Big Poppa
Administrator
OK Ill sort of take you through the mindset when cooking for a large crowd....If affects your cooking temp and your menu.
1. Keep it as simple as possible
2. If you have others bringing dishes they will delay your main meats
I grew up in Orange County and had friends show up from deep in the past...also the inlaws were there too last night. I even had my babysitter last night
So I cooked two prime new york strips in block form Seasoned them with evoo little louies with pepper and double secret. Cooked them on the MAK One Star on the shelf and had them on smoke setting for an hour then raised the temp to 220. I intentionally selected a lower cooking temp because I anticipated a delay in other peoples dishes (sis in laws taters) The reason why is that if I cooked it at 300 the residual cooking after I took it off the smoker would have made it way overdone....I pulled them at 134 and tented with foil and placed it in the Cambo (caterers cooler) It rested over two hours but was 128 when sliced. It is super important when cooking for a crowd with roasts and such taht you do not pre slice...you presentation slice. Otherwise you get meat that dries out and gets cold. Waa Laa
Then it was a riff on the potato discs....Lets call these Poppa's Party Potatoes
I sliced them and then put a slice of sweet onion and alternated until the pan was full
I then drizzled lightly with a garlic balsamic reduction and then little louies with pepper and 3 cubes of butter and some EVOO. I cooked at 400 for an hour and a half and they came out how I had hoped Nice and soft with a crispy edge and the onions almost melted away
sorry no pics of them done I had my hands full
WE had over 30 people and there wasnt anything left. I was really happy that the lady that runs Jaime Olivers cooking classes (she teaches them too) was impressed with the flavor profile of the beef (non seared) and she loved how I treated the onions and potatos.
Is was a wonderful night...simple but fed the people
Sis in Law made twice baked that came in second in the potato category....(hahahahaha)
and she brought a carrot cake. Another dear friend brought a killer homemade key lime pie
Moral of the story if you dont have total control of the dinner cook at a lower heat and the pressure is off
1. Keep it as simple as possible
2. If you have others bringing dishes they will delay your main meats
I grew up in Orange County and had friends show up from deep in the past...also the inlaws were there too last night. I even had my babysitter last night
So I cooked two prime new york strips in block form Seasoned them with evoo little louies with pepper and double secret. Cooked them on the MAK One Star on the shelf and had them on smoke setting for an hour then raised the temp to 220. I intentionally selected a lower cooking temp because I anticipated a delay in other peoples dishes (sis in laws taters) The reason why is that if I cooked it at 300 the residual cooking after I took it off the smoker would have made it way overdone....I pulled them at 134 and tented with foil and placed it in the Cambo (caterers cooler) It rested over two hours but was 128 when sliced. It is super important when cooking for a crowd with roasts and such taht you do not pre slice...you presentation slice. Otherwise you get meat that dries out and gets cold. Waa Laa
Then it was a riff on the potato discs....Lets call these Poppa's Party Potatoes
I sliced them and then put a slice of sweet onion and alternated until the pan was full
I then drizzled lightly with a garlic balsamic reduction and then little louies with pepper and 3 cubes of butter and some EVOO. I cooked at 400 for an hour and a half and they came out how I had hoped Nice and soft with a crispy edge and the onions almost melted away
sorry no pics of them done I had my hands full
WE had over 30 people and there wasnt anything left. I was really happy that the lady that runs Jaime Olivers cooking classes (she teaches them too) was impressed with the flavor profile of the beef (non seared) and she loved how I treated the onions and potatos.
Is was a wonderful night...simple but fed the people
Sis in Law made twice baked that came in second in the potato category....(hahahahaha)
and she brought a carrot cake. Another dear friend brought a killer homemade key lime pie
Moral of the story if you dont have total control of the dinner cook at a lower heat and the pressure is off
