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Barbecue/Chicken for a huge crowd

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Expert: - 1/18/2005


Question
I'm planning my 50th birthday party in August. A friend of mine has a broiler farm and can provide me with lovely chickens. How can I cook or barbeque chickens for about 100 people without spending the entire day cooking. Can I make it ahead and freeze the chicken and reheat on the day of the party. Help.  

Answer
A lot depends on what you mean by "barbecue".  If you're talking about slow cooking using indirect heat, you'll get one result.  If you're talking about grilling over charcoal or gas, you'll get another.  I usually slow-cook three or four chickens at a time, have one for dinner, and freeze the rest.  Slow-cooked meat can be frozen and thawed without difficulty, and tastes almost as good thawed and reheated as it does right off the grille.  I do not think that grilled chicken would hold up as well.

Something else you should consider:  Freezing and thawing kind of defeats the purpose of using the really fresh chicken that your friend is providing for you.  You might want to consider having a number of your friends handle the cooking for you -- for 100 people, you'll probably want 50 chickens.  If you have 10 friends prepare 5 chickens each (supplied by your friend with the broiler farm) the day before your party, the chicken will still be fresh and your labor will be minimized.  And if you really enjoy cooking, you can be one of the ten cooks.

Happy grilling, and happy 50th!

-- Whitestag

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Whitestag

Expertise

I can answer questions having to do with grilling or barbecuing meat (but not pork), poultry, fish, and vegetables over charcoal or wood. I also have some expertise in marinades and spice mixes. I cook only with charcoal and wood, so please do not ask me any questions about gas or electric grills.

Experience

I've been cooking with fire and smoke for 25 years, using charcoal and wood almost exclusively. While I do not usually cook with gas, I'm willing to try to answer cooking questions in this area. I cook meat, poultry, fish, and vegetables, and I've experimented with a lot of different recipes and techniques. I am not able to answer questions about grilling or barbecuing pork. Most recently I've been using slow-cooking (indirect heat) techniques, and have been very successful at it.

Education/Credentials
Not applicable to this area of expertise.

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