cooking for large groups of people?

Skkyhawke2

One can only put so much meat in a BGE at a time. Also, different meats require different cooking temps and times.

So far so good.

If you plan to cook meats for larger numbers of people, how do you keep/store meat for many hours while cooking other meats?

May have to do it but really don't want to refrigerate anything.

Also, when serving sliced meats such as hams, roasts or briskets what is the recommended serving size in order to estimate amount of meat needed to purchase?

Many thanks.

FxLynch

I can answer part of this from experience in saying that I choose what to cook a lot of times based on similar cook temps and just add things with shorter cook times on as I go.  You also have to let certain meats set for a while to "finish the cook"after grilling so also figure that in.  For example, a brisket can sit 1-4 hours after coming off the grill.

This of course, only applies if you are trying to cook things that each person wants, otherwise you would just cook and have them eat what you choose.

Say, for example you did two pork shoulders overnight for pulled pork at 225-250...thats the same temp as ribs, but ribs only need 5-6 hours at that temp. Put the ribs on an elevated grate for the last 5-6 hours.

If your guest are more general with requests, and you have limited cook time just adjust... say they want chicken and pork, do spatchcocked chickens and pork tenderloins, which can be cooked direct, quickly, and have great results (and you could keep putting more on the grill as you served depending on the size of the crowd you are serving.

If they want a low and slow (ribs, brisket, pulled pork) and some want steaks or seafood, just cook the low and slow, throw it in a cooler wrapped in foil to finish then ramp up the temps and do the quick steaks, seafood, chicken pieces, etc.

I often find myself cooking multiple dishes,and I think practice is what makes perfect as far as timing it all to come out.

If I could give just one piece of advice, I take time on paper to plan out the length each item needs to cook, and plan out a general timeline of when to add what.  Of course you always cook to temp, not time, but a general timeline helps you plan the cook with the least amount of surprises.

Frank