# Catering a picnic



## adamm (Jul 16, 2005)

well im in culinary school and my dad wants me to cook the food for his company picnic for about 35 people. Im having a problem figuring out how much food ill need. The menu goes as follows
Pulled pork with BBQ sauce
Fryed chicken
steamed shrimp

for sides
Mac and Cheese
Broccoli Salad
Baked beans 
Jello salad with fruit

for dessert
Brownies
ice cream

Every things going to be made ahead of time and nothings going to be bought prepared. Basicaly im not sure how much meat to have him get. I was figureing about 25 lbs of pork. 50 pices of cut up chicken, and 25 lbs of shirmp. As for sides i have about 4 lb dry pasta 10 lbs broccoli and 10 lbs of beans. As for the desserts and jello i have no clue. Am i getting close to the amount that ill need or what bc i have no clue right now if im close to the number i need or not.


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## shroomgirl (Aug 11, 2000)

you will have TONS of leftovers.....profile the guests.....are they men, women & or young children, is the company mainly office staff or are they construction workers? 
Is there a set time to eat then put perishables away or is it an all day 3.5+ hour feeding party?

Right now you have 3/4# of BBQ, 3/4# shrimp, 2 pieces of chicken for every person + hefty sides.....mac and cheese, baked beans are filling.


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## adamm (Jul 16, 2005)

True i didnt thing about how much food it would actauly be per person, thanks for the help


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## foodnfoto (Jan 1, 2001)

You will need cole slaw to go with that pulled pork. Many people expect to have slaw as an accompanement. Are you smoking the pork yourself? Have you made it before?-it can be a challenge for the first timer. 

Generally 8 ounces pork/person, 8 ounces shrimp and 1 chicken breast ( or the equal) should do. 

Beware of the difficulty of Jello salad+summertime heat+outdoor food service=melty Jello equation


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## foodnfoto (Jan 1, 2001)

You will need cole slaw to go with that pulled pork. Many people expect to have slaw as an accompanement. Are you smoking the pork yourself? Have you made it before?-it can be a challenge for the first timer. 

Generally 8 ounces pork/person, 8 ounces shrimp and 1 chicken breast ( or the equal) should do. 

Beware of the difficulty of the Jello salad+summertime heat+outdoor food service=melty Jello equation


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## adamm (Jul 16, 2005)

I plan on smoking it, iv have never smoked anything by myself but i have seen it done in class, I want to smoke it but i dont know becasue i have never done it before, do u have any tips for smoking?


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## shroomgirl (Aug 11, 2000)

fried chicken is also a bear unless you have a commercial fryer available....if serving hot that means you or another cook buddy will be frying during the party. Many caterers will buy fried chicken.

Fairly easy menu, just make sure you have some help and give yourself PLENTY OF TIME.
Really important to think out a table....salt/pepper, lighting, decorations, cloths, etc.....

Sauces for shrimp?.....I assume you're serving the shrimp cold, if not really consider it.

Most of us do a buffet diagram, list out all equipment needs, make sure you've got enough ref and heat to be safe....really not good to make guests sick.

Goodluck grasshopper.


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## jjbbqguy (Jun 23, 2007)

remember your pork will shrink around 50%. Do you have a smoker? If not I can show you an easy way in the oven. Chicken I would do 1.5 pc per person if you have a cambro you can lay down bread and then cover with wax paper then lay the chicken on to of that.(its the best way that I have found so far to keep the chicken kind of fresh) Do not like traveling with fried chicken. What size of shrimp are you going to use? With the mack and cheese 2 oz of dried pasta will be pleanty. On the baked beans are you making them from scratch of using a # 10 can of pork and beans then adding your own "love" to it. If so I can will feed 35-40. That is about all I can help you with. The broc. salad 1.5 gal. should be enough. Good luck with the ice cream...


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## adamm (Jul 16, 2005)

I have never smoked anything by myself before and i am still debating if i should do it in the oven or not. Whats your way of doing it in the oven?


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## jjbbqguy (Jun 23, 2007)

You are going to need 2 8-10lb bone-in pork butts (is is actually the shoulder). Get a 4in full pan and cover the bottom with water and add hickory liquid smoke 1/4 cup will be fine. Place butts in fat side down, add your dry rub, cover in foil put in oven 275 for 12 hours then you are good. After the 12 hours take pork out of the pan and flip over, fat should slide right off. Debone, pull apart then add some of the juice but not all of it. Don't want to make it too greasy. You are good to go...can even be made up ahead of time and reheated on low keep a little of the juice in the fridge just in case it dries out a little.


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## adamm (Jul 16, 2005)

Ok thanks for the advice, i might have to try that since i dont want to mess up the pork by smoking it, i have braised it before and was wondering if i added liquid smoke to the liquid if it would pick up some flavor and i guess it does. Thanks again.


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## papa perry (Dec 14, 2005)

I do many events like this for friends. Be careful with the pulled pork, for people who have had true BBQ, will know the difference in porked cooked in an oven vs one cooked with wood. My typical menu for a picnic is TriTip, Grilled Chicken (mexican asada style), beans, rice etc. I try to cook everything onsite, makes it much easier with keeping the food hot. I store the food in ice chests until I need to slice the meat, watching the temp at all times.

Once I get my film developed, I will post pics of my set up.

PP


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## adamm (Jul 16, 2005)

Actually the picnic i cooked for was Saturday. I was planing on smoking the pork but changed my mind at the last minute because i have never smoked anything with the setup i would have been using and was thankful for it. No real big problems but was definitely a learning experience, especially when ordering food. The only thing that didn't turn out was the jello salad which had pinapple it it and it didn't set up, i found out later that pineapple does something to the jello that wont let it harden. Other than that everthing turned out at the end.


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