BBQ for 40 people..food ideas

[My2BabiesLexis&Dill]

I am having a bbq for my husband and son's birthday in 2 weeks. Right now there is at least 40 people coming. But what do I fix for that many people? I don't want it to cost me a fortune but would like to have something a little more than just hot dogs and hamburgers. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated!!

 

[StephMK]

We just went to a cookout last night that had hamburgers, hot dogs, pulled pork & brisket. There were buns & BBQ sauce on the side. There was pasta salad, fruit & veggie trays & chips for sides.

 

[plutolovr]

Italian Sausage with pepper and onions; chicken parts (thighs and legs are cheapest); beef brisket.

 

[gracie1]

Burger and dogs, chips, dip, veggie tray, fruit tray, pasta salad, macaroni salad and potato salad. Condiment bar with pickles, lettuce, tomato, mayo, mustard, ketchup, relish

I take it your having a cake and ice cream for dessert?

 

[mward73]

We do this fairly often. I make this recipe http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/bbq-pork-sandwich-recipe/index.html and make bbq sliders. Found the sliders are big enough for people when you have all the sides. For sides, I do potato salad, baked beans, cole slaw and deviled eggs. It ends up being pretty cheap and there's plenty of food. We did the hamburgers and hot dogs one year, but that ended up costing a lot more, so we prefer the bbq (and it's something that cooks before everyone gets there so it's ready before the party). You can always put it in the cheap chafing dishes they sell at the party stores (with the gel stuff to keep it warm).

 

[LizinSTL]

Around here pork is way way cheaper than beef. Pulled pork is so easy and serves a bunch. Put a pork shoulder in the crock pot, season it with salt, pepper, cayenne pepper, cumin, garlic and onion and pour a coke over the top of it. Cook it on low for 12 hours and then chop it up, drain it a bit and cover it with bbq sauce. We have pork shoulder for $1/lb all the time during the summer months. A 12 lb roast will serve at least 20. Add burgers and hot dogs as main dishes.
For sides, I do a pasta salad, assorted fresh veggies, slaw, potato salad or chips, and baked beans (crockpot again).
Desserts: fruit, cake, cookies, popsicles if there are lots of kids.

 

[lovehoney]

ideas: Beer Can chicken, grilled sausages, crockpot of beans, tamales and salsa, chips and dip, grilled portobellos (sp), grilled pinapple spears, veggie tray.

 

[shoney]

had a bbq yesterday and tried doing it a bit cheaper than usual.....
hamburgers, hotdogs, chili, white rice, pulled pork, macaroni and cheese, potato salad and cole slaw...worked out well...

 

[ShootingStarMom2]

I'd make pulled pork sandwiches, baked macaroni and cheese, red jello with bananas, mixed greens salad with dressing, chips, and some watermelon slices.

Maybe have a few appetizers like chips and salsa and a bean dip. This one is so easy and delicious! 2 cans spicy refried beans, 1 envelope taco seasoning, 1 container sour cream, 1 brick shredded cheese, shredded lettuce. Spread bean dip on tray, mix sour cream and taco mix, layer over beans. Add cheese and top with lettuce.

We just made pulled pork this weekend. I had a 3 pound pork tenderloin (you could use a pork shoulder or other cut as well) that I put in the crock pot and covered with a 2 liter of A&W rootbeer. It cooked overnight for about 10 hours. When it was done, I shredded it and froze half. The other half I made for dinner by warming it back up in a sautee pan with our favorite bbq sauce. You could easily reheat that the day of the party in a crockpot. Just add a little extra sauce before serving.

I also found that if you make sandwiches and serve them on a tray, you can control the portion size a lot better.

 

[anna08]

watermelons are really cheap right now and feed a lot of people and are healthier than other desserts

 

[MSSANDRA]

I would stick with your burgers and dogs and fancy up your sides a bit.

We like:

corn on the cob
pasta salad
potato salad
slaw
Fruit salad
water melon

For our last party we added nachos and cheese- We got a case of nachos and a huge can of cheese at Sams for like 10$ total and it was a huge hit. Everyone loved it!!

