystax said:

Quick question:
I'm going to be trying out my brand new Maverick 733 on this cook and I'm planning to go turbo @ 325 so I don't have to cook overnight. I've also created a 5" raised grid so I will probably put two butts on the main grid and two on the top grid.

Should I:

1. Use the BGE dome thermometer for my 325 and put both Maverick probes in the meat, one in the top and one in the bottom.

2. Use one Maverick probe for the grid temp and put one in the meat on the top?

I'm sure both ways will work just fine but I was just wondering what you all thought.

And thanks for all of your help so far, this is an excellent forum!

Either will work, but make sure you probe the smallest butt. That one should finish first.