Need advice on a cook with limited egg access

mlc2013 · July 2018

We’re having our annual family picnic this Saturday and I have to cook for 20 adults and 10 kids:

What tools I’ll have
1x 18” Weber charcoal grill
1x MM
1x built in park bbq

what I need to do
arrive at 9:00 am bagels and muffins for breakfast

make burgers and dogs for lunch around 12
which I’ll do on the Weber most likely

here is where it gets tricky:

i want to make items below for dinner to eat around 5:30

1. 3 x spatchcock chickens
2. 3 x racks pork ribs
3. 4 x racks beef ribs
4. 12 x skirt steaks
my plan was to make the pork and beef ribs at home on the xl and FTC but I don’t think that’s doable being I’ll be leaving my house at 8:00 and only eating at 5:30 I’m just worries about the time in cooler.
I was going to put 2 x chickens on mm and the other on Weber. While I cook the steaks on park grill.
Now im not really sure what to do. Any suggestions or advice would be greatly appreciated

TEXASBGE2018 · July 2018

What type of cooler do you have? My buddy finished a brisket a few weeks ago at like 9am and FTC’d it in his yeti until 6pm and it was still reading around 140ish when he took it out. Ribs might be slightly different.

mlc2013 · July 2018

I’ll use peicans

mlc2013 · July 2018

What about over cooking?

TEXASBGE2018 · July 2018

Ok I would maybe do the following.
Cook the chickens on the mm and weber like you said.
Cook the ribs on the weber. Using racks if you can.

And then cooler all of it as it should only be an hour or so if you start cooking at 12. They should be done by around 5ish. The chickens maybe a little before.
Then cook the skirts on the park grill and weber if you have enough charcoal.

mlc2013 · July 2018

What about the beef ribs? They’ll take up the whole weber

TEXASBGE2018 · July 2018

That’s why I was saying use racks. If you stacked the ribs on their sides you may be able to stack them all in there. It will be kinda tight but when I had my 18” weber Smokey mountain I fit 6 racks on their side pretty easily. You could even probably get a rack or 2 in the mm on their sides in racks. With the pelican as long as you don’t open them at all once you put the ribs in you could cook them on your xl at home. Just make sure no one opens those coolers. Rotomolded coolers are built for that very reason to retain cold or heat.

mlc2013 · July 2018

I have a few days to figure out what is best so if anyone has held over pork and or beef ribs for 8 hours please chime in

caliking · July 2018

Is the menu set in stone? If not, consider pulled pork sliders to feed a crowd that size.

You could smoke 2 or 3 butts overnight and FTC in the morning until dinner. King's Hawaiian rolls or whatever you prefer, and pull the butts right before service .

Otherwise, you have quite a challenging cook planned and you're not likely to have much fun at the event.

nolaegghead · July 2018

caliking said:

Is the menu set in stone? If not, consider pulled pork sliders to feed a crowd that size.

You could smoke 2 or 3 butts overnight and FTC in the morning until dinner. King's Hawaiian rolls or whatever you prefer, and pull the butts right before service .

Otherwise, you have quite a challenging cook planned and you're not likely to have much fun at the event.

I like it.

blasting · July 2018

@caliking gave solid advice.

If menu set in stone, you might consider picking up a second weber. Being cramped for space and under pressure is no fun.

unoriginalusername · July 2018

I’d cook the ribs at home flat and leave them in the foil pouch so that you’re just reheating for dinner in the Webber

jtcBoynton · July 2018

TEXASBGE2018 said:

... With the pelican as long as you don’t open them at all once you put the ribs in you could cook them on your xl at home. Just make sure no one opens those coolers. Rotomolded coolers are built for that very reason to retain cold or heat.

And make sure to preheat the cooler to maximize the holding time.

mlc2013 · July 2018

caliking said:

Is the menu set in stone? If not, consider pulled pork sliders to feed a crowd that size.

You could smoke 2 or 3 butts overnight and FTC in the morning until dinner. King's Hawaiian rolls or whatever you prefer, and pull the butts right before service .

Otherwise, you have quite a challenging cook planned and you're not likely to have much fun at the event.

unfortunately it is not me who picks the menu its my mother in law so it is set. I would like to have fun, and have no problem picking up a second weber.

mlc2013 · July 2018

unoriginalusername I guess that is my question is it possible to reheat the ribs both portend beef if so I can just cook them friday. Foil them and then put them in the fridge overnight then just reheat them on saturday and cook the chicken and steak fresh at park

mlc2013 · July 2018

jtcBoynton I normally do preheat cooler but never held longer then 5 hours so im afraid I know they say as long as it is above 140 but how do you check the temp if you dont want to open cooler until its time to serve and if its under 140 then what do you do.

mlc2013 · July 2018

I have a lg still in the box (as I never built a table for it yet) and im thinking of taking that with me only problem is I only have a table nest for it so ill be most likely working on the round as tables are a big commodity at park, plus have to deal with assembling at park then unassembling to transport home back into egg box until I get the second table built with is not happening to after the summer now. Plus that sounds like PIA

Question has anyone done a low and slow on the original weber kettle, hell turbo ribs for that matter. Is it possible to control heat? Ill even use the plate setter and rack if they fit will check today, also not sure how much lump i can load in it but think it should be fine

My new thought process is;
Make the beef ribs on a rib rack in the weber using the egg platesetter while at party then FTC them and make the pork ribs turbo next on weber while making the spatchcock chicken on the egg and park grill, then FTC all of that while I bang out the skirts on both or all grills.