 

[Sagginit]

do you have burners or can you borrow them for cheap? my mother invested in some for graduation parties and they paid for themselves since she used them so often. if you do in addition the usual bbq stuff you can make trays of baked ziti, lasagna, eggplant parm, sausage and peppers, chicken murphy, rice pilaf & veggies, chicken wings, etc. when the meat is mixed in with veggies/pasta/rice you need less.

 

[luckey-lasvegas]

IMHO you can't get to much cheaper than chicken. Beer in the rear or citrus marinated. You could also cook it early and shred it , put it in the crockpot with some bbq suace and have BBQ chicken sammys.

 

[mjantz]

I have a crockpot Buffalo Chicken recipe that's really cheap. Bag of chicken breasts, bottle of hot or wing sauce & a pkg of dry ranch dressing mix. Put it all in the crockpot all day & it's wonderful!!

 

[greenchief]

If you are wanting to do more than just hotdogs and burgers, I would do pulled pork. This is the recipe I use from Publix Aprons

http://www.publix.com/aprons/meals/AllRecipes/SimpleMeal.do?mealId=3018&mealGroupId=1000

 

[EllenFrasier]

We just went to a cookout last night that had hamburgers, hot dogs, pulled pork & brisket. There were buns & BBQ sauce on the side. There was pasta salad, fruit & veggie trays & chips for sides.

Hey, were you at my son's graduation party?! We had those same things plus German potato salad and baked beans. I highly recommend the pulled pork, it was a big hit and easy to make!

 

[Mom_Rides]

You should be able to find plenty of BBQ type stuff on sale this week with the 4th being next week. I would do burgers and dogs on the grill and maybe add in some brats or smoked sausage. Lots of PP have suggested pulled pork. We love the McCormick slow cooker pulled pork packet! Its so much better then just shredded pork with BBQ sauce on it IMO.

For sides I would do pasta salad, cole slaw, baked beans, chips and watermelon. I wouldn't go overboard and serve a bunch of stuff. When we host birthday parties we tend to keep the menu simple and easy and make things we can prep in advance.

 

[Kat&Dom]

What about making your own Kebobs? You could take a few chicken breasts and a few steaks - chop them up into bite size, put on a stick with some veggies and BBQ? If you want to do Beef on a Bun, plan for 1/4 to 1/3 lb per person so for 40 people - a 10-13 lb roast would work good.

For sides, Coleslaw is super easy to make - we add Granny Smith Apples into the bags of Coleslaw then add Kraft Coleslaw Dressing. If you buy 8 cans of Heinz Baked Beans and heat them up, it is also a popular side. Also, you can take a Roaster Pan, cut up 15lbs of potatos into chunks, a couple of peppers, some carrots and onions - add some Olive Oil and seasoning then cook on the BBQ.

Enjoy your BBQ.

 

[My2BabiesLexis&Dill]

Thanks for the ideas so far. I may go with the pulled pork idea and hot dogs. I have to work that day so I will not have allot of prep time available. Please keep the ideas coming.

 

[HeatherC]

We recently had a large family party and I was surprised that hamburgers and hot dogs would have cost me more than chicken and pork...because of all the condiments and toppings and rolls and such.

What I did was buy a bunch of chicken like thighs, wings and drumsticks. Whatever was on sale that week. I think I paid about $.89 a lb. for most of it.

I marinated them in a couple different things...some bbq sauce, some homey mustard, some teriyaki.

I then baked them the day before and simply reheated them on the grill with extra sauce before serving.

For sides, I also did roasted onions which were very cheap. I just split the onion in half, sprinkle with salt and pepper, drizzle on some olive oil, wrap in foil and throw on the grill. I also made a bunch of twice baked potatoes the day before and reheated that day. Very cheap.

Everyone like it because it was a little different than hamburgers and hot dogs.

With pasta salad, mixed green salad and baked beans, we had more than enough food and I didn't spend a fortune.