Just concerned about temp control on the weber ill troll web today to see if there is a chance I can do this without hovering over the weber all day.

I really have to stop making good food

caliking · July 2018

mlc2013 said:

caliking said:

Is the menu set in stone? If not, consider pulled pork sliders to feed a crowd that size.

You could smoke 2 or 3 butts overnight and FTC in the morning until dinner. King's Hawaiian rolls or whatever you prefer, and pull the butts right before service .

Otherwise, you have quite a challenging cook planned and you're not likely to have much fun at the event.

unfortunately it is not me who picks the menu its my mother in law so it is set. I would like to have fun, and have no problem picking up a second weber.

Then tell her to cook it all!

Do you sous vide? The ribs could be cooked and vac packed ahead of time.

Getting another kettle is definitely a good idea. Have you lo 'n' slo-ed with a Weber before? It's very doable.

caliking · July 2018

And your food will be fine for several hrs in the Pelicans. I wouldn't worry about that.

Legume · July 2018

Cut your chicken up, doesn’t need to be a spatchcock and smaller pieces fit better on crowded real estate. Even just breaking down to halves would help manage the space.

mlc2013 · July 2018

OK I like to halved or quartered chicken idea that makes a lot of sense thank you @Legume
as far as FTC in pelican @caliking I have done six hours this weekend and beef ribs probed at 145 when Pulled from cooler so I’m a little worried about eight hours, also I felt the beef ribs dried out a little as they were not as juicy as the cook before when they were in the cooler for only two hours. But to be fair I only let them cool for 5-10 minutes before FTC in a preheated cooler because I was worried that they wouldn’t hold. I do like the idea of picking up a second Weber and doing one low and slow for the beef ribs and one low and slow for slpork ribs and then just do the quartered chickens on the minimax and the steaks on the park grill that might be the way to go any advice on doing low and slo on Weber

mlc2013 · July 2018

Now as far as Sous Vide I have not ventured down that rabbit hole yet but must admit I am intrigued, what size brand should I be looking at and then I guess what food safer and size should I be looking at as well. I have not researched either yet it normally takes a good week or two researching the web before I pull the trigger only have a day or two to make it happen so will trust everyone’s input

mlc2013 · July 2018

With that said I’ve been thinking about a Blackstone as well I know it won’t help my situation above but maybe I can just do smash burgers and hotdogs on it for lunch and justify that purchase to my bride as well and make this pressure cook a win-win for me

caliking · July 2018

So DEFINITELY leverage your current situation to justify a Blackstone

shelve the SV purchase for later. You need a little time to research what you want and play around with it a bit. It’s a great tool to have in your cooking arsenal.

Re: lo n slo in a 22” kettle - buy good quality briquettes (I used to like Stubbs). Arrange the briqs in a ring, 2 briqs across, and maybe 2-3 high, with a gap where you are going to light them. Place wood chunks along this ring. Light one end, and they will keep a consistent temp as the ring burns from one end to the other. May have to play with the vents a little.

fishlessman · July 2018

load the weber up with spatched breast only with the xtras on the mm and the legs. steak on the park grill, and serve boneless ribs (pulled pork). the weber is made for chicken. i would have some sausages going on the park grill to begin with and serve that earlier as the chicken is cooking. if you have never done ribs on a weber, dont make this your first time. i prefer grilled chicken off the weber than off the egg anyways

Image result for chicken breasts fishlessman

caliking · July 2018

Here's a cook from a few years ago. made 4 racks of BB's. Used lump because that's what they had. Would have preferred briqs for that cook, but it still turned out.

and that was my first time doing 'em lo 'n' slo in a kettle, so NO FEAR!

mlc2013 · July 2018

no photo but yeah Im not afraid its family even if its good their going to give me crap so why not give them something to talk about. Also I was going to ask why briqs over lump? I found the stubbs at lowes nearby

fishlessman · July 2018

mlc2013 said:

no photo but yeah Im not afraid its family even if its good their going to give me crap so why not give them something to talk about. Also I was going to ask why briqs over lump? I found the stubbs at lowes nearby

more even heat with briquettes in a kettle, ive probably used more lump in my kettle though. i dont like an all day cook at a family cook, better to have a drink in hand and give them the crap

caliking · July 2018

Yep, briqs because you'll get a more consistent burn.

Make sure you pack them snugly when making the ring, so that subsequent briqs light up. You need 1 gap, unless you are aiming for it to burn on both sides at once.

womaus · July 2018

mlc2013 said:

We’re having our annual family picnic this Saturday and I have to cook for 20 adults and 10 kids:

Sounds like a walk in the park.
Put a call out through the forum for a loan of a Weber Smokey Mountain. Or keep checking Craigslist. I've cooked a party of over 100 people for the past 6 years with 4 of these. Stack the chicken in layers, stack the ribs in layers. You're only doing 20 people...you'll only need one.
Off to the side doing this I've also got a couple of Weber kettles and a Big John charcoal catering grill (yard sale find, $55). They help with the appetizers, finishing off of the chicken if needed, and burgers and dogs for the kids.

My Egg doesn't travel. Yet.

mlc2013 · July 2018

womaus thanks i thought about a smokey mountain a few years ago and never pulled the trigger. I just checked CL and the only one near by is asking $200.00 for the 18". Ill keep looking

Need advice on a cook with limited egg access

